The UnifyDrive UT2 is a compact network-attached storage (NAS) device powered by the Rockchip RK3588C processor. It supports WiFi 6, and Bluetooth, and has multiple ports for connectivity. Equipped with two M.2 2280 slots for PCIe 3.0 NVMe SSDs, it offers up to 16 TB of storage. The device can connect to networks via 2.5 GbE or WiFi and also function as a WiFi access point, allowing file transfers even without an internet connection. A built-in battery provides uninterruptible power supply (UPS) functionality, enabling continued operation when unplugged. Designed for both home and mobile use, the UnifyDrive UT2 offers AI-driven storage management in a portable form factor. Its versatile networking options allow remote access, backups, and on-the-go file transfers. Despite its size, it delivers robust functionality, serving as a full-featured NAS solution in a variety of settings. I didn’t find any significant differences between the Rockchip RK3588 and RK3588C. This […]
Raytac AN7002Q – A smaller nRF7002 Wi-Fi 6 module for industrial IoT applications
IoT solutions company Raytac has introduced the AN7002Q Wi-Fi 6 module series, which integrates Nordic Semiconductor’s nRF7002 chipset and is designed for Industrial IoT, smart home, healthcare, consumer electronics, and automotive applications. They can be paired with Raytac’s MDBT53 Bluetooth LE modules based on the nRF5340 multiprotocol SoC, supporting Wi-Fi and Bluetooth LE solutions. The AN7002Q is a low-power Wi-Fi 6 module supporting dual-band 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz operation with a maximum PHY data rate of 86 Mbps (MCS7). It is compatible with IEEE 802.11ax, a/b/g/n/ac standards, and connects to a host SoC or MCU via SPI or QSPI interfaces. The module also supports coexistence with Bluetooth LE, Thread, and Zigbee systems, making it ideal for IoT applications. Previously, we covered the Abluetech PTR7002, a low-power wireless module based on the Nordic Semiconductor nRF7002. The PTR7002 has a slightly larger size and offers more GPIO options, while the AN7002Q […]
ESP32-C6 WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0 USB-C development board integrates 1.47-inch TFT LCD Display
Waveshare has introduced the ESP32-C6-LCD-1.47 development board powered by an ESP32-C6 RISC-V microcontroller with WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5 connectivity and equipped with a 1.47-inch display with a 172×320 resolution. With a 4MB flash, an RGB LED, and a microSD card slot for extra storage, this board is suitable for projects that need a compact display, low power consumption, and wireless connectivity such as AIoT applications and human-machine interfaces (HMI). Earlier this month, we covered the ESP32-S3 USB dongle, another development board from Waveshare designed for HMI applications with the same 1.47-inch display with a 172×320 resolution, but a USB Type-A port instead of the USB-C port found in the model covered today. In the past, we’ve written about other ESP32-based development boards for HMI applications, including the LILYGO T-HMI, ESP32-S3-Touch-LCD-4.3B, and Waveshare’s ESP32-S3 LCD Driver Board supporting both square and round displays. Feel free to check them out if […]
ASUS Tinker Board 3 – A credit-card sized Rockchip RK3566 SBC with 12V to 19V DC input
ASUS Tinker Board 3 is a credit card-sized SBC based on Rockchip RK3566 SoC with an HDMI port, a 3.5mm audio jack, gigabit Ethernet, an M.2 socket for WiFi and Bluetooth, four USB ports, and a 40-pin GPIO header with a layout similar to the Raspberry Pi 3 Model B. When I first wrote about the Tinker Board 3 in 2023, it was a larger (100 x 100 mm) SBC based on Rockchip RK3568 SoC that was later renamed to Tinker Board 3N, now also available as a complete rugged system (more about that in a subsequent post). The new Tinker Board 3 (2024) is a completely different design that competes against Radxa ROCK 3C and Orange Pi 3B boards also based on RK3566 and offered in a business card/credit card form factor similar to the Raspberry Pi 3B. Tinker Board 3 specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3566 CPU – Quad-core […]
Khadas Mind 2 portable mini PC gets Intel Core Ultra 5 125H or Ultra 7 155H update, USB4 and Thunderbolt 4 interfaces
Khadas Mind 2 is an update to the Raptor Lake-powered Khadas Mind portable mini PC offered with either an Intel Core Ultra 5 125H or Core Ultra 155H Meteor Lake processor. It ships with up to 64GB LPDDR5, PCIe 4.0 storage, and adds Thunderbolt 4 and USB4 interfaces that were missing from the first model. We reviewed the original Khadas Mind Premium with both Windows 11 and Ubuntu 22.04, and its dock, and it was indeed a pretty cool, albeit pricey, device with features like a small built-in battery to move the computer from one room to another without turning it off, and the Mind Link interface enabling connecting to the Khadas Dock for extra peripherals, the Mind Graphics for higher-end graphics, and more. Limitations included the lack of USB4 and 2.5GbE ports and the Khadas Link was limited to 64GT/s, but the second generation model addresses most of these […]
Banana Pi BPI-CM5 Pro – A Rockchip RK3576-powered Raspberry Pi CM4 alternative with up to 16GB RAM, 128GB flash, a 6 TOPS NPU
Banana Pi BPI-CM5 Pro, also called ArmSoM-CM5, is a Rockchip RK3576 system-on-module electrically and mechanically compatible with the Raspberry Pi CM4 while offering up to 16GB LPDDR5 memory, 128GB eMMC flash, and a 6 TOPS AI accelerator embedded into the RK3576 SoC. It comes with a WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.3 wireless module, a PMIC for power management, and two 100-pin connectors mostly compatible with the pinout of the Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4. ArmSoM also provides a CM5-IO carrier board to make use of the extra USB 3.0 and PCIe interfaces, and the company told CNX Software they tested the module successfully with the official Raspberry Pi CM4 IO board. Banana Pi BPI-CM5 Pro specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3576 CPU – 4x Cortex-A72 cores at 2.2GHz, 4x Cortex-A53 cores at 1.8GHz GPU – Arm Mali-G52 MC3 GPU with support for OpenGL ES 1.1, 2.0, and 3.2, OpenCL up to 2.0, […]
Maxtang T0-FP750 review – Part 2: An AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS mini PC tested with Windows 11 Pro
We already listed the specifications and performed an unboxing and a teardown of the Maxtang T0-FP750 mini PC in the first part of the review. We’ve now had time to test the AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS mini PC in more detail with the Windows 11 Pro operating system. So in the second part of the review, we’ll report our experience with the Maxtang T0-FP750 in Windows 11 Pro with a software overview, features testing, benchmarks, networking and storage performance, cooling performance, and measurement of fan noise and power consumption. Software overview and features testing The System->About menu confirms we have an “FP750” Mini PC powered by an AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS processor clocked at 1.80 GHz (base frequency) with Radeon 780M Graphics, equipped with 32 GB RAM, and running Windows 11 Pro 23H2, OS build 22631.4112. HWiNFO64 provides additional details about the AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS 8-core/16-thread processor, the Maxtang […]
LicheePi 3A – A SpacemIT K1 RISC-V development board with SoM and carrier board
Sipeed LicheePi 3A is a development board comprised of the LM3A system-on-module based on SpacemIT K1 octa-core RISC-V SoC and the same baseboard as found in the earlier LicheePi 4A equipped with a T-Head TH1520 quad-core RISC-V “LM4A” system-on-module instead. The LicheePi 3A is currently offered with a 32GB eMMC flash and 8GB or 16GB LPDDR4x memory. The carrier board provides a microSD card, two M.2 PCIe sockets for storage or other expansion, two gigabit Ethernet ports, a WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2 module, HDMI and MIPI DSI display interfaces, two MIPI CSI camera interfaces, four USB 3.0 ports, and a 20-pin GPIO header for expansion. Sipeed LicheePi 3A specifications: Sipeed LM3A SoM SoC – SpacemiT K1 CPU – 8-core X60 RISC-V processor @ 1.6 GHz GPU – Imagination IMG BXE-2-32 with support for OpenGL ES3.2, Vulkan 1.2, OpenCL 3.0; 20 GFLOPS VPU – H.265 and H.264 1080p60 decoding/encoding NPU […]