CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

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

Imagination Unveils PowerVR AX2185 and AX2145 Neural Network Accelerators (NNA)

Imagination Technologies introduced PowerVR Series2NX neural network accelerator (NNA) last year. At the time, the company claimed the NNA would deliver twice the performance at half the bandwidth over existing competing solutions, and that it was the first dedicated hardware solution with flexible bit-depth support from 16-bit down to 4-bit. What they did not announce last September were any specific parts. But they’ve just done that today with PowerVR AX2185 and AX2145 NNAs “designed to enable high-performance computation of neural networks at very low power consumption in minimal silicon area”. PowerVR AX2185 PowerVR AX2185 is said to be the highest performing neural network accelerator per mm2 in the market with eight full-width compute engines delivering up to 4.1 TOPS (Tera Operations Per Second), or 2,048 MACs/clock. AX2185 NNA can deliver 3.5 times the performance compared to a desktop GPU. The NNA is best suited for high-end smartphones, smart surveillance and […]

June 8, 2018June 8, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 8 Comments

FriendlyElec Launches Smart6818 Samsung S5P6818 CPU Module

Yesterday, we covered Core4418 low profile board based on Samsung S5P4418 quad core Cortex A9 processor, but that’s not the only product launched by FriendlyElec this week, as the company also introduced Smart6818, a Samsung S5P6818 CPU module following Smart4418 module design, and equipped with 1GB DDR3, and 8 to 32 GB eMMC flash. Smart6818 specifications: SoC – Samsung S5P6818 octa core Cortex A53 processor @ up to 1.4GHz, Arm Mali-400MP GPU System Memory – 1GB DDR3 up to 800 MHz Storage – 8GB eMMC flash (16GB and 32GB optional) Connectivity – Realtek RTL8211E Gigabit Ethernet transceiver Audio – ES8316 Audio codec Board to Board Headers 2x 70-pin 2.0mm pitch headers with RGB LCD, LVDS, HDMI Tx, I2C, PWM, USB host, UART, SPI, GPIOs, SDIO, Gigabit Ethernet, Audio input/output, Camera I/F 1x 34-pin 2.0mm pitch unpopulated header with GPIOs, MIPI CSI, ADC, PWM Power Supply – 5V Power Management – […]

June 8, 2018June 8, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 18 Comments

Tigo S300 480GB SSD is Now Offered for $79.99 (Promo)

I would consider purchasing a computer without SSD anymore, at least to install the operating system, and store things like email databases and web caches, since it makes a huge differences in terms of performance compared to traditional mechanical hard drives. That extra performance comes at a cost however, as SSDs have been much more expensive than HDDs, and still are, but costs have come down a lot. If you’re looking for an SSD with a fairly large capacity, Tigo S300 might be worth considering with the 480GB SSD now offered on GeekBuying for $79.99 shipped with coupon TXHIHAZC. Specifications listed for the device: Capacity – 480GB NAND Flash Type – TLC Master Controller – Marvell Interface – SATA 3 up to 6 Gbps Performance – 500MB/s read speed, 370 MB/s write speed Dimensions – 2.5″ model; 100 x 69.9 x 7 mm Weight – 50 grams 500GB HDD’s are […]

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

SMOS DeX Station is a $40 DeX Pad Alternative for Samsung Galaxy S8, S9, & Note 8, and Other USB Type C Phones

DeX is the “Desktop Experience” on some premium Samsung Galaxy phones that allow you to run apps on an HDMI display or TV through Samsung Dex Pad that sells for $75 and up. But if you want to save some money, there’s an DeX Pad alternative with SMOS DeX Station going for $39.99 on Amazon, which should also work with other phones with a USB type C port, but obviously without Samsung DeX mode. The dock includes a USB type C port to connect your phone, as well as USB 3.0 type A ports for keyboard and mouse, or optional mass storage device, HDMI output port up to 4K @ 60 Hz according to the specifications, and a USB type C charging port. The dock ships with a 60cm USB type C cable, and a 1.5m HDMI cable. Amazon reviews are mixed with people really happy about their purchase, but […]

June 7, 2018June 7, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 24 Comments

FriendlyELEC Core4418 is a Low Profile Samsung S5P4418 Board

Samsung (Nexell) S5P4418 & S5P6818 quad/octa core Cortex A9 processors used to have dismal Linux support with a very old & unsecure Linux 3.4 kernel, but in the last year or so software support has greatly improved, likely because those processors are used in some Samsung Artik IoT modules. FriendlyELEC has been manufacturing several S5P boards starting from their NanoPi2 board launched in 2015, and more recently they introduced NanoPi Fire2A & Fire3 boards based on S5P4418 & S5P6818 processor respectively. But this month, they’ve launched two more S5P platforms, and today I’ll look at Core4418 board, which has a lower profile than any of their previous board since the RJ45 Ethernet jack and USB type A ports are not included. FriendlyELEC Core4418 specifications: SoC – Samsung S5P4418 quad core Cortex A9 processor @ up to 1.4GHz, Arm Mali-400MP GPU System Memory – 1GB DDR3 Storage – 8GB eMMC flash, […]

June 7, 2018June 7, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Vorke V5 Plus mini PC Sold for $199.99 (Promo)

Vorke V5 Plus is a mini PC powered by an Intel Celeron 3865U dual core Kaby Lake processor coupled with 4GB RAM and 64GB storage. Ian Morrison (Linuxium) reviewed the computer in “Vorke V5 Plus Kaby Lake Mini PC Review with Windows 10 and Ubuntu 18.04” post, and concluded that “overall the device performs extremely well. It is competitively priced and represents good value for money given the performance and flexibility”. The price at the time of the review (May) was $229.99 with coupon, but GeekBuying is now offering an even better deal as Vorke V5 Plus goes for $199.99 shipped with coupons VORKEV5P or VORKEPC7. Note that the promotion is limited to 50 units. Here’s quick reminder of the technical specifications: SoC – Intel Celeron 3865U Kaby Lake processor @ 1.80 GHz with Intel HD Graphics 610; 15W TDP System Memory – 4GB DDR4, upgradeable to 32GB (SO-DIMM slot) […]

June 7, 2018June 18, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

Unihertz Atom is an Android 8.1 Phone with a Tiny 2.4″ Display (Crowdfunding)

What we used to call phablet – smartphones with 5″ to 6″ display – are now simply called smartphones, as most companies now offer smartphones with larger displays since they are better suited for tasks like web browsing. Unihertz has gone the other way by launching Atom, an Android 8.1 smartphone with a tiny 2.4″ display. Demand does exist for such Phone, as while the Kickstarter campaign started a couple of days ago, the company has already raised close to $700,000 from around 3,000 backers. The “Atom” name clearly infringes on Intel’s trademark, so the model name is likely to change in a few days as has happened for “Atomwear” and “Nerdonic Atom X1“, but this did not affect the campaigns after they changed the names. Unihertz Atom smartphone specifications: SoC- Unnamed octa-core processor clocked at up to 2.0 GHz System Memory – 4GB RAM Storage – 64GB internal storage […]

June 6, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 10 Comments

How to Migrate from Github to Gitlab

Github is by far the most popular web-based hosting service for version control using Git, but it’s not the only option as Gitlab and Bitbucket offer alternatives. If for whatever reasons, you feel the need to migrate from Github to another service, it’s actually quite easy, and I’ve tried it with Gitlab, which offers a very easy solution to import your code repositories from Github. First, you’ll need to sign-in to Gitlab. That part does not need explanation. The next step is to go to Settings->Account, and in the Social Sign-in section, connect Gitlab to your Github account. After logging in to your Github account, youl should be set. Now click on the + icon on the op of the web page, and select New Project. Click on the Import project tab, and import project from Github. You’ll be asked to input your Github password again, and be brouhgt to […]