CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

February 13, 2015February 14, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 16 Comments

Egreat A9 Quad Core Android Media Player Comes with HDMI Input, a 3.5″ SATA Bay

Egreat A9 was first shown in spring last year with a Realtek RTD1195 processor, but it’s only now that I could see it for sale. But just like Zidoo X9, the device is now powered by Mstar MSO9810 quad core processor, and features an HDMI input port with PVR capabilities, but adds an internal 3.5″ SATA bay, double the internal storage (16GB eMMC), as well as a Gigabit Ethernet port. Egreat A9 specifications: SoC – Mstar MSO9180-DB2 quad core Cortex A9 processor up to 1.5GHz with an ARM Mali-450MP GPU System Memory – 2GB DDR3 Storage – 16 GB eMMC flash + 3.5″ internal SATA bay Video Output / Input – HDMI 1.4b output up to 4K30, HDMI input (1080p) with PVR support Audio I/O – HDMI Out and In, and optical S/PDIF Video Containers & Codecs DAT, MPEG, MPE, MPG, TS, TP, VOB, ISO, AVI, MP4, MOV, 3GP, FLV, […]

February 13, 2015August 30, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 47 Comments

How To Install Ubuntu 15.04 on MeLE PCG03 Intel Mini PC

I’ve already spent some time to test MeLE PCG03 Bay Trail-T mini PC in Windows 8.1, including a detailed video and audio review in Kodi 14.1. Since I don’t have anything else to do with Windows on the machine, I’ve decided to install Ubuntu instead, completely wiping out Windows 8.1. Since you pay around $30 for the Windows license, MeLE PCG03 is not the ideal platform computer for this little exercise due to the extra cost, but it should also work with other Intel Atom Z3735F based computer that may not come with a license. At first I planed to go with Ubuntu 14.10 Mate ISO image, and it boots fine, but was curious to try from “scratch” with another ISO, so I went with Ubuntu 15.04 Alpha 2 (64-bit) image. I just went to the first link Google Search provided me and did not pay attention enough, and ended-up […]

February 12, 2015May 29, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 10 Comments

Raspberry Pi, Banana Pi, and ODROID-C1 Boards Power Consumption

Mikronauts has recently reviewed MIPS Creator CI20, ODROID-C1, and Raspberry Pi 2 Model B. R-PI 2 review is especially interesting since this is the last one, and the reviewer goes to compare all Raspberry Pi models (A, A+, B, B+ and 2 B) with Banana Pi, Banana Pro, MIPS Creator CI20, and ODROID-C1 development boards. The benchmark results are good to know, and expected with ODROID-C1 the fastest of the bunch both in terms of CPU and storage performance, but here I’ll just share the results of his power consumptions testing. Since all platforms are powered by a 5V power supply, I’ve converted the results into watts. Model Max (W) Avg (W) Off (W) A 1.07 0.80 0.15 A+ 0.76 0.48 0.125 B 2.45** 2.12 0.62 B+ 1.20 1.15 0.35 2 B 2.25 1.55 0.325 Banana Pi 2 1.25 0 Banana Pro 2.3 1.62 0 Odroid-C1 2.3 1.62 0.735* * […]

February 11, 2015March 9, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

ZTE Blade S6 Smartphone Runs Android 5.0 Lollipop on Snapdragon 615 Processor

Android 5.0 (Lollipop) was released on last October, together with Motorola Nexus 6 phone running the latest version of the operating system. Since then some other global brands like Samsung, HTC, or Sony have ported Android 5.0 to some of their devices, but it’s currently pretty hard to find a Lollipop smartphone on Aliexpress made by low cost Chinese manufacturers. ZTE Blade S6 is one of the first “Chinese” smartphone boasting Android 5.0, so let’s have look. ZTE Blade S6 smartphone: SoC – Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 (MSM8939) Octa-core processor with 4x Cortex A53 @ 1.5 GHz, 4x Cortex A53 @ 1.0 GHz, Adreno 405 GPU, Hexagon V50 DSP, and a 4K HEVC capable video decoder. System Memory 2GB RAM Storage – 16 GB eMMC – No micro SD slot Display – 5.0” capacitive touch screen IPS display (16M colors). 1280×720 resolution Connectivity – 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi , Bluetooth 4.0, GPS, […]

February 11, 2015February 22, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 17 Comments

Review of Zidoo X9 Android Media Player and Video Recorder

Zidoo X9 is quite a unique product on the market, as it’s the only low cost Android platform that I know of that features an HDMI input port with recording capabilities. The hardware is actually based on Kaiboer F5, with some modifications, but the latter focuses on the Chinese market, while Zidoo X9 targets oversea markets with an English firmware by default. I took pictures of Zidoo X9 and its board about a month ago, but a busy schedule and some initial issues with Google Play Store delayed the review. Finally, I’ve completed testing of the device, and ready to share my findings about performance, stability, and features in this review. OTA Firmware Update I’ve had to go through two firmware updates before carrying on with the review, and this part is working great, and they even include a detailed changelog with each release, which they also publish on their […]

February 10, 2015February 10, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 36 Comments

Intel Atom Z3735F Based Voyo Mini PC Features 64GB Storage, a 1,000 mAh Battery

Most mini PCs powered by Intel Atom Z3735F “Bay Trail-T” processor on the market only come with 16 to 32GB internal storage, and based on my experience with MeLE PCG03, even 32GB eMMC can fill up pretty quickly on a Windows 8.1 machine. Now there’s an option with 64GB storage thanks to Voyo Mini PC. Voyo mini PC specifications: 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 – 64 GB eMMC + SD card slot (up to 128 GB) Video Output – mini HDMI 1.4 (Does not support 4K video) Audio Output – mini HDMI, and 3.5mm audio jack Connectivity – 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth 4.0 USB – 3x USB 2.0 host, 1x micro USB for power Misc – Power Button, power LED Battery – 10,000 mAh battery 1,000 […]

February 10, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Sia Lab Has Designed a $34 Medical Lab Dongle for Smartphones

Technology makes live easier, and often helps bringing down the cost of services. Medical care is one of these things that can be cumbersome, for example if you need to regularly perform some medical tests at your local hospital, and that can also be expensive. That’s why I believe we’ll see more and more affordable devices, at least for diagnostic purpose such as Scanadu Scout tricorder, and there are also some open source solutions for Prosthetics, electrocardiographs, and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) equipment used to copy DNA sequences. Eventually, I even expect robots to replace most tasks currently performed by doctors. Sia Lab, a lab focusing on tissue engineering and point-of-care diagnostics, has recently published a paper entitled “A smartphone dongle for diagnosis of infectious diseases at the point of care” describing how a low cost dongle can diagnose disease like HIV or Syphilis, and targeting health professionals in developing […]

February 10, 2015February 10, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

Ingenic Halley is a $20 Linux based IoT Board with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.1 Connectivity

Ingenic introduced Newton2 platform for wearables a few months ago, and the kit with an AMOLED display, camera board and other accessories should go on sale in March for $80. In the meantime, the company has also been working on a lower cost internet of things (IoT) module and development kit powered by Ingenic M150 with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.1 targeting smart appliances, Wi-Fi speakers, smart toys, industrial control applications, and other smart devices. Halley IoT module specifications: SoC – Ingenic M150 XBurst (MIPS) single-core processor up to 1.0GHz with 128MB LPDDR on-chip, 2D graphics GPU, VPU supporintg 720p30 H.264 video decoding. Storage – 8MP SPI NOR flash (GIGA GD25LQ64) Connectivity – Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n and Bluetooth 4.1 via Broadcom 43438 chip. Expansion headers (2mm pitch) 8-bit parallel LCD interface, Audio – MIC, Line-In and headphone, 2x I2S, SD card (MMC interface) USB device 2.0, and USB host 1.1 3x […]