RAK Wireless launched its first Mini PCIe LoRaWAN concentrator module in 2018 with RAK833 mPCIe card featuring Semtech SX1301 LoRa baseband chip. It was soon followed by RAK2247 mPCIe with a very similar design but some tweaks to increase its maximum transmission power and range, and improve thermals and stability with the addition of a heatsink. The company has now introduced a new version with RAK2287 Mini PCie LoRaWAN concentrator module being mostly inspired by RAK2247 module but replacing Semtech SX1301 by Semtech SX1302 LoRa transceiver that’s suppose to reduce current consumption (and heat), lower the BoM cost, and able to handle a higher amount of traffic. The new mini PCIe card also adds u-blox ZOE-M8Q GPS system-in-package to provide GNSS functionality. RAK2287 key features and specifications: LoRa Connectivity Semtech SX1302 LoRa Transceiver with 2x SX1250 Tx/Rx front-end Tx power – up to 27dBm Rx sensitivity – down to -139dBm […]
ThinkCentre M75n IoT Nano Desktop Features a 6W AMD Athlon Silver 3050e Processor
Earlier today, we wrote about AMD 3015e dual-core/quad-thread Zen processor with 6W TDP found in some upcoming education laptops from Lenovo. We also noted that two other recent 6W AMD processors had been introduced by the company AMD 3020e and AMD Athlon Silver 3050e. When looking for AMD 3020e I got ACER ASPIRE A314-22-A8ST 14″ laptop with 4GB RAM and 256GB SSD listed for 9,590 Baht ($309 inc. 7% VAT) – but out of stock – on several Thai websites, but after switching to a US VPN all product reference disappeared, except for Lenovo Ideapad 3 soon getting an AMD 3020e model. None of the laptops are available now, but at least that means AMD does not only target the education market with its 6W SKUs. But when I searched for AMD Athlon Silver 3050e platforms, I realized Lenovo made an announcement last June about ThinkCentre M75n IoT Nano Desktop […]
nRF9160 Feather LTE IoT and GPS Board Launched for $99
Nordic Semi nRF9160 is a system-in-package part of nRF91 series offering NB-IoT and eMTC (LTE-M) IoT connectivity, as well as assisted GPS. The package is now accessible on a board following Adafruit Feather form factor. Made by Circuit Dojo (Jared Wolff), nRF9160 Feather board supports both CAT M1 LTE and NB-IoT, can be powered by a USB power adapter or a LiPo battery and runs Zephyr OS via the nRF Connect SDK. nRF9160 Feather specifications: SiP – Nordic Semiconductor nRF9160-SICA LTE-M/NB-IoT/GPS SIP with Arm Cortex-M33 MCU, 1024 KB flash, 256 KB SRAM Storage – Onboard 4MB NOR flash (note: upgraded from initial 2MB) Cellular Connectivity – LTE Cat-M1 (eMTC) and LTE NB1/NB2 (NB-IoT) plus 4FF SIM card slot, and u.FL connector for an external antenna GNSS – Built-in assisted GPS support plus u.FL connector for an external antenna Expansion – Feather I/Os (12+16 through holes) with digital and analog I/Os, […]
6W AMD 3015e Dual-Core “Zen” Processor Shows Up in Lenovo Laptops
While AMD has done a good job with their Ryzen processors based on Zen architecture, the company did not provide alternatives to low-cost, low-power Intel Gemini Lake processors with the closest equivalent being the 15W AMD Athlon 3000-series processors. But this may be about to change, as Lenovo has now unveiled two new education laptops, namely Lenovo 100e 2nd gen and Lenovo 300e 2nd gen, powered by a previously-unannounced 6W AMD 3015e processor, and expected to become available in September 2020 for $219 and up. AMD 3015e key features and specifications: CPU – 2x cores, 4x threads @ 1.2 GHz / 2.3 GHz (Boost) GPU – Vega 3 Graphics @ 600 MHz Cache – 1MB L2 cache, 4MB L3 cache Memory I/F – Single-channel DDR4 up to 1,600 MHz Video – HDMI and DisplayPort Peripheral Interfaces – PCIe 3.0 TDP – 6W Process – 14nm Based on the product page, […]
Comfile Launches 15-inch Industrial Raspberry Pi Touch Panel PC Powered by RPi CM3 Module
Three years ago, we noted Comfile has made 7-inch and 10.2-inch touch panel PC’s powered by Raspberry Pi 3 Compute Module. The company has recently introduced a new model with a very similar design except for a larger 15-inch touchscreen display with 1024×768 resolution. ComfilePi CPi-A150WR 15-inch industrial Raspberry Pi touch panel PC still features the CM3 module, and the same ports including Ethernet, USB ports, RS232, RS485, and I2C interfaces accessible via terminal blocks, and a 40-pin I/O header. ComfilePi CPi-A150WR specifications: SoM – Raspberry Pi Compute Module 3 Lite (CM3L) with Broadcom BCM2837 quad-core Arm Cortex-A53 processor @ 1.2 GHz with VideoCore IV GPU, and 1GB RAM Display – 15″ LCD with 1024 × 768 resolution, 16.7 million colors, pressure-sensitive touch screen (resistive type) Audio – Stereo Audio Output Connectivity – 10/100M Ethernet, optional WiFi via USB dongle USB – 3x USB 2.0 ports Serial – 1x RS232C […]
MINIX Unveils USB-C Hub with 960GB SSD, 100W USB Charger
MINIX, the Hong Kong company, is well-known for its Android media hubs and Windows 10 mini PC‘s but in recent years they’ve started designing accessories for Windows & Mac computers and laptops. In the past, we’ve checked out MINIX NEO C Plus USB-C Adapter, an M.2 SSD card pre-loaded Windows 10 Pro for N42C-4 Mini PC, and another USB-C hub with integrated 120 or 240GB SSD. The company has now unveiled four new accessories with three USB-C hubs, including one with a 480GB or 960GB SSD, and one compact 100W USB charger using the latest Gallium Nitride (GaN) technology. This morning, I received two pairs of USB-C hubs with different colors and two 100W USB chargers. The model I did not get – MINIX NEO Storage Pro – is specifically made for Apple MacBook Air and MacBook Pro with built-in SSD storage, HDMI 2.0 up to 4K @ 60 Hz, […]
Linux 5.8 Release – Main Changes, Arm, MIPS, and RISC-V Architectures
Linus Torvalds has just released Linux 5.8: So I considered making an rc8 all the way to the last minute, but decided it’s not just worth waiting another week when there aren’t any big looming worries around. Because despite the merge window having been very large, there really hasn’t been anything scary going on in the release candidates. Yeah, we had some annoying noise with header file dependencies this week, but that’s not a new annoyance, and it’s also not the kind of subtle bug that keeps me up at night worrying about it. It did reinforce how nice it would be if we had some kind of tooling support to break nasty header file dependencies automatically, but if wishes were horses.. Maybe some day we’ll have some kind of SAT-solver for symbol dependencies that can handle all our different architectures and configurations, but right now it’s just a manual […]
Intel powered 2.4-inch Mini PC’s Show up as Alternatives to CHUWI LarkBox
Leaving HDMI PC sticks aside, we started to see really small, pocket-sized Intel mini-PCs last year with ECS LIVA Q2 micro PC with a dual-core N4100 Gemini Lake processor and measuring 70x70x33.4 mm. CHUWI managed to design an even smaller Gemini Lake Mini PC with Larkbox mini PC powered by a Celeron J4115 quad-core processor and measuring 61x61x43mm (2.4″ x 2.4″ x 1.7″). It looks like they may have launched a new 2.4-inch Mini PC form factor, as at least two other models with pretty much the same dimensions, but different specifications, have come to our attention. XCY X51 2.4-inch Mini PC Specifications: SoC – Intel Celeron N4100 quad-core Gemini Lake processor @ 1.1 / 2.4 GHz with Intel UHD Graphics 600; 6W TDP System Memory – 8GB LPDDR4 Storage – 128GB M.2 2242 SSD, MicroSD card slot Video Output – HDMI 2.0 up to 4K @ 60 Hz Audio […]