CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

January 23, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

$54 ZMI MF855 is Both a Power Bank and a Portable 4G Wireless Router

Tiny routers usually come with at least one USB port that allows you to connect a 3G or 4G cellular dongle, and since it’s often used on the go, or as a backup solution it makes sense to have a battery in the router as well, as was the case for Marstek MPR-N9 I covered way back in 2013. Xiaomi ZMI MF855 portable wireless router offers the same function but with an integrated 4G modem, a larger 7,800 mAh battery that can also be used to charge your other device. The router looks like a standard power bank from the outside. ZMI MF855 router key features: Cellular Connectivity 4G/3G and 2G networks Micro SIM card socket FDD-LTE bands – B1 1800 B3 2100 B7 2600 MHz TDD-LTE bands – B38 1900 B39 2300 B40 2500 B41 2600MHz WCDMA bands – B1 850 B2 900 B5 1900 B8 2100 MHz WiFi […]

January 23, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

Huaxintong StarDragon 4800 Server SoC is Based on Qualcomm Centriq 2400 Processor

Qualcomm started shipping samples of their Arm based Centriq 2400 server processors in 2016, before launching mass production the next year with three parts including Qualcomm Centriq 2460 48-core processor. Development seemed to go along nicely until Qualcomm allegedly decided to exit the server market in the middle of last year. The story got confusing when GIGABYTE still decided to launch their H221-Q20 server powered by Qualcomm Centriq 2400 processor last November, which would not make sense if Qualcomm is really existing the server market, and parts would not become unavailable after a short. But today, as I read the slides of GIGABYTE presentation at the HPC Asia workshop that took place on January 14-16, I realized Centriq 2460 is still alive but just changed owners… So the GIGABYTE H221-Q20 server is compatible with StarDragon 4800… What is that? StarDragon sounds familiar, a bit like Qualcomm Snapdragon. It turns out […]

January 23, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

HP Chromebook 11A G6 EE is Powered by AMD A4-9120C 6W Processor

AMD recently introduced the “new” AMD A6-9220C & A4-9120C low power processors specifically designed for Chromebooks. As pointed by CNX Software readers, AMD A6-9220 & A4-9120 processors (no “C”) have been around since 2016, and the just announced “C” (Chromebook) versions appears to be the same processors but with lower clock speed to meet the 6W TDP requirement. Two Chromebooks based on the new AMD processors – HP Chromebook 14 and Acer Chromebook 315 – were also showcased at CES 2019, and the former is now sold for $269.99. HP has already announced another AMD Chromebook with a smaller 11.6″ display: HP Chromebook 11A G6 EE (Education Edition). This model is expected to launch in February with the following specifications: SoC – AMD A4-9120C dual core processor @ 1.6 GHz / 2.4 GHz (Boost frequency), Radeon R4 graphics with 3 GPU Cores System Memory – 4GB of RAM Storage – […]

January 22, 2019April 13, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

RAK Wireless Introduces DIY Cellular LoRa Gateways, Raspberry Pi & 96Boards Compatible LoRa Modules

Raspberry Pi 3B+ professional LoRa gateway

RAK Wireless already has a decent offering of LoRa gateways and modules, but the company has been working on two new LoRa gateways, one Enterprise grade model – RAK7249 gateway – based on fully custom hardware, and the other – Pilot Gateway Pro RAK7243 – features a Raspberry Pi 3B+ board with Cellular & GPS connectivity on top of a LoRa radio. RAK Wireless will also introduce three RAK2245/RAK2248 LoRa concentrator modules that can easily be used with boards following Raspberry Pi, or 96Boards IoT edition form factors. RAK7249 DIY Enterprise LoRa Gateway Specifications: Main Board WiFi Module – RAK634 Module SoC – Mediatek MT7628N MIPS processor @ up to 580 MHz System Memory – 128MB DDR2 RAM Storage – 16MB SPI flash Connectivity – WiFi: 2×2 MIMO 802.11b/n/n mPCIe LoRa concentrator card Semtech SX1301 based Standard version with 8 channel Gateway and also support Max.16 channel Gateway. Tx Power […]

January 22, 2019May 31, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 14 Comments

Toybrick RK3399Pro Board is equipped with Rockchip RK3399Pro AI processor

We’ve heard about Rockchip RK3399Pro processor that adds an NPU (Neural-network Processing Unit) to Rockchip RK3399 hexa-core processor for about a year now. We’ve seen the official Rockchip RK3399Pro EVB in action last November, but this type of board is not usually for sale to the general public. The first RK3399Pro board that you could technically spend money on was Khadas Edge-1S via a crowdfunding campaign, but it’s still unclear when it will ship. Another option that I just discover is Toybrick RK3399Pro (TB-RK3399Pro) single board computer by VAMRS. Toybrick RK3399Pro board preliminary specifications: SoC – Rochchip RK3399Pro hexa-core big.LITTLE processor with 2x Cortex A72 cores up to 1.8/2.0 GHz, 4x Cortex A53 cores @ 1.4 GHz, and an Arm Mali-T860 MP4 GPU with OpenGL ES 1.1 to 3.2, OpenVG1.1, OpenCL 1.2 and DX 11 support, and NPU delivering up to 3 TOPS System Memory – 3 or 6 GB […]

January 22, 2019July 20, 2019 by Sponsored Post - Comments Off

Samsung Exynos 7904 Processor Enables Triple Camera Photography on Mid-Range Smartphones

Samsung has just introduced Exynos 7 Series 7904 (aka Exynos 7904) processor designed to bring better photography to mid-range smartphones thanks to an image signal processor supports single-camera resolution of up to 32-megapixels and a triple-camera setup. Samsung Exynos 7904 specifications: CPU – Dual-core Cortex-A73 up to 1.8 GHz, and hexa-core Cortex-A53 up to 1.6 GHz GPU – Mali-G71 MP2 Storage – eMMC 5.1 flash Memory – LPDDR4x Display – Up to Full HD+ (2400×1080) Camera – Rear 32MP, Front 32MP, Dual Camera 16MP+16MP Video – Up to 4K 30fps encoding and decoding with HEVC/H.265), H.264 and VP8, and decoding with VP9 LTE Modem – LTE Cat. 12 3CA 600Mbps (DL) / Cat.13 2CA 150Mbps (UL) Connectivity – Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 5.0, FM Radio GNSS – GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou, Galileo Process – 14nm FinFET Process Some of the key photography features made possible by the processor are explained in the […]

January 21, 2019January 22, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 8 Comments

Cost-Optimized Rock960 Model C Board Sells for $69 and Up

96Boards compliant Rock960 board launched last year for $99 with Rockchip RK3399 processor, 2 to 4GB RAM, 16 to 32GB eMMC flash for $99 and up. However, now you can buy a Rockchip RK3399 SBC for as low as $45 plus shipping thanks to FriendlyElec NanoPi NEO4 board that comes with 1GB RAM and no built-in storage, relying instead on a micro SD card slot or eMMC socket. So VAMRS decided to design a cheaper version of their board with Rock960 model C that still benefits from being part of the 96boards ecosystem, is equipped with 1, 2 or 4GB LPDDR4 RAM, and the OS can boot from a micro SD card or an optional eMMC flash module. The 1GB version of the board is now sold for $69 on Seeed Studio with shipping scheduled for the 1st of February 2019. Rock960 model C preliminary specifications: SoC – Rochchip RK3399 […]

CNX Software – Embedded Systems News