Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments on Intel Showcases Tablet / 2-in-1 Reference Design based on 14nm “Broadwell” Core M SoC

Intel Showcases Tablet / 2-in-1 Reference Design based on 14nm “Broadwell” Core M SoC

Intel has unveiled a thin tablet reference design at Computex 2014, in Taiwan, which is based on their upcoming “Broadwell” Core M processor manufactured using 14nm process technology, which will be the most power efficient Intel Core processor to date. Intel fanless mobile PC reference design features a 7.2mm thick, 12.5″ tablet that weights 670 grams. You can also connect it to a media dock providing additional cooling allowing more performance, as well as a keyboard dock. Intel expects 2-in-1 products (tablet + laptop) based on Intel Core M to be available later this year.     Intel claims 60% lower power dissipation, 20 to 40% better performance, and 10 to 45% low SoC power, and half the package footprint compared to third generation “Haswell” Core processors, which will allow fanless and thin designs. Currently Mobile Haswell Core processors have a maximum TDP of 11.5W to 47W, so in theory, at best, Broadwell SoCs might achieve […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 30 Comments on Jynxbox M1V2 Pure Linux XBMC Media Player Review

Jynxbox M1V2 Pure Linux XBMC Media Player Review

Theaterinabox.tv has sent me Jynxbox M1V2 TV box running XBMC Linux Gotham 13.0, and powered by Amlogic AML8726-M3 processor @ 1 GHz with 2GB Flash and 1 GB RAM. This is an upgrade of the first version featuring AML872-M1 and 512 MB RAM. I’ll go through the specs first, then show some unboxing pictures and video, and complete this post by reviewing the device by playing videos from the network and a USB flash drive, as well as going through the available add-ons in a video review. Jynxbox M1V2/M1+ Specifications Here are the specifications listed for Jynxbox M1V2 Pure Linux, aka Jynxbox M1+: SoC – Amlogic AML8726-M3 @ 1GHz with Mali-400 GPU System Memory – 1GB RAM Storage – 2GB NAND flash + micro SD card reader (up to 32GB) Video & Audio Output – HDMI up to 1080p (default: 720p) Video Codecs & Containers- MPEG 1/2/4, H.264, X264, VC-1, WMV, M2TS, TS, RMVB, […]

Khadas Edge2 Arm mini PC
Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 8 Comments on AllWinner A33 Quad Core SoC is Pin-to-Pin Compatible with AllWinner A23

AllWinner A33 Quad Core SoC is Pin-to-Pin Compatible with AllWinner A23

Allwinner has just announced a new quad cortex ARM Cortex A7 SoC for entry-level Android tablets. AllWinner A33  shares many of the features of AllWinner A23 dual core Cortex A7, including an ARM Mali-400MP2 GPU, and provides pin-to-pin compatibility, with the main difference being the upgrade from two to four Cortex A7 cores. The company has already disclosed the main specifications of their new SoC: CPU – Quad core ARM Cortex A7 with 256 KB L1 Cache, 512KB L2 cache GPU – ARM Mali-400MP2 with support for OpenGL ES 2.0/VG 1.1 standards Memory DDR3/DDR3L SDRAM controller 8-bit NAND/eMMC flash controller  Video Decoding – 1080p60 video playback for MPEG-1/2, MPEG 4 SP/ASP GMC, H.263, H.264, WMV9/VC-1, VP8, and more Encoding – 1080p60 for H.264 Complies with RTSP, HTTP, HLS, RTMP, MMS streaming protocols Supports OpenMAX API Display 1 to 4 lane MIPI DSI up to 1280×800 RGB/CPU/LVDSLCD up to 1280×800 Camera – […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments on Xiaomi Mi Pro Box with Amlogic S802-H Is Now Available for $92 on Aliexpress

Xiaomi Mi Pro Box with Amlogic S802-H Is Now Available for $92 on Aliexpress

Xiaomi announced the Mi Box Pro TV Box powered by Amlogic S802-H SoC and running MIUI TV user interface on top of Android. The company sells the device in China for 399 CNY ($64), but it has now found its way Aliexpress, where anybody can purchase the box for $92 including shipping, which is about the same price as most other S802 devices. Here’s a reminder of the specifications: SoC – Amlogic S802-H quad core Cortex A9r4 processor @ 2GHz with ARM Mali-450MP6 octa-core GPU System Memory – 2GB RAM Storage – 4GB eMMC Flash + micro SD slot up to 64 GB Video & Audio Output – HDMI (Up to 4K30) and 3.5 mm AV Audio / Video Playback – MKV, AVI, MP3 and MOV up to 4K resolution. AC3, Dolby and DTS audio support Connectivity – Dual band 802.11 b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi up to 120 Mbps (vs 40 Mbps for 802.11n) […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments on Zotac Unveils ZBOX Series-C Fanless AMD and Intel mini PCs for $150 and Up

Zotac Unveils ZBOX Series-C Fanless AMD and Intel mini PCs for $150 and Up

Zotac has announced four new fanless mini PCs part of their new ZBOX C-Series family with low power AMD A6-1450 APU and Intel Celeron “Bay Trail” N2930 SoC, as well as two more power models with Core i3/i7 processors, all of which in the same form factor and with price starting at $150. All models come with HDMI & DisplayPort outputs, a 2.5″ SATA bay, a 3-in-1 card reader, 802.11ac Wi-Fi & Bluetooth 4.0, as well as Gigabit Ethernet. The base models are barebone, but there are also “PLUS” models with 4GB RAM and a 64GB SSD. Here are the key features of the 4 models (Prices are for barebone and PLUS models): ZBOX CA320 nano series SoC – AMD A6-1450 APU @ 1.0 GHz (quad-core) with AMD Radeon HD 8250 – 8 W TDP DDR3-1066 memory SATA 3.0 Gb/s interface 2 USB 3.0 ports, 5 USB 2.0 ports Price […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments on Meet Samsung Z, the First Tizen Smartphone

Meet Samsung Z, the First Tizen Smartphone

After many delays, even rumors that Tizen was dead, Samsung has finally announced the very first commercially available smartphone running Tizen mobile operating system with the Samsung Z, right before the Tizen Developer Conference which will take place in San Francisco, on June 2-4, 2014. Let’s go through the hardware specs first: SoC – Qualcomm SnapDragon 800 quad core application processor @ 2.3GHz System Memory – 2GB RAM Storage – 16 GB flash + micro SD card slot (Up to 64GB) Display – 4.8” HD Super AMOLED (1280 x 720) Camera –  8MP(rear), 2.1MP (front) Cellular Network – LTE Cat.4 (150/50Mbps) Connectivity – WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n HT40, MIMO(2×2), Bluetooth 4.0 BLE, NFC, GPS / GLONAS USB – micro USB 2.0 Misc – IR sensor Sensors – Accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer, Hall, RGB ambient light, fingerprint scanner, heart rate sensor Battery – 2600mAh Dimensions – 138.2 x 69.8 x 8.5mm […]

AAEON Intel Arc
Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments on Meetion MT-WF910 Wi-Fi Player Streams Audio from your Mobile Device to your Hi-Fi System

Meetion MT-WF910 Wi-Fi Player Streams Audio from your Mobile Device to your Hi-Fi System

There are several ways to play music wirelessly from your devices on decent speakers. One the best way might be one of the Sonos Wi-Fi speakers, but they costs a few hundred dollars. You could also use a ChromeCast or EZCast / Miracast / DLNA dongle, both of which are very cheap ($20 to $35), and would allow you to stream music to your TV from your Android or iOS mobile device, Windows PC or Mac OS computers, but these require you leave your TV on, unless you use a DLNA dongle with an AV port. Another option would be to use a dedicated Wi-Fi player such as Meetion MT-WF910 which can receive audio from mobile devices or computers via Wi-Fi, and output it to a 3.5 mm stereo jack or S/PDIF port. Meetion Wi-Fi player specifications and key features: SoC – Qualcomm Atheros AR9331 processor for Wi-Fi and audio […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments on $69 miniSpartan6+ Board with Xilinx Spartan 6 FPGA Features an HDMI Port (Crowdfunding)

$69 miniSpartan6+ Board with Xilinx Spartan 6 FPGA Features an HDMI Port (Crowdfunding)

I’ve already featured sub-$100 Xilinx Spartan 6 boards in this blog such as The Mojo and Arduissimo. There’s now another with Scarab Hardware‘s miniSpartan6+ which also includes an HDMI port, and is currently available for $69 on Kickstarter. This board could be used as a logic analyzer, a multimedia player, a game console emulator, an Arduino emulator, a stereo vision camera, and more. miniSpartan6+ specifications: FPGA- Xilinx Spartan6 LX9 System Memory – 32 MB SDRAM Storage – 64Mbit SPI Flash + micro SD card Video Output – HDMI Audio Output – Stereo audio output jack using 1-bit sigma-delta DAC USB – Micro USB OTG port Debugging – On-board USB JTAG programmer I/Os via breadboard friendly through holes 8-channel ADC running at 1 MSPS with 8 bit resolution. 24 Digital I/O pins. Misc – 8 LEDs. Dimensions – 4.57 x 7.62 cm Programming can be done with the company’s Scarab IDE, […]

Khadas VIM4 SBC