CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

January 31, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 22 Comments

PineBook Pro Linux / BSD Rockchip RK3399 Laptop Coming Up for $200

Pine64 announced the Pinebook laptop in 2016. The ultra cheap ($89 and up) laptop was based on Allwinner A64 quad core Cortex A53 processor coupled with 2GB RAM, 16GB storage, and a 11.6″ or 14″ display. It was never meant to be a replacement for your current laptop due to the low end specifications, but you could still use it to tinker with Arm Linux or *BSD, as a lightweight portable terminal, etc… Pine64 made several announcements in a single blog post right before FOSDEM 2019 where they’ll showcase some of their upcoming products including the Pinephone development kit that’s use to develop software for the upcoming Pinephone open source phone, PineTab *BSD/Linux-only tablet with Allwinner A64 SoC, and an 11.6″ display like Pinebook laptop, a retro gaming case compatible with Rock64 and Rock64Pro boards, an open source IP camera based on Allwinner S3L processor, Pine H64 Model B (Allwinner […]

January 30, 2019January 31, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 26 Comments

MXCHIP EMW3060 WiFi IoT module sells for less than $2

Over the last few years, we’ve seen several Arm based WiFi IoT modules trying to compete with Tensilica based ESP8266 including Pine64 PADI IoT Stamp and Air602 WiFi IoT modules with similar functionalities and price (around $2) as the Espressif modules. I have not seen many projects with any of those Arm based wireless modules, likely because Espressif Systems software ecosystem is mature, and it’s hard to compete for new entrants. Nevertheless there’s a new Arm WiFi IoT module, not based on Cortex-M core, but instead, MXCHIP EMW3060 is equipped with an older ARM9 core, 256KB RAM, and 2MB flash, and sells for just $1.79 on Seeed Studio in single quantity. The price further drops to $1.55 per unit if you order 50 pieces or more. MXCHIP EMW3060 WiFi IoT module specifications: SoC ARM9 core clocked at 120 MHz System Memory – 256KB SRAM Storage – 2MB flash Connectivity – […]

January 30, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 10 Comments

Kodi 18 “Leia” Released Ahead of FOSDEM 2019

As one should have expected based on the abstract of the upcoming Kodi presentation at FOSDEM 2019, Kodi 18 “Leia” has just been released a few days before the 2-day open source developer event. It’s been nearly two years since the release of Kodi 17 “Krypton”, and it took a little longer than initially expected for Kodi 18 to become stable enough for an official since there have been so many changes including half a million lines of code added by 36 open source developers, close to 10,000 commits for almost 9,000 changed files. Some of the improvements in Kodi 18 include: Retroplayer gaming with support for gaming emulators, ROMs and game controls. Digital Rights Management (DRM) decryption support to play subscription content Improved Music Library with better filtering, faster API access, and more Live TV improvements including support for new back-ends like Zattoo, Teleboy, and Sledovanitv.cz, as well as enhanced […]

January 29, 2019January 30, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

AAEON AIOT-IP6801IP68 IoT Gateway Handles Rough Environments

There are plenty of IoT gateways to play with, but if your gateway needs to operate in rough environments, like outdoors or on a boat, you’d need to find one that is water and dust proof event for your environment. AAEON AIOT-IP6801 IoT gateway should meet most people requirements with IP68 ingress protection rating, an Intel Apollo Lake processor, up to 4GB memory, 32GB eMMC flash, built-in support for Ethernet, WiFi 802.11ac and Bluetooth 4.0, as well as optional support for LoRa, 3G/4G LTE, and IQRF connectivity. AAEON AIOT-IP6801 IP68 IoT gateway specifications: SoC (one or the other) Intel Atom E3940 quad-core processor clocked at 1.6 GHz / 1.8 GHz (Turbo) with a 12 EU Intel HD Graphics 500; 9.5W TDP Intel Celeron N3350 dual-core processor clocked at 1.1 GHz / 2.4 GHz (Turbo) with a 12 EU Intel HD Graphics 500; 6W TDP Memory – 2GB or 4GB LPDDR4 […]

January 29, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 23 Comments

Raspberry Pi Compute Module 3+ Launched with Broadcom BCM2837B0 Processor, Up to 32GB Flash

Raspberry Pi 3 Compute Modules CM3 and CM3L launched about two years ago based on Broadcom BCM2837 quad core processor found in Raspberry Pi 3 board. Last year, the Raspberry Pi Foundation introduced Raspberry Pi 3B+ board with a slightly faster Broadcom BCM2837B0 processor, Gigabit Ethernet, and WiFi 802.11ac. So it would have made sense for the foundation to provide an upgrade to their CM3 compute modules with Broadcom BCM2837B0 processor, and that’s exactly what they’ve done with the launch of Raspberry Pi Compute Module 3+ for $25 and up. There are four variants of Raspberry Pi Compute Module 3+ with different storage options and sharing the following specifications: SoC – Broadcom BCM2837B0 quad core Cortex A53 processor @ 1.2 GHz with Videocore IV GPU System Memory – 1GB LPDDR2 SDRAM Storage CM3+/Lite – SD card signals through SO-DIMM connector CM3+/8GB – 8GB eMMC flash CM3+/16 GB – 16GB eMMC […]

January 28, 2019 by Ian W MORRISON (Linuxium) - 5 Comments

Pepper Jobs GLK-UC2X Mini PC Review with Windows 10 and Ubuntu 18.10

Pepper Jobs GLK-UC2X Teardown heat pipe cooling

Pepper Jobs is a new company led by Ken Wong who was formerly MINIX’s product director and defined many innovative products such as NEO-X series Android media hubs and NEO-Z series Intel-based mini PCs. The first Pepper Jobs designed and released mini PC is the GLK-UC2X targeting small business, 4K home theater, and living room use with an emphasis on low power and great savings on electricity bills. The GLK-UC2X contains an Intel Celeron N4100 Processor Gemini Lake SOC which is a quad-core processor bursting up to 2.40 GHz together with the Intel UHD Graphics 600 processor that is capable of 4K support at 60Hz. It physically consists of an approximately 139mm (5.5″) square case about 33mm (1.3”) tall with a side panel that includes the power button, a couple of USB ports, a Type C USB port and a micro SD card slot with the rest of the ports […]

January 28, 2019January 28, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

nRF52840 MDK Base Dock Adds AA Battery Holder, Grove Connectors

Makerdiary nRF52840 Micro Development Kit (MDK) is a breadboard-friendly devkit for Nordic Semi nRF52840 multi-protocol wireless SoC that supports Bluetooth 5.0, Thread, IEEE 802.15.4, ANT, and 2.4GHz proprietary, and various popular frameworks or OS such as Arm Mbed OS, or the Zephyr Project. nRF52840 MDK Base Dock makes development just a little easier, by adding an AA battery holder, and four Grove connectors compatible with Seeed Studio’s Grove modules. nRF52840 MDK Base Dock specifications: Dual 2×18 Socket Headers compatible with nRF52832-MDK & nRF52840-MDK 4 Grove connectors with selectable UART/I2C/I2S/PDM/QDEC/SPI/ADC NFC tag-A PCB Antenna Power Power button with latching circuit AA battery holder Synchronous, Step-up Converter with VIN>VOUT Down Mode Operation 0.8V-to-4V Input Range 3.3V Output with Over-Current Protection Battery level sensing with 1:2 voltage divider on AIN2 Low power consumption: 5uA Shutdown Current; 145uA Idle Current Dimensions – 58mm x 54mm x 17mm The board also adds an NFC PCB […]

January 28, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments

WeTek Air Hybrid 4K HDR Set-top Box Now Available for 119 Euros and Up

We previously covered WeTek Air, an upcoming Android TV set-top box taking DVB-T2/C, DVB-S2 or ATSC tuner cards and certified by Google. The company has now officially launched the device, and you can buy WeTek Air for 119.00 Euros without tuner or for 129.90 Euros with either a DVB-S2 or DVB-T2/C tuners. Just two caveats, only 400 pieces are available now, and they will only ship to Europe, although a worldwide launch is planned for the next batch. Here’s a reminder of the specifications: SoC – Amlogic S905D quad core Arm processor System Memory – 2 GB DDR4 Storage – 16 GB eMMC flash + micro SD card slot Video & Audio Output – HDMI 2.0a up to 4K @ 60Hz with HDR-10 support Video codecs – H.265 & H.264 AVC up to 4K60Hz, H.264 MVC, MPEG-4 ASP, VC-1, AVS, MPEG-2, MPEG-1 up to 1080p60 Audio codecs – MP3, AAC, […]