CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

September 18, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Boardcon Idea3399 Features-Rich SBC Comes with M.2 NVMe SSD and 4G LTE PCIe Sockets

Back in 2017, Boardcon introduced EM3399 single board computer powered by a Rockchip RK3399 processor through the company’s PICO3399 SO-DIMM system-on-module. They’ve now designed another RK3399 SBC – Idea3399 – comprised of a baseboard and module, but instead of re-using the SO-DIMM module, CM3399 system-on-module with castellated holes was used instead. The new board comes with many of the same features as their first board but adds an M.2 NVMe SSD slot and mPCIe socket for 4G LTE modem on the back of the board. CM3399 SoM Key features and specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3399 dual Cortex-A72 @ 1.8GHz + quad Cortex-A53 @ 1.4GHz System Memory – 4GB LPDDR4 Storage – 8GB eMMC flash 202 castellated pin (1.3mm pitch) with USB2.0 host, USB3.0 host, USB OTG, UART, MIPI, Ethernet, SPI, HDMI out, I2C, I2S, PCI Express, SDIO, SD/MMC, eDP, Camera, PWM, ADC IN, etc… Power – Supply Voltage: 5V; RK808 PMU Dimensions – 55 x 50mm (8 Layers, complying with …

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September 18, 2019 by Stephen Vicinanza - 1 Comment

CHUWI UBook Pro is a Low-Cost Alternative to Microsoft Surface Pro 6 with an Intel m3-8100Y Processor (Crowdfunding)

Introduction UBook Pro The latest 2-in-1 tablet/laptop from CHUWI, is the UBook Pro, that the Chinese manufacturer hopes will rival the Microsoft Surface Pro 6. CHUWI Background The company has been manufacturing tablet/laptop computers since 2013. They targeted the mobile office industry with the UBook, and now the UBook Pro, with focus on versatility, quality, performance, and portability. Processor Improvements UBook Pro has some interesting enhancements to their original tablet. The processor is the first big change, being an upgrade from an Intel Core m3-6Y30 processor of the previous UBook tablet, to a high-efficiency 8th Gen Intel Core m3-8100Y processor with a claimed overall increase in performance of 50% compared to the original UBook tablets. Display Ability The 12.3-inch FHD IPS full lamination screen has a 3:2 ratio, which can be found on the Surface Pro, HUAWEI Matebook and others, delivers a vivid picture with exceptional resolution. The design is meant for the office work of many types and built …

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September 17, 2019September 17, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

[email protected] 15 Touch is a 15″ 2-in-1 Laptop Dock for Samsung DeX Devices and Smartphones with a USB-C Port

We’ve already covered several laptop docks for smartphones such as NexDock 2. AFAICR, all those modes would come with a full laptop body with non-touch display and keyboard. “Losing the wires” company offers something slightly different with their [email protected] 15 Touch as it aims to convert Samsung DeX smartphones into 2-in-1 hybrid laptops. That means the 15″ display comes with a touchscreen, and the keyboard is separate. [email protected] 15 Touch kit includes the following items and features: 15.6″ LCD display Full HD/1080p resolution (1920 x 1080 pixels) with 10 point capacitive touch USB – 1x USB-C port to smartphone, 1 x micro-USB port for peripherals, 1x USB- C charge port Video Output – Mini-HDMI in for use as a secondary display for another device Battery – Up to 4 or up to 7 hours life (model specific) Dimensions – 356 x 224 x 9mm Weight – 900g (without case) UK Bluetooth keyboard with trackpad UK charger, USB-C smartphone cable and …

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September 17, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Wi-Fi Certified 6 Program Available for Products based on Broadcom, Cypress, Intel, Marvell, and Qualcomm 802.11ax Chips

Last year the WiFi alliance introduces a new naming scheme for WiFi using numbers instead of IEEE standards so that WiFI 4 is 802.11n, WiFi 5 is 802.11ac, and WiFi 6 is the latest 802.11ax standard with data throughput up to 10 Gbps, and a better ability to manage high-density scenarios. Shortly after (November 2018) we also got news of the first WiFi 6 routers from ASUS and NETGEAR, but the WiFi alliance only just announced the launch of their Wi-Fi Certified 6 program that promises optimal interoperability and security. The program will make sure the following features are properly implemented: WPA3 WiFi security Orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA): effectively shares channels to increase network efficiency and lower latency for both uplink and downlink traffic in high demand environments Multi-user multiple input multiple output (MU-MIMO): allows more downlink data to be transferred at once and enables an access point to transmit data to a larger number of devices concurrently …

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September 17, 2019 by Stephen Vicinanza - 9 Comments

BalenaOS may be the First Fully Functional 64-bit OS for Raspberry Pi 4

BalenaOS 64-Bit OS Balena just announced the release of a 64-bit OS for the Raspberry Pi 4, that latest release of the iconic SBC. BalenaOS is designed to run 32-bit and 64-bit Docker containers side-by-side and simultaneously. It also supports up to 4GB of memory, to accomplish that feat. The balenaOS also supports several other embedded systems and versions of Raspberry Pi How BalenaOS Is Set Up The BalenaOS is opensource, Yocto Linux-based host OS made for containers. The workflow is fast and current and allows for a number of different embedded systems, but especially Raspberry Pi 4 in a 64-bit environment. The Main Advantage With the advances in the Raspberry Pi 4 platform, the faster data throughput, improved graphics handling, and the faster processor speeds, the BalenaOS is taking full advantage of the Raspberry Pi 4. It adds a wide variety of possibilities to a platform that was waiting for this improvement. Embedded System Function The OS has developed …

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September 16, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 10 Comments

MINIX Unveils NEO T5 & NEO U22-XJ Amlogic S905X2 / S922XJ Android TV Media Hubs

We’ve already seen MINIX showcased a fanless Gemini Lake mini PC at IFA 2019, but the company also had two upcoming Amlogic TV boxes on display at the event. MINIX NEO T5 features Amlogic S905X2 quad-core Cortex-A53 processor, while MINIX NEO U22-XJ TV box is powered by an Amlogic S922XJ hexa-core Cortex-A73/A53 processor. The former runs Android TV 9.0 with Google certification, while the latter comes pre-loaded with Android 9.0 OS. I had never heard about S922XJ, and apparently, Amlogic has yet to formally announce it, so I wonder whether it could be Amlogic S922X-B tipped by Khadas a while ago with higher CPU & GPU clock speeds. The processor will also come with Dolby Vision and Dolby Audio licenses, and Amlogic has a history of giving different processor names depending on the audio licenses. MINIX NEO T5 Specifications: SoC – Amlogic S905X2 quad-core Arm Cortex-A53 processor with Arm Mali-G31 MP2 GPU System Memory – 2GB DDR3 Storage – 16GB …

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September 16, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

Linux 5.3 Release – Main Changes, Arm, MIPS & RISC-V Architectures

Linus Torvalds has just announced the release of Linux 5.3: So we’ve had a fairly quiet last week, but I think it was good that we ended up having that extra week and the final rc8. Even if the reason for that extra week was my travel schedule rather than any pending issues, we ended up having a few good fixes come in, including some for some bad btrfs behavior. Yeah, there’s some unnecessary noise in there too (like the speling fixes), but we also had several last-minute reverts for things that caused issues. One _particularly_ last-minute revert is the top-most commit (ignoring the version change itself) done just before the release, and while it’s very annoying, it’s perhaps also instructive. What’s instructive about it is that I reverted a commit that wasn’t actually buggy. In fact, it was doing exactly what it set out to do, and did it very well. In fact it did it _so_ well that …

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September 15, 2019September 20, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

PineTime is a $25 Smartwatch / Companion for PinePhone Linux Phone

We’ve recently seen Linux smartphones are coming in a few weeks or months, but the $150 PinePhone may not come alone, and soon be joined by a $25 companion, namely PineTime smartwatch. That’s what we learned through a tweet by Pine64 explaining the PineTime is a Linux smartphone companion that can run FreeRTOS or Arm Mbed operating systems. It will be a side-project however, and the focus is still on PinePhone and Pinebook Pro, meaning it will take a while depending on the level of community engagement. Available information is limited to the discussion in the tweet at this stage, but we do know the watch will be made of zinc alloy & plastic, come with a charging dock, a 20 mm wristband, an heart-rate monitor and last several days on a charge. We’ve also seen people interested in porting ZephyrOS to the watch, and others would like to make it work with Android and/or iOS smartphones. Development kits should …

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