CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

October 9, 2018October 9, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

AAEON UPC-GWS01 is Tiny IoT Gateway Powered by UP Core Board

AAEON’s UP Core is an affordable and compact Intel Atom x5-Z8350 based board that was launched last year on Kickstarter for 69 Euros and up. The company has now integrated the board into at least one of their product with UPC-GWS01, a tiny IoT gateway with WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity, as well as support for optional 3G/4G LTE connectivity via a mini PCIe slot. A carrier board for UP Core also added Ethernet and a DB9 serial port to the setup. AAEON UPC-GWS01 specifications: SoC – Intel Atom x5-Z8350 quad core Cherry Trail processor with Intel HD 400 graphics System Memory – 1GB/ 2GB/ 4GB onboard DDR3L-1600 Storage – 16GB/32GB/64GB eMMC Video and Audio Output – 1x HDMI port Connectivity Gigabit Ethernet via Realtek 8111G WIFI 802.11 b/g/n @ 2.4 GHz (WiFi 4) and Bluetooth 4.0 Optional 3G/4G cellular connectivity via mPCIe socket USB – 1x USB 3.0 host port […]

October 8, 2018October 8, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

wESP32 ESP32 Board Supports “Isolated” PoE (Crowdfunding)

Olimex introduced their ESP32-POE board a few months ago, and started selling it for 17.50 Euros last month, but it’s always good to have more options and Silicongnition has designed another ESP32 board with power over Ethernet named wESP32. wESP32 board specifications: Wireless Module – Espressif Systems ESP32-WROOM-32 module with WiFi 802.11n (WiFi 4) and Bluetooth 4.2 LE connectivity Connectivity 10/100M Ethernet (RJ45) with auto-MDIX allowing the use of both straight and cross-over Ethernet cables Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n and Bluetooth v4.2 BR/EDR (via ESP32 module ) Expansion – Unpopulated 20-pin header with 3.3 V, V+ power, and 15 of the ESP32 GPIOs Power Supply Default 12 V output setting for V+ provides 12.95+ W of power Optional (bridge solder jumper) 5 V output setting for V+ provides 5 W of power IEEE 802.3at Type 1 Class 0 compliant PoE 3.3 V output with up to 6 W of power (taken […]

October 7, 2018October 7, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 38 Comments

The First Class A2 Micro SD Cards Launched for $30 and Up

Last year, the SD association introduced Class A2 application performance class for SD cards designed for optimal performance when running an OS or programs from the cards thanks to fast read and write random I/O, specifically 400O IOPS minimum for read operations, 2000 IOPS minimum for write operations. Since Class A2 was announced about 18 months ago, I simply assumed Class A2 SD cards were already available, but to my surprise I was wrong, as according to AnandTech, Sandisk Extreme micro SD cards are the first of the kind soon-to-be available commercially. Sandisk Extreme micro SD card specification: Capacity – 64GB, 128GB, 256GB, or 400GB Interface – UHS-I Sequential Speeds – Read: Up to 160 MB/s; Write: Up to 90MB/s (128GB to 400GB), up to 70MB/s (64GB) Random Speeds – Read: >= 4000 IOPS; Write: >=2000 IOPS SDA Labels – C10, U3, V30, A2 Temperature Range – -25 to 80°C […]

October 6, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 13 Comments

A95X Plus TV Box Features Amlogic S905Y2 Processor

Amlogic showcased three reference platforms based on new processors namely S905Y2, S905X2, and S922X at ICB 2018. Let’s forget about the more powerful S922X processor for now since it should be released a bit latter, but S905Y2 was integrated into a HDMI stick reference design, while S905X2 was found in a TV box reference design. We’ve also covered an Amlogic S905X2 TV box with X96 MAX model, but today I came across a model based on Amlogic S905Y2 processor instead. Meet A95X Plus.A95X Plus TV box specifications: SoC – Amlogic S905Y2 quad core ARM Cortex-A53 @ up to 1.8 GHz (TBC) with Mali-G31 MP2 “Dvalin” GPU System Memory – 4GB LPDDR4 Storage – 32GB flash, micro SD card slot (but not visible on any of the photos) Video & Audio Output – HDMI 2.0a output with HDR, AV port (composite) Video Codecs – VP9 Profile-2 up to 4K 60fps, 10-bit […]

October 5, 2018October 11, 2018 by Ian W MORRISON (Linuxium) - 10 Comments

Beelink X55 Review – An Intel Gemini Lake mini PC Tested with Windows 10 and Linux

The Beelink X55 is very similar in style to Intel’s NUC7PJYH NUC reviewed earlier except that it is not a kit but a fully functional Windows mini PC. It is physically small consisting of an approximately 4.5″ by 4” case about 1¾” tall with a front panel that includes the power button and a couple of USB ports and a headphone jack with the rest of the ports including two HDMI (2.0) ones at the rear: The specifications include: The key highlights are that the Beelink X55 comes a 128GB mSATA SSD with pre-installed Windows 10 Home together with 8GB DDR4 RAM (soldered and is non-expandable) and space plus a connector for an SSD. Starting with a quick look at the hardware information shows it is mostly aligned to the specification but see the note below about the memory: As usual I ran my standard set of benchmarking tools to […]

October 4, 2018June 29, 2020 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

Texas Instruments To Finally Launch a 64-bit Processor with AM654 SoC

Texas Instruments has a wide portfolio of Arm-based processors targeting industrial control with their Sitara family. So all their models, including the latest Sitara AM57x family, were based on 32-bit Arm cores. But a somewhat recent Linux mainline kernel commit reveals the company has been working on a 64-bit Arm processor family, namely AM65x family, and one the first processor will be TI AM654 “Keystone III” quad-core Arm Cortex-A53 + dual lockstep Cortex-R5F processor. The AM654 SoC is said to be a lead device of the K3 multicore SoC architecture targeting both the broad market and industrial control. Some of the key features and specifications include: CPU – Quad ARMv8 A53 cores split over two clusters GPU – PowerVR SGX544 GICv3 compliant GIC500 Configurable L3 Cache and IO-coherent architecture Dual lock-step capable R5F uC for safety-critical applications High data throughput capable distributed DMA architecture under NAVSS 3x Gigabit Industrial Communication […]

October 4, 2018October 4, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Amazon Launches $50 Fire TV Stick 4K Powered by MediaTek MT8695 SoC

Amazon introduced their latest 4K streaming device with Fire TV (2017) last year. The TV box was based on Amlogic S905Z, supported 4K HDR10, and was launched for $69.99. The company also had a Fire TV stick that’s limited to 1080p, and they’ve now announced an upgrade – Fire TV Stick 4K – that support 4K Dolby Vision and HDR10+ thanks to MediaTek MT8695 SoC, and sells for just $49.99 – or $10 more than the 1080p model – with shipping expected to start by the end of the month. Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K specifications: SoC – Mediatek MT8695 quad core Arm processor @ up to 1.7 GHz with Imagination PowerVR GE8300MP4 GPU supporting OpenGL 3.2 and Vulcan 1.1 System Memory – 1.5 GB DDR4 Storage – 8GB flash, no micro SD card Video & Audio Output – HDMI 2.0b up to 4K UHD @ 60 Hz with HDCP […]

October 4, 2018October 4, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 16 Comments

New WiFi Naming Scheme: 802.11n Becomes WiFi 4, 802.11ac WiFi 5, 802.11ax WiFi 6

Terminology used by engineers may be confusing for end-users, so for example in the TV market 720p becomes “HD Ready”, 1080p “Full HD”, and 4K may be referred to “Ultra HD”. A few years ago, I tried to buy a 1080p TV, and the seller was really confused at first saying they only had “HD Ready” or “Full HD” televisions. Two terms I had personally never heard of myself, but eventually we managed to understand each other… Up to now the official IEEE name for different WiFi standards like 802.11n, 802.11ac, or the new 802.11ax may have been a little confusing to consumers. So the WiFi alliance has decided to launch a new scheme naming scheme. We’ll soon have to refer to 802.11n routers as WiFi 4 routers, AC routers as WiFi 5 routers, and it will probably be less confusing for 802.11ax routers since I expect them to be […]