CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

September 1, 2015September 1, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 13 Comments

MeLE F10 BT is a $20 Bluetooth Air Mouse and Keyboard

MeLE is mostly known as a manufacturer of Android TV boxes and air mice, and I use MeLE F10 Deluxe air mouse in all my Android mini PCs review, as even though it’s not perfect it does the job much better than an IR remote control, and is more convenient to use than a USB keyboard. The two MeLE air mouse I’ve purchased come with a 2.4GHz RF dongle that needs to be connected to a USB port of the device you want to control, but now the company is now about to launch a Bluetooth model with MeLE F10 BT. MeLE F10 BT (RF01BL) specifications: Connectivity – Bluetooth 4.0 (CSR1011) IR support – Yes, including IR learning function. Buttons Life – About 100,000 presses Sensors – G-sensor, Gyroscope Keyboard – QWERTY keyboard Battery – 2x AAA batteries (>30 days in standby mode) Dimensions – 169x48x19 mm Beside Bluetooth connectivity, […]

September 1, 2015March 13, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 66 Comments

Getting Started with Orange Pi PC, Pi 2 and Pi Plus Development Boards

I’ve recently received a kit based on Orange Pi mini 2 development board powered by Allwinner H3 quad core processor, but contrary to most other devices or boards I reviewed, this one what sent to me by one of my reader (thanks Jon!) as for various reasons he did not need to get it shipped to him. Today, I’ll start by showing off the kit I received, before writing a quick start guide showing how to install a Debian, and build your own Linux image. The instructions will work for all Orange Pi Allwinner H3 boards, including Orange Pi 2, Orange Pi Plus, and the recently launched Orange Pi PC, which has been rather popular thanks to its low $15 price tag. Orange Pi mini 2 Board Kit and CSI Camera This is what I got in the package… The board with a regulatory compliance and safety information sheet, as […]

August 31, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

LG Rolly is a Bluetooth Keyboard that Folds into a Stick

There are already some flexible Bluetooth keyboards that you can roll into your bag or pocket after being done typing on your smartphone or tablet, but LG is about to launch Rolly Keyboard, a solid Bluetooth keyboard for mobile device that can be rolled into a stick, which should may be sturdier than flexible keyboards, and it can also hold a smartphone or tablet in upright position with a display of up to 10″ in size. LG’ latest keyboard (model KBB-700) is comprised of 17mm keys – a standard keyboard comes with 18mm keys – arranged into four rows, that can be folded into a stick as shown above. The company also claims the keyboard offers “satisfying tactile feedback not found on flexible silicone keyboards”. The keyboard is powered by two AAA batteries supposed to last about 3 months during typical use, and pairing over Bluetooth 3.0 occurs automatically to […]

August 31, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

TESPA Hawk IoT Board Combines ESP8266 with STM32 MCU in an Arduino Nano Form Factor (Crowdfunding)

TESPA Hawk is an IoT board designed by three companies based in Thailand and Singapore: Deaware delivers the embedded software for the board, Gravitech handles hardware design and manufacturing, and MakerAsia provides the IoT cloud platform. At first glance, it looks like yet another board based on the popular ESP8266 WiSoC, but it also includes an STM32 micro-controller, and its pinout is the same as Arduino Nano. There are also various add-on boards (WINGs) to easily and quickly prototype IoT projects. TESPA Hawk specifications: WiSoC – Espressif ESP8266 @ 80MHz with 8MB Flash MCU – ST Micro STM32F042G6 ARM Cortex-M0 MCU @ 48MHz with 32KByte Flash, 6KB SRAM Connectivity – WiFI 802.11 b/g/n/ with on-board antenna and u.FL socket for external antenna USB – micro USB port for power and programming Expansion – 2x 16-pin headers (mostly) compatible Arduino Nano pinout including 5-channel full range 3.3V ADC (4x 12-bit, 1x 10-bit), […]

August 31, 2015November 6, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 27 Comments

Tronfy MXIV Telos TV Box Review with Android 5.1

Tronfy MXIV Telos is a TV box powered by Amlogic S812 processor running Android 5.1 Lollipop and costing just above $90 (with coupon), so it will be interesting to find out how it performs compared to Mygica ATV1900AC also based on Amlogic S812 SoC, and Android Lollipop firmware (version 5.0.2), which I reviewed recently, and sells for $169. I’ve already checked the hardware in Tronfy MX4 Telos Unboxing and Teardown, so today I’ll check how the device actually performs. First Boot, Settings and First Impressions I started by connecting peripherals: A USB hard drive to one of the USB port, and a USB hub to the other USB port with a webcam, and two RF dongles for an air mouse and a wireless gamepad, as well as HDMI and Ethernet cables, and the power supply. I then had to press the power button on the unit to start it up, […]

August 30, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 14 Comments

MOI Pro AMD IPTV Streaming Server Supports Up to 16 Tuners

TBS Technologies is a company specializing in digital TV tuners, with their catalog includes various DVB-T2, DVB-C, DVB-S2 and ATSC tuner cards. They also happen to be the designer of Matrix board and Matrix 2 Android set-top box, both of which run Android or Linux and support some of the company’s tuners. But they also have higher end products such as MOI Pro AMD IPTV streamer based on an AMD Embedded G-Series processor, and supporting up to 4 tuner cards with up to 4 tuners each. TBS MOI Pro AMD specifications: SoC – AMD GX-412HC quad core processor @ 1.2GHz with AMD Radeon HD GPU @ 300MHz (7W TDP) System Memory – 4GB DDR3-1333 Storage – 30GB mSATA SSD, 1x SATA @ 6.0Gb/s, Video Output – 1x HDMI, 1x VGA (reserved connection?) Connectivity – 2x Gigabit Ethernet Tuners – Up to 4 PCIe TV tuner cards (DVB-S2 or DVB-T2/T/C) for […]

August 29, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 8 Comments

Connect an Android Smartphone or Tablet to a Monitor, USB Keyboard and Mouse Easily with a DisplayLink Docking Station

Following my post featuring Zenfone 2 Deluxe Special Edition smartphone with 256GB internal storage and 4GB RAM, I had an interesting discussion about mobile and desktop convergence, and we had different views on how this may pan out and what the consumers want, but we all basically agreed this was still work in progress. Another reader pointed me to his various attempts to conveniently connect his Android smartphone and tablet to a large monitor together with keyboard and mouse. He basically considered – and in most cases tested – four choices: Wireless Display solution (Miracast, Chromecast, EZcast…) together with a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse Micro USB port with MHL using a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse Slimport adapter based on MHL but with USB port for keyboard and mouse. Here’s on example of Slimport to HDMI adapter ($10). Displaylink docking station with HDMI and VGA, Gigabit Ethernet, USB 3.0 Wireless display […]

August 28, 2015August 28, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 13 Comments

Asus Zenphone 2 Deluxe Edition Smartphone Comes with 256 GB Storage, 4GB RAM

As far as I’m concerned the talk about a “Post-PC” area is just that: talk. As long as the hardware specifications of smartphones don’t match the ones of entry-level computers, and mobile operating systems don’t support a desktop mode, desktop PCs will still be popular, and I can see it everyday as 60 to 70% of visits of this very blog are made with Windows, Linux and Mac OS computers. However, that’s not to say mobile and desktop converge is not getting closer, as on the software side, Canonical is working on bring Ubuntu to different form factors and support desktop mode for mobile desktop, and Microsoft is also working on Continuum, and on the hardware side, Asus announced a smartphone with 256 GB storage and 4GB RAM, which is pretty close to the specifications of an entry-level computer these days. Asus Zenfone 2 Deluxe Edition specifications: SoC – Intel […]