CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

January 19, 2011January 19, 2011 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Android Set-top Box: Bonux HZ20A / HZ20B – ZiiLABS Processors

Bonux, a Taiwan company founded in July 2009, announced two Android 2.2 set-top boxes based on ZiiLABS processors: The Bonux HZ20A and HZ20B. If you can remember Bonux also showcased a 50 USD Android STB earlier on. Here are the specs of the two media players: HZ20A HZ20B OS Android 2.2 CPU Ziilabs ZMS-08 ARM Cortex A8 @ 800 MHz Ziilabs ZMS-05 ARM9 @ 400 MHz RAM 512 MB DDR2 256 MB DDR2 NAND Flash 512MB 256MB Wifi 802.11 b/g/n (Via optional external USB Dongle) Adobe Flash Flash 10.1 FlashLite Video Codecs /Formats MPEG-1/MPEG-2/MPG-4(MP4 & MOV)/DivX(4/5)/Motion JPEG/H.264/WMV9/VC1/Real Video (RMVB – VGA Resolution) Audio Codecs MP3/WAV/WMA/AC3/AAC/OOG Max Resolution/Bitrate 1080p 40 Mbps Subtitles SRT/SMI/SUB/SSA File Systems FAT32 / NTFS(Read-Only) They are not using the default Android user interface, but their own customize UI, which can be a good thing on a TV. Their user interface has the usual Videos, Music, Pictures and […]

January 18, 2011January 18, 2011 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

Archos has released a new version of Appslib 2.0

Archos has just released a new version of AppsLib, the Android marketplace for tablets to be used with its Archos Android tablet including Archos 70 and Archos 101. The new version is Appslib 2.0 (Build 58): Faster, easier to use, multilingual, new icons, new category “adult content” and more to enjoy the thousands of apps available on AppsLib. The file is Appslib_2.apk. You can download it directly on your Archos device and install it there. You can also install it via your PC as follows: Click on the AppsLib icon on above to download the latest version of Appslib. Save the.apk file onto your PC’s hard drive. If the file extension is NOT “apk”, but is instead “zip”, change it to “apk”. Transfer the .apk file to a folder folder on your device. Unplug your device. Open the File Manager or AppInstaller on your tablet (note these names may be […]

January 18, 2011 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

Setup Citrix XenDesktop for Citrix Receiver

You may have seen the Motorola Atrix 4G at CES 2011 and its ability to run Windows 7 via the Citrix Receiver installed in the smartphone and the laptop dock. This can be interesting for small and large businesses alike since they could do with one (and more) Citrix server and a phone for each employee without the need for an extra laptop or desktop PC. Citrix does not only support Motorola Atrix 4G and you could install the receiver on your own smartphone or tablet free of charge: Windows Mobile Receiver 11.5 for Windows Mobile BlackBerry Receiver 2.0 for BlackBerry Android Receiver 2.0 for Android iPhone Receiver for iPhone iPad Receiver for iPad Today, I’ll show how to install Citrix XenDesktop (The “server” part of Citrix) in order to run Windows 7 or any other operating systems supported by Citrix. First download Citrix XenDesktop – Express Edition. The file […]

January 17, 2011January 25, 2011 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

SATA-IO Universal Storage Module (USM) Standard

The Serial ATA International Organization (Sata-IO) announced the Universal Storage Module (USM) standard at CES 2011. This standard mainly defines mechanical characteristics and some electrical specs for hard drives so that they can be connected to devices (PC, laptops, tablets, televisions, media players, set-top boxes…) via a slot without the need to have an extra cable. This also allows a SATA harddisk to be used as a USB harddrive via a standard adapter. Later on this will also support other connection standards such as Firewire. The specifications will only support 2.5″ HDD, not the larger 3.5″. Those specifications are not publicly available yet (Target: 1H 2011) since they are still developing them. In the mean time you can check the FAQ (below) and have a look a the USM presentation slides. Seagate showcased their GoFlex design based on the USM specs where you can see the forum factor of the SATA […]

January 14, 2011January 14, 2011 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Resources for Atmel AT91SAM9: SAM926X, SAM9GXX, SAM9M1X, SAM9XE…

Atmel AT91SAM9 – or simply Atmel SAM9 – series are versatile microcontrollers and embedded microprocessors used in variety of products such as internet radios, embedded p2p downloaders, smart grid in-home displays, and much more. Atmel SAM9 series are divided into five subsets: The original SAM9 MCU based on ARM926EJ-S running at between 210 and 240 Mhz, namely AT91SAM9260, AT91SAM9261, AT91SAM9261S and AT91SAM9263 SAM9G eMPU (Embedded MPU) based on ARM926EJ-S, a new generation based on SAM9 MCU architecture but running at between 266 and 400Mhz: AT91SAM9G10, AT91SAM9G20, AT91SAM9G45 and AT91SAM9G46. SAM9M eMPU based on ARM926EJ-S clocked at 400Mhz and with a video decoder: AT91SAM9M10 and AT91SAM9M11 SAM9R MCU based on ARM926EJ-S running at 210 Mhz with similar characteristic as the original SAM9 MCU, except it does not support USB Host but can be used as a High Speed USB device: AT91SAM9R64 and AT91SAM9RL64 SAM9XE MCU are also based on ARM926EJ-S running […]

January 13, 2011January 13, 2011 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Digital Signage at CES 2011: HumanKiosk, ng Connect Program and Displays

Digital Signage solutions were also presented at CES 2011. Mediatile HumanKiosk Mediatile showcased its HumanKiosk solution, a digital signage system allowing face to face conversion (customer <-> representative) via 4G/LTE cellular networks at the Verizon Wireless and Alcatel Lucent booths. This system allows potential customers to ask questions about a particular product or service to a (hopefully) knowledgeable person. In case of very specific knowledge (e.g. some banking products), the company providing the products can save money (no need to have such persons in all branches) and provide a better customer service. Here’s a demo below of the HumanKiosk. ng Connect Program Alcatel-Lucent made several announcements about its ng Connect Program and three features are aimed directly at digital signage / dooh applications: Media Hotspot: Alcatel-Lucent, Atlantic Records and MediaTile developed a new jukebox concept that allows consumers to purchase their favorite music, movies and more via their mobile phone […]

January 12, 2011November 30, 2012 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Nufront ARM Cortex-A9 Laptop running Ubuntu at CES 2011

Nufront (新岸线) showcased their minipc based on Nusmart 2816 at Techcon 2010, they are now back at CES 2011 to show off their laptop reference designs. They provide two laptop designs with 10″ and a 14″ displays. The mother board is the same for both devices, only the casing changes to accommodate the display. The laptops runs Ubuntu and Android 2.2. They will also support some undisclosed operating system(s) later on (It should be Windows 8 and/or Chrome OS). The processor is a dual core Cortex A9 running at 2GHz, so I suppose this is the Nusmart 2816. The laptop will have 1 or 2 GB RAM depending on the configuration. Nufront said those laptops should be available within 6 months. No indication of price has been given.

January 11, 2011 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Samsung Super Amoled Plus Displays

Samsung further improved their Super AMOLED technology and designed “Super AMOLED Plus” screens with the following characteristics: Easier Reading: Improved screen image (50% more sub-pixels (8 to 12)) Save Power Consumption: Real Black (i.e no energy is used to display black) Slimmer: Reduced panel depth by 14% This new technology will improve contrast and outdoor visibility. Samsung will release 2 smartphones (Samsung Infuse 4G – i997) using that technology later this year (Q2 2011) with 4.3″ and 4.5″ screens, using 1.2 GHz single core hummingbird processor and running Android 2.3 (gingerbread).