CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

July 12, 2015August 29, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 18 Comments

Intel Braswell Motherboards (N3150 / N3050) Are Now Available for $60 and Up

Intel recently launched Braswell processors to succeed to their Bay Trail processor family, using 14nm lithography, a newer generation Intel GPU, more L2 cache, and various other improvements. Some ASRock motherboards based on such processors are now listed on Newegg starting at $58.99 with ASRock N3050B-ITX motherboard (dual core processor), and $69.99 for the quad core version (ASRock N3150B-ITX). Apart from the different processors, both mini-ITX motherboard mostly share the same specifications: SoC Intel Celeron N3050 dual core processor @ up to 2.16 GHz with Intel HD Graphics Gen8 @ up to 600 MHz – 6W TDP Intel Celeron N3150 quad core processor @ up to 2.08 GHz with Intel HD Graphics Gen8 @ up to 640 MHz – 6W TDP System Memory – 2x 240-pin DDR3/DDR3L 1600/1066 for up to 16GB RAM Storage – 2 x SATA3 6.0 Gb/s Connectors, support NCQ, AHCI and Hot Plug Audio Codec – […]

July 11, 2015June 18, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments

WeTek OpenELEC Box Comes with DVB or ATSC Tuners for $91

WeTek Play TV boxes are Android set-top boxes with DVB-T2/C2, DVB-S2, or ATSC tuner powered by Amlogic AML8726-MX dual core Cortex A9 processor. Even though the hardware is not the greatest right now, I found that it did a pretty good job with video playback and digital TV playback and recording in my review of the DVB-S2 version. The company also provided various images including one using OpenELEC, a Linux based distribution running Kodi only. But now, if you’d rather have OpenELEC pre-installed in the box, instead other Android, WeTek made an OpenELEC box based on the same hardware platform selling for $90.55 on OpenELEC website. OpenELEC box has mostly the same hardware specifications as WeTek Play: SoC – Amlogic AML8726-MX dual core Cortex A9 @ 1.5GHz with Mali-400MP GPU System Memory – 1GB DDR3 Storage – 4 GB NAND flash + 1x micro SD slot Video Output – HDMI, […]

July 10, 2015July 10, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments

Rockchip RK3368 based Beelink i68 Media Player Sells for $66 and Up

The 64-bit ARM TV boxes are coming either with Rockchip Rk3368, Amlogic S905, or Allwinner A64, but so far I could not find much price information. The good news is that the first 64-bit ARM mini PCs will be cheap, as Beelink i68, powered by Rockchip RK3368 octa-core Cortex A53 processor, is listed for as low as $66.35 with 1GB RAM on Gearbest, but you can also select the 2GB RAM version for $81.68. Using coupon BI68 will reduce the price further by one or two dollars. Beelink i68 specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3368 octa core Cortex A53 processor @ 1.5 GHz with PowerVR G6110 GPU System Memory – 1 or 2 GB DDR3 Storage – 8GB eMMC flash + SD card slot up to 64GB Video Output – HDMI 2.0 up to 4K @ 60Hz Audio Output – HDMI, optical S/PDIF Connectivity – 10/100M Ethernet, dual band Wi-Fi 802.11 […]

July 10, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

96Boards Enterprise Edition Specification Published

When AMD announces its 96Boards Enterprise Edition complaint server board, I could read quite a few complains because the board used a non-standard form-factor such as mini-ITX. The first version 96Boards Enterprise Edition specification has now been published, and the goods news is that there are two versions: the low cost ($199 to $399) “Standard version” with the new proprietary format, and likely more expensive “MicroATX version” that must complies with MicroATX v1.2 specs. The minimum hardware requirements are listed as follows: Small form factor Standard EE version – 160 x 120mm microATX EE version – 244 x 244mm Design is SoC independent (targets 32 or 64 bit SoCs) 1GB RAM (16GB strongly recommended for server software development) Minimum on-board connectors and expansion I/O 1x Serial over USB UART with microUSB interface 2x USB 1x RJ45 Ethernet Standard version board power from low cost 12V DC Jack connector or standard […]

July 9, 2015May 29, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 21 Comments

Banana Pi BPI-M3 Development Board Features Allwinner A83T Octa core Processor

Banana Pi developers, in this case SinoVoIP, and not LeMaker, are about to launch a new board: BPI-M3 powered by Allwinner A83T octa core Cortex A7 processor with 2GB RAM and 8GB eMMC. Banana Pi M3 board specifications: SoC – Allwinner A83T octa-core ARM Cortex-A7 @ 2.0 GHz with PowerVR SGX544MP GPU supporting OpenGL ES 2.0/1.1, OpenCL 1.1, DX 9.3. System Memory – 2 GB LPDDR3 Storage – 8 GB eMMC + SATA (via Genesys GL830 USB bridge, shared with 2 USB ports) + micro SD slot Display Interfaces / Video Output – HDMI 1.4 up to 1920×1200, MIPI DSI connector Audio – 3.5mm headphone jack, microphone, HDMI audio Camera I/F – MIPI CSI and Parallel camera interfaces Connectivity – Gigabit Ethernet (Realtek RTL8211E/D), 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0 (AP 6212 module) USB – 2x USB 2.0 host port, 1x micro USB OTG Debugging – UART for console Headers […]

July 8, 2015July 17, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 21 Comments

Eny EM95 Android Mini PC Runs Android 5.1 on Amlogic S905 Processor

Amlogic S905 is the first 64-bit ARM processor by Amlogic, and comes with four ARM Cortex A53 cores coupled with a Mali-450MP GPU, with S912 to follow later with the same CPU cores, but more powerful Mali-T7xx GPU. With Acemax G9C we already have one company working on an Amlogic S905 TV box, but Eny Technology just informed me they are about to launch two models based on Amlogic armv8 processor: EM95-MXQ, which looks exactly like G9C, and EM95 with a different casing, but very similar specs. Eny EM95 specifications: SoC – Amlogic S905 quad core ARM Cortex-A53 @ up to 2.0GHz with quad core Mali-450MP GPU up to 750MHz System Memory – 1GB DDR3 (Option: 2GB) Storage – 8GB NAND flash (Option: 16GB) + SD card slot Video Output – HDMI 2.0 up to 4K @ 60Hz with support for CEC and HDCP 2.2 , AV output Video Codecs […]

July 7, 2015March 24, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

BBC Micro Bit Educational Board Features nRF51822 ARM Cortex M0 MCU

The BBC announces its intention to give away 1 million Micro Bit to British schoolchildren a few months ago, but at the time, the specifications were not completely frozen. The broadcaster has now finalized the design which is based on an ARM Cortex M0 micro-controller. Micro Bit board specifications: ARM Cortex M0 micro-controller (Nordic Micro nRF51822 Bluetooth SoC) 5x holes for 3V, GND, and 3 GPIOs 2x user buttons, 1x reset button 25x red LED indicator lights in a 5×5 matrix Connectivity – Bluetooth LE Sensors – Compass, magnetometer, accelerometer USB – 1x micro USB port for port and programming Power – 5V via USB or battery port to connect two AAA batteries Dimensions – 4cm x 5cm On the software side, the BBC has partnered with Microsoft to develop a web based, drag and drop interface for programming called TouchDevelop. Samsung is also involved in the project as […]

July 6, 2015July 6, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 17 Comments

$134 Voyo V2 mini PC Comes with 96GB Storage, a Larger Built-in Battery

Most low cost Windows mini PCs based on Intel Bay Trail-T processors ship with 32GB internal storage, but as I found out with MeLE PCG03 mini PC it gets filled pretty quickly. So a few mini PCs have started to increase capacity to 64GB, as was the case with Voyo mini PC, which also included a small battery, but with version 2 of Voyo the company has decided to go with a 32 eMMC combined with a 64GB SSD, and a 4,500 or 8,000 mAh battery. Voyo V2 specifications (Bold highlights show differences with Voyo V1): SoC – Intel Atom Z3735F “Bay Trail” quad core processor @ 1.33 GHz (Bust freq: 1.83 GHz) with Intel HD graphics System Memory – 2 GB DDR3 Storage – 32 GB eMMC + optional 64 GB SSD (depends on model) Video Output – standard HDMI 1.4b Audio Output – HDMI, and 3.5mm audio jack […]