CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

August 30, 2012 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Nvidia Has Ported Unreal Engine 3 to Windows RT

After Archos GamePad, more gaming news today, as Nvidia announced Unreal Engine 3 port to Windows RT. The company showcased Epic Citadel demo on Nvidia Tegra 3 based Asus Vivo Tab RT (previously known as Tablet 600) at a press conference held at IFA 2012, in Berlin. The demo above is the full PC implementation running on ARM hardware and renders graphics at 35 to 40fps. The Unreal Engine 3 “Epic Citadel” demo implements the full DirectX 9 pipeline, with shaders and materials. Nvidia also announced that UE3 Windows RT code is available to licensees from Epic now.

August 30, 2012August 30, 2012 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

Archos Announces a 7″ Android GamePad Tablet

Many android games now use virtual buttons on the touchscreen for control, but this may not be optimal for all types of games, which is probably why Archos announced the launch a new type of tablet called the Archos GamePad just before IFA 2012. This device would just be like any 7″ Android 4.0 tablets were it not for the control buttons and analog stick on both sides of the screen. The GamePad is powered by a dual core processor @ 1.5 GHz with a quad core Mali-400 GPU (most likely Rockchip RK3066) with 1GB RAM and 8GB Flash. Here are the GamePad specifications as found on Arctablet.com: Operating System Android 4.0 CPU Rockchip RK3066 CPU @ 1.5 Ghz Integrated GPU: Quad-Core Mali-400 Flash Storage Memory 8 GB System Memory 1 GB Additional storage Micro SD slot (SDXC compatible up to 64GB) Display 1024×600 Expected (TBC) Capacitive MultiTouch Bluetooth No […]

August 29, 2012May 29, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

Olimex A13-OLinuXino-WIFI Developer Edition is Now Available

Olimex has announced that they started shipping A13-OLinuXino-WIFI-DEV, an AllWinner A13 development board with 512 MB, 4GB and a Realtek RTL8188CU Wi-Fi module that costs 55.00 Euros with free shipping by courier for a limited time. They announced the start of this project late April, so it took them just 3 months to bring this board to to market. The board has the following specs: SoC – AllWinner A13 Cortex A8 processor at 1GHz, 3D Mali400 GPU Memory – 512 MB RAM Storage – 4GB NAND flash + SD Card slot Power – 6-16VDC input power supply, noise immune design USB – 3 + 1 USB Host, 3 available for users and 1 for Wi-Fi module + 1 USB OTG port Wi-Fi – WIFI RTL8188CU 802.11n 150Mbit module on board Video output – VGA video output + LCD signals available on connector. Audio Output / Input RTC – PCF8536 on […]

August 28, 2012August 28, 2012 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Intel to Give Away 5 Atom D2700 Development Kits to Selected Engineers

As part of its “Eureka! Design Challenges“, Intel is asking hardware engineers to submit ideas about what they’ll do with an Intel Atom D2700 development kit with 2Gb RAM, a 40 GB SSD drive & lots of ports and expansions, and will give one to the 5 candidates with the best project ideas. Here are the key features of this development kit: Development board with the Intel Atom Processor D2700, and IntelNM10 Express Chipset Board Support package from the Linux Foundation’s Yocto Project 2GB DDR21066 MT/s non-ECC memory 40GB SSD, installed, with SATA extension cable Power supply The Intel Software Development Tool Suite (GNU tool compatible) Documentation and software Comes in a mini-ITX chassis with dual independent display capabilities. I’m not sure why Intel is focusing on hardware engineer for this type of project, and I suppose if you have some embedded systems development ideas that interface with external hardware, […]

August 28, 2012 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 21 Comments

Yes! MK802 for less than $50! Oh wait… It’s based on Telechips TCC8920.

Pandawill has added a new device called “OEM MK802 mini Android TV Box” to its catalog. It looks like the “original” MK802 mini PC as you can see from the picture below, but this PC-on-a-stick is based on Telechips TCC8920 (Cortex A5) processor instead. The specifications on Pandawill read as follows: CPU – Telechips Tcc8920; Cortex A5, 1GHz; GPU: Mali 400 RAM – 1GB DDR3 Storage – 4GB Nand Flash + microSD card slot (up to 16GB) Video output- HDMI 1080P (60Hz) WIFI – 802.11 b/g/n USB – 1 OTG port + 1 USB Host Dimensions – 88.5 x 35 x 12mm Weight – 25g The package includes a USB Cable, a DC? Cable, an English User Manual and an HDMI Cable, and this sells for $49.99. This is not a bad price actually, but they should really have given another name to this device. This shows you always have to […]

August 28, 2012August 15, 2013 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 46 Comments

How to Root UG802 Rockchip RK3066 mini PC

If you follow this blog (and others), you should already know there’s a new dual core Cortex A9 Android mini PC in town based on Rockchip RK3066. Deadhp1, a reader of this blog, bought one and left a short review about the device, including his first impressions and an Antutu benchmark (6801). He also noticed that the device is not rooted by default, and followed the instructions for Window N90 II tablet (source: Slatedroid) to root the device: Download Moborobo Download a modified version of SuperOneClick – Short Fuse (Originally found in Slatedroid link above). Install Moborobo and start the program Make sure USB Debugging is enabled on your mini PC(Settings –> Developer Options) Connect your UG802 mini PC (using the microUSB port) to your PC Wait for Moborobo to detect the device Extract the contents of SuperOneClick Run SuperOneClick.exe Click on Root It will says the device is already […]

August 27, 2012August 29, 2012 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 14 Comments

$86 ZAP-A10 Android 4.0 Set-Top Box Powered by AMLogic AML8726-M3

You may already know that XBMC has been working on the Pivox XIOS DS set-top box based on AMLogic AML8726-M3. Pivosgroup has sponsored the development of XBMC for Android and Linux on their new media player, and it costs about $115 on sites like Amazon, but it’s not available worldwide right now. If you’re looking for an alternative AMLogic AML8726-M3 device, and are a bit adventurous, you may have a look at the ZAP-A10, an Android 4.0 networked media player featuring AML8726-M3 Cortex A9 processor, with 1GB RAM and 4 GB Flash. Here are the specs of this set-top box: SoC – Single core Cortex A9 @ 1GHz (AML8726-M3) with Mali-400 GPU System Memory – 1 GB RAM Storage – 4GB Flash & SD card slot Connectivity 10/100M Ethernet Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n USB – 4x USB Host port Video Output – HDMI and component (YPbPr) Video Containers – M2TS / […]

August 26, 2012June 26, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 16 Comments

How to Allow Apps To Write Files to USB Mass Storage Devices in Android

When you’ve got an Android media player or mini PC, you may want to connect an external USB drive and allow write access to this drive to some applications. However, this is disabled by default in Android, although file managers appear to allow copy/paste of files to those drives without issue. Some applications may even refuse to install if they can’t find writable SD card or USB mass storage device. I’ve tried to install the latest version of aTorrent (version 1.7.6) in my Mele A1000, and it could not install at all and returned a message like: Can’t install on SD card or USB device The solution below is adapted from a solution on XDA Developers Forums. Some instructions tells you to use an app such as Root Explorer to edit the files in Android (ES File Manager will also do, after allowing “Up to Root” option), but I personally […]