Tronsmart Ara x5 mini PC to Feature Intel Atom x5-Z8300 Processor

If you’re getting tired of seeing companies launch products after products based on Intel Atom Z3735F with 32GB eMMC and 2GB RAM, and mainly changing the casing, Tronsmart Ara x5 provides some changes, as the upcoming mini PC will feature an Intel Atom x5-Z8300 “Cherry Trail” processor instead of the ubiquitous Atom Z3735F “Bay Trail-T” processor. Preliminary specifications for Tronsmart Ara x5: SoC – Intel Atom x5-Z8300 “Cherry Trail” quad core processor @ 1.44 GHz (Bust freq: 1.84 GHz) with Intel Gen8 HD graphics (2W SDP) System Memory –  2 GB Storage – 32 GB eMMC + micro SD slot Video Output – HDMI Audio I/O – HDMI, 3.5mm microphone jack Connectivity – Ethernet, dual band 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth 4.0 (TBC) USB – 2x USB 2.0 host ports, 1x USB 3.0 port Misc – Power button, LED on top of device Power Supply – TBD Dimensions – N/A […]

PiPo X1 is a Windows 10 Bay Trail HDMI TV Stick

PiPo used to the mostly know for its low cost tablets, but then they started launching ARM based mini PCs, and followed with x86 mini PCs such as the popular PiPo X7. Netbook Italia found out the company is now working on a new HDMI TV stick that will run Windows 10, but they must have run out of “lucky” names because the product will apparently be called PiPo X1, a name they already used for a Rockchip RK3188 TV stick… The hardware is not really interesting, as it has basically the same specs as the other Bay Trail-T sticks on the market: SoC – Intel Atom Z3735F  “Bay Trail” quad core processor @ 1.33 GHz (Bust frequency: 1.83 GHz) with Intel HD graphics Gen 7 System Memory – 2 GB Storage – 32 GB eMMC + micro SD slot up Video & Audio Output – HDMI Connectivity – 802.11 […]

DragonBoard 410c 64-bit ARM Development Board in Stock for $75

There has been a few 96Boards announced so far, and a Banana Pi96 could soon be launched, as LeMarker has just joined the Linaro Community Board Group, but so far the board that generated the most buzz was Qualcomm Dragonboard 410c, but at the time pricing was not officially disclosed, although a $75 target price was posted in several blogs. And now it seems Qualcomm 64-bit ARM board indeed costs $75, as it is listed for that price on Arrow Electronics website with a few pieces in stock. Dragonboard 410c specifications have also been further detailed: SoC- Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 (APQ8016) quad-core ARM CortexA53 @ 1.2 GHz with Adreno 306 GPU @ 400MHz System Memory – 1GB LPDDR3 @ 533MHz, Single-channel 32-bit (4.2GBps) Storage – 8GB eMMC 4.51 + micro SD 3.0 (UHS-I) Video Output – HDMI up to 1080p Video Playback -1080p@30fps HD video playback and capture with H.264 […]

Allwinner R58 Octa-core Processor Targets 2-in-1 Android Laptops

Allwinner R-series processor family, such as Allwinner R8, is supposed to target “IoT applications”, but IoT must have recently taken a whole new meaning as the latest Allwinner R58 octa-core processor targets 2-in-1 laptops running Android. Allwinner website however lists R58 as an high-end IoT platform for virtual reality and robotics. Allwinner R58 specifications: CPU – Octa-Core Cortex-A7 CPU up to 2.0 GHz GPU – PowerVR SGX544 GPU @ 600 MHz with support for OpenGL ES 2.0/1.1, OpenCL 1.1, DX 9_3 Memory 32-bit DDR3/DDR3L/LPDDR3/LPDDR2 SLC/MLC/TLC/EF NAND with 64-bit ECC eMMC V4.5 Video 1080p@60fps video playback multi-format video playback, including H.264, MPEG1/2, MPEG4 SP/ASP GMC, H.263 including Sorenson Spark, WMV9/VC-1, JPEG/MJPEG, etc H.264 1080p@60fps or 720p@120fps video capture Display LVDS up to 1366×768@60fps or RGB LCD up to 2048×1536@60fps 4-lane MIPI DSI up to 1920×1200@60fps HDMI up to 1080p@60fps, HDCP V1.2 supported Dual display supported with LCD up to 720p@60fps and […]

Continuum Brings Desktop Mode and Dual Display Support to Windows 10 Smartphones

I’m eagerly waiting for the day when Ubuntu convergence becomes reality, and I can run Ubuntu on a smartphone which I can also use as desktop PC. But Canonical is not the only company working on convergence and Microsoft has announced Continuum for Phones as part of Windows 10, that will bring desktop mode and support for dual independent displays to next-generation Windows 10 phones. To switch a Windows 10 smartphone to desktop mode, you’ll simply need to connect it to a desktop display, and Bluetooth keyboard and mouse, and it will automatically switch to a standard Windows 10 desktop on the big screen where you’ll be able to run apps like Microsoft Office, and other Universal Windows apps, as if it was running on an actual PC or laptop. The dual screen feature will allow you to check your emails on Outlook on a TV, while your kids watch […]

Windows 10 IoT Preview for Raspberry Pi 2 and MinnowBoard Max

When Raspberry Pi 2 Model B was released, we were promised a Windows 10 image for the board, and today, Microsoft released “Windows 10 IoT Core Insider Preview” for both the Broadcom BCM2836 based Raspberry Pi 2 and Intel Atom E3800 series based Minnowboard MAX boards. To get started with either board, simply go to Windows IoT – Getting Started page. I’ll quickly go through the instructions for Raspberry Pi 2. Beside the board, you’ll also need a PC running Windows 10 Insider preview (Virtual machine not supported), a 5V power supply, a HDMI cable (optional but recommended), an Ethernet cable, and a 8GB micro SD card, class 10 or better. The you’ll need to configure a connect account, where I had to accept two EULA including “Windows 10 IoT Core Insider Preview EULA”, and once this is done the area of the page for EULA should just be blank, […]

Intel Celeron N3000 2-in-1 Laptop, and MSI Motherboards with Celeron N3050/N3150 and Pentium N3700 Processors

Intel introduced the first low power Braswell Celeron and Pentium processors with 4 to 6W TDP, meaning a lower power consumption compared to Bay Trail-M processors, and with better performance. The first devices and motherboards based on these have started to show up with Intel’s Orchid Island 2-in-1 Reference Design based on Celeron N3000, and three MSI motherboards: N3050I ECO, N3150I ECO, and N3700I ECO respectively powered by Celeron N3050 dual core processor, Celeron N3150 quad core processor, and Pentium N3700 quad core processor, all clocked @ 1.6GHz (base frequency) and with 6W TDP. MSI did not release full details about their motherboards but we still now they’ll support H.265/HEVC hardware decoding up to 4K, Blu-ray playback and 8-channel HD Audio via an HDMI 1.4b port. Other connectors and interfaces include two DDR3L-1600MHz SO-DIMM slots (up to 8GB), two SATA III ports, one PCIe slot, Gigabit Ethernet, a COM port, […]

UP 7000 x86 SBC