CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

July 16, 2020July 16, 2020 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

Pinephone “Community Edition: PostmarketOS” Launched with 3GB RAM, 32GB Flash, USB-C Hub

After PinePhone “BraveHeart Edition” with any OS pre-installed introduced at the end of last year, Pine64 launched PinePhone “Community Edition: UBports” with Ubuntu Touch last April, and now the company is taking pre-orders for Pinephone “Community Edition: PostmarketOS with Convergence Package”. Besides using a different operating system, the new PinePhone also got a hardware upgrade with 3GB RAM and 32GB flash instead of the 2GB/16GB configuration from earlier models. Due to the changes and the addition of a USB-C dock for convergence, the price has also gone up from $149.99 to $199.99 with shipping scheduled to start at the end of August. If you don’t need the extra memory, storage, and convergence package, you can still pre-order PinePhone with postmarketOS for $149.99. PinePhone “Community Edition: PostmarketOS with Convergence Package” specifications: SoC – Allwinner A64 quad-core Cortex-A53 processor @ up to 1.2 GHz with Arm Mali-400MP2 GPU System Memory – 3GB […]

July 15, 2020 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 8 Comments

GloDroid Brings Android 10 OS to Raspberry Pi 4, Orange Pi SBC’s, PinePhone, and PineTab

The community of developers working on software for single board computers often prefer to focus on Linux support, as companies will often provide Android firmware images. But those Android OS images are often not maintained at all, so we’ve seen some projects like the past such as H3droid bringing a better Android OS to Allwinner H3 and H2+ boards and devices. The project is still using Android 4.4 KitKat and that’s getting old with some apps like the latest version of Kodi not working anymore. But a new project has just been brought to my attention with GloDroid leveraging AOSP to bring Android 10 to various Allwinner based boards and platforms, as well as Raspberry Pi 4B. List of supported Allwinner hardware: Allwinner H3 (32-bit) based – Orange Pi Plus 2 SBC, Orange Pi Plus 2E board, Orange Pi PC Allwinner H5 (64-bit) based – Orange Pi Prime, Orange Pi […]

Graperain Samsung, Rockchip, and Qualcomm CPU modules, SBCs, and carrier boards

July 15, 2020January 30, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

Kano PC 2-in-1 DIY Hybrid Laptop is Powered by an Intel Celeron N4000 Gemini Lake SoC

Kano PC DIY computer kit was launched last year with a low-end Intel Atom x5-Z8350 processor and designed to help kids learn about computers. The company has now launched the second-generation Kano PC with a faster Intel Celeron N4000 dual-core processor, and longer battery life making the 2-in-1 DIY Hybrid laptop/tablet capable of rivaling with entry-level laptops and Chromebooks. Kano PC specifications: SoC – Intel Celeron N4000 dual-core Gemini Lake processor @ 1.10 GHz with Intel UHD graphics; 6W TDP System Memory – 4GB DDR3L RAM Storage – 64GB eMMC flash with 164 MB/s write speed, MicroSD slot Display – 11.6″ touchscreen with 1366 x 768 resolution Video Output – 1x HDMI port Audio – 3.5mm headphone jack, 3.5mm speaker level jack, 1x microphone Connectivity – Dual-band Wi-Fi 4 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 5.0 USB – 2x USB 3.0, 1x USB-C LEDs – 1x power on (red), 1x barrel connector (red), […]

July 15, 2020 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

STM32 IoT Discovery Kit Runs AWS-Ready FreeRTOS, Supports Arduino and Pmod Expansion Boards

STMicroelectronics STM32 IoT Discovery Kit is supposed to ease software development for IoT nodes thanks to a qualified port of FreeRTOS integrated into the STM32Cube ecosystem, and ready to connect to Amazon Web Services (AWS). The hardware is comprised of an STM32L4+ Cortex-M4F microcontroller, various MEMS sensors, a secure element, and offers WiFi, Bluetooth 4.2, and NFC connectivity. STM32 IoT Discovery Kit (B-L4S5I-IOT01A) key features and specifications: MCU – STMicro STM32L4+ (STM32L4S5VIT6) Arm Cortex-M4F microcontroller with 2 MB Flash, 640 KB RAM in LQFP100 package storage – 64 Mbit Quad-SPI Flash Connectivity Bluetooth 4.1 module (STMicro SPBTLE-RF) 802.11 b/g/n compliant Wi-Fi module (Inventek ISM43362-M3G-L44) Dynamic NFC tag based on ST25DV04K with its printed NFC antenna USB – Micro USB OTG port STMicro Sensors 2 digital omnidirectional microphones (MP34DT01) Relative humidity and temperature sensor (HTS221) 3-axis magnetometer (LIS3MDL) 3D accelerometer and 3D gyroscope (LSM6DSL) 260-1260 hPa absolute digital output barometer (LPS22HB) […]

July 14, 2020 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

Wainlux K6 & Alfawise C50 Mini Laser Engravers Offered for $130 and Up

A few days ago I saw Wainlux K6 “most compact, powerful and simple-to-use” laser engraver on Kickstarter for about $159. I did not think too much of it at the time, but this morning I thought it already showed up for pre-order on GearBest for $129.99 as Alfawise C50. But I was mistaken, as both products are different, albeit sharing some of the same attributes. Nevertheless, this brought back my curiosity about these types of devices, especially with Wainlux K6 having already managed to raise over $200,000 from close to 1,400 backers so far. So let’s look at both. Wainlux K6 Laser Engraver Key features and specifications: Laser Source – OSRAM Semiconductor blue color laser Laser Power – Up to 3,000 mW, 100 adjustable levels of power Engraving area – 8 x 8 cm Routing Speed – 1500 mm/min maximum Resolution – 508 dpi adjustable Lifetime Estimation – 10,000 hours […]

July 14, 2020 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 10 Comments

Compact Wind Turbine Generates Up to 800 Watts, Outputs 12V or 24V DC

If I had to install some equipment at home were the mains are not easily accessible or would result in long cables, I’d immediately think about issuing solar panels to charge a battery, and discard the idea of using a wind turbine since in my mind those are really large and need to be fitted to a tall pole to be effective. But I’ve recently come across a relatively compact wind turbine that generates up to 800 Watts and outputs 12V to 24V DC. Key features and specifications: Rated Power – 800W Voltage 12V/24V Generator – 3phase AC PMG Rated wind speed – 11.5m/s Safe wind speed – 55m/s Wind direction auto adjustment Number of blades – 3 to 6 Windwheel diameter – 1.35m Material – High-strength PA66 and fiber-reinforced nylon Temperature Range – -40℃-80℃ Those are the specifications for the model I found on Banggood ($295.99), and I have […]

Rockchip RK3568, RK3588 and Intel x86 SBCs and SoMs in 2025

July 14, 2020 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 10 Comments

Brume-W Pocket-Sized Wireless Gateway Runs OpenWrt or Ubuntu (Crowdfunding)

GL.iNet Brume-W (GL-MV1000W) is a “pocket-sized wireless gateway for edge computing” that supports high-speed VPN up to 280Mbps with WireGuard, AdGuard ad-blocking software (AdGuard), and Tor. The device features three Gigabit Ethernet ports and built-in 2.4 GHz WiFi 4 connectivity, but it also supports Alfa AWUS036AC and AWUS036ACS USB WiFf USB dongles for users wanting dual-band WiFi 5 (AC) networking. The router ships with OpenWrt pre-installed, but also supports Ubuntu. Brume-W specifications: SoC – Marvell ARMADA 88F3720 (aka ARMADA 3720) dual-core Cortex-A53 processor @ 1.0 GHz with packet processor/network accelerator System Memory – 1GB DDR4 Storage – 16MB NOR flash and 8GB eMMC flash, MicroSD card slot up to 256GB Connectivity 3x Gigabit Ethernet ports (1x WAN + 2x LAN) Built-in 2.4 GHz 802.11b/g/n WiFi 4 up to 300 Mbps with external WiFi antennas Support for external 802.11ac WiFI 5 USB dongles USB – 1x USB host port, 1x USB-C […]

July 13, 2020 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 15 Comments

Mythic Beasts, miniNodes Offer Raspberry Pi 4 Hosting Services

Mythic Beats is the company offering hosting services for the Raspberry Pi website, and following Eben Upton proposal they decided to host the website on eighteen Raspberry Pi 4 boards, fourteen of which used as LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP) servers, as well as two used as static servers with Apache, and the final two used as memory store using memcache. Two days before Raspberry Pi 4 8GB RAM launch, they tested the implementation with “normal” traffic (e.g. around one million visitors a day), and the day of the launch, tens of millions visitors came to the website, and it failed, but not because of a failure of the Raspberry Pi cluster, but instead due to a Cloudflare glitch. This is all explained in Raspberry Pi blog. This is all for internal use, but you could also get your own hosted Raspberry Pi 4 board, as Mythic Beast recently added […]

Boardcon LGA3576 Rockchip RK3576 System-on-Module designed for AI and IoT applications