CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

December 30, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Review and Teardown of Simplelink Self-Powered Power Switch

After I wrote about SimpleLink Batteryless power switch and receiver, the company decided to sent me a kit to try out by myself. So in this review, I’ll checkout the kit, install a demo to show how it works, and finally have a look at the internals. The kit include a power cord with a US plug and a holder and corresponding light bulb that you need to connect to the corresponding red and blue wire of the receiver (white cylinder), and you can control with the green power battery-less switch. Two 3M double face stickers are also included for the receiver and switch, as well as a strap for the switch, a screw set for either the light holder or receiver, and a user’s manual shown below. Installation is pretty self-explanatory, and you just need to connect the blue and red cables to the input (mains) and output (light) […]

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

Why Doesn’t your Android TV Box Play Full HD or 4K Videos in Netflix?

I’m not a Netflix user myself, but I know many of my readers are, and a frequent complain was the inability to play Full HD or 4K content, except on specific devices such as WeTek Core or Nvidia Shield Android TV. Until now, I thought most TV box manufacturers did not get DRM and Netflix support to reduce costs, but after reading one article about this very subject on AndroidPCReview, I realized it was more complicated than that. Beside the obvious hardware requirements that you need a Full HD or 4K capable player and television, the device needs to be certified by Google, and Widevine Level 1 DRM is required to stream anything above SD resolution from premium apps such as HBO Go or Netflix. However while many devices are certified by Google, only a few are officially supported by Netflix. The company also ranks device by categories such as […]

Graperain Samsung, Rockchip RK3588, and Qualcomm CPU modules, SBCs, and carrier boards

December 30, 2015June 9, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Samsung S3FBP5A Bio-Processor Targets Fitness Tracking Wearables

We now have many wearables capable of monitoring your activities, be it smartwatches or fitness tracker, and usually they are comprised of several small sensor chips, a low power micro-controller, a Bluetooth radio, and possibly some other ICs . Samsung has been designing and just launched a bio-processor to regroup most of those features into a single chip which should only require a fourth of the area required by current multi-chip solutions. While the press release did not mention the part number, the included picture – shown above – sort of gave a clue, and Samsung S3FBP5A bio-processor has the following specifications: MCU – ARM Cortex-M4 Memory – 256 KB RAM Storage – 512 KB flash DSP Sensors – 5 Analog frontends (AFEs) measuring: PPG (photoplethysmography) ECG (electrocardiography) Skin temperature BIA (bioelectrical impedance analysis) Galvanic skin response (GSR) I/Os – SPI, I2C PMIC Security units The sensors will enable measurements […]

December 29, 2015July 9, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

Google Glass 2 For Enterprise Shows Up on FCC Website

I’ve never been a fan of Google Glass for consumer applications, and the company has apparently more or less given up on this market, but instead they are now focusing on the enterprise market according to Google Glass 2 (codenamed AR4-GG1) photos and a user’s manual released on the FCC website. The user’s manual lists some of the key external components including a power button, a display with its button to take pictures or shot videos, a touchpad along the flat area on the side to control the display using taps and gestures. Although not really sharp, the internal pictures allow to have a look at the main electronic components featured in the device, and David Anders analyzed the pictures and found the following ICs: Toshiba THGBMBG7D4LBAIW that should be a 16GB eMMC flash Texas Instruments TUSB1211 USB 2.0 ULPI PHY transceiver Touchpad area with Cypress logo and a 48-pin chip that could […]

December 29, 2015December 29, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

F68 Sports Smartwatch Unboxing

Makibes F68 is a smartwatch with fitness features (HRM, pedometer…) and smartphone notification support, that is supposed to last around one week on a charge, and certified with an IP67 ingress protection rating. GearBest asked me if I wanted to review that model since SMA-Q watch was a disappointment, and I accepted so I have yet another smartwatch to try out. Today. I’ll take a few pictures of the watch and accessories, better writing a full review in one or two weeks. The package looks quite nice, but one detail is quite revealing: there’s no Makibes brand, nor F68 model name anywhere, and it looks exactly like FlyShark BW410 reported a few days ago by Charbax, so it must be an OEM design that will show up under multiple brand names, not only Makibes. The watch is not fully assembled, and instead the watch face comes with two watch bands, […]

December 29, 2015December 29, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 25 Comments

Mini Review of HD23 Android Mini PC with Skype and Google Hangouts

HD23 is an Android TV box based on Allwinner H3 quad core processor that includes a 2.0MP camera and a microphone that should allow you to make and receive video calls. I’ve already taken some pictures of the device, and opened it to have a look at the hardware including the camera and microphone in HD23 unboxing and teardown post, so today I’ll specifically test the device’s camera and mic with Skype and Google Hangouts. HD23 Installation The device is made to connect to the top of your TV, so you’ll probably want to limit the weight on the back of the device, and I only connected the HDMI cable, the RF dongle for MINIX NEO A2 Lite air mouse, and the power supply cable. For the purpose of the review, I also connected a USB keyboard via the USB OTG adapter in order to take screenshots. If you wonder […]

Rockchip RK3568, RK3588 and Intel x86 SBCs and SoMs in 2025

December 29, 2015December 29, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

uRADMonitor Aims to Crowdsource Air Pollution Measurements Worldwide (Crowdfunding)

Some projects such as the World Air Quality Index project are already generating a pollution world map using data from the countries’ respective “Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)”, but a Romanian startup aims to allow individuals to monitor pollution around the world with their uRAMonitor project, effectively crowd-sourcing pollution monitoring. For this purpose, the company created environmental monitors with various features and price points, include the higher-emd Model D with the following specifications: Color LCD with touchscreen LND712 made in the USA for Alpha, Beta and Gamma Radiation Bosch BME680 to measure air temperature, barometric pressure, humidity and VOC (volatile organic compounds) Sharp photoelectric sensor to measure dust, pollen, soot, smoke and other particulate matter 1500mAh rechargeable battery for 8 hours of continuous use Wireless 802.11b/g/n connectivity mini USB connector for charging or data Internal audible alarm when pollution readings are high There’s also model A measuring temperature and radiation, connected […]

December 28, 2015February 5, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Ugoos AM1 4K Android TV Box Unboxing and Teardown

Together with Ugoos UT4 octa-core Android mini PC, Ugoos sent me Ugoos AM1 TV box based on Amlogic S905 quad core Cortex A53 processor. There are basically two category of products with S905: entry level with 1GB RAM, and 8GB flash, which represents the majority of devices on the market, and mid range with 2GB RAM, 16 GB eMMC flash, 802.11ac WiFi and Gigabit Ethernet with devices such as MINIX NEO U1 or Tronsmart Vega S95 Telos. Ugoos AM1 is part of the second category so it will be interesting to compare its performance to the other two. But in the meantime, I’ve taken some pictures of the media player and its board to find out more about the hardware design. Ugoos AM1 Unboxing Pictures and Video All new Ugoos devices look alike, and even the retail package follows the same theme across their new devices. I got a blue […]