CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

July 8, 2019July 7, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Testing Ubuntu 18.04 on XIDU PhilPad 2-in-1 Hybrid with Touchscreen

So I’ve recently completed the review of XIDU Philpad 2-in-1 hybrid with Windows 10. The laptop features a 13.3″ touchscreen and support stylus, and I was intrigued whether those would work in Ubuntu 18.04. So I flash the Ubuntu 18.04.2 Desktop ISO to a flash drive and installed Ubuntu to another USB flash drive to give it a try with persistent storage. Note that while it’s OK for testing, running Ubuntu 18.04 from a USB flash drive is very slow, so it’s not recommended. The good news is that you can enter the BIOS by pressing either Esc or Del at boot time, an option is available to select Linux in the BIOS. I could then select Partition 1 in my bootable flash drive, and install Ubuntu 18.04 on the other drive with some patience, and everything works smoothly, albeit slowly due to using a cheap USB flash drive during […]

July 7, 2019July 7, 2019 by Stephen Vicinanza - 1 Comment

Chatreey AC1-Z Low Power Fanless Mini PC Goes for $153 and Up

The Chatreey AC1-Z mini PC is running either the Intel Celeron Apollo Lake J3455 and the Intel Celeron Gemini Lake J4105 and boasts a full complement of features and SoC peripherals. It closely resembles the series of mini computers similar to the Zotac Nano mini PC. The Chatreey AC1-Z is a silent, fanless mini-PC that offers 4GB RAM, 4K resolution across two display inputs, and housing either the Apollo Lake or the Gemini Lake processors. The Gemini Lake version has a choice of up to 64GB eMMC storage and offers a drive bay for an optional 2.5 SSD or SATA HDD. I/O 2x USB 3.0 Type A, 2x USB 2.0 Type A 1x LAN 1x Micro SD 1x Audio 3.5 mm 2x HDMI Features Power Button Kensington Lock Power Connector (12V 2.5A) Dual-band WIFI /WLAN 802.11ac+BT The AC1–Z system is inspired by other mini-PC models and carries a lot of […]

ArmSoM RK3588 AIModule7 NVIDIA Jetson Nano-compatible SOM

July 6, 2019July 8, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 30 Comments

Beelink GT1 Mini 2 TV Box Gets an Amlogic S905X3 Processor

Beelink GT1 Mini TV Box powered by Amlogic S905X2 was launched with Android 8.1 in October 2018, and the company informed us they have an upcoming upgrade, the Beelink GT1 Mini 2, with the same form factor by an upgraded Amlogic S905X3 quad-core Cortex-A55 processor. GT1 Mini 2 is not the first TV box announced with S905X3, as we previously covered Elebao X3 that was supposed to launch at the end of May. So there clearly has been delays, but this time the launch should be closer as Beelink also shared benchmarks and system information from Android 9.0. Beelink GT1 Mini 2 Beelink GT1 Mini 2 preliminary specifications: SoC – Amlogic S905X3 quad-core Arm Cortex-A55 processor @ 1.9 GHz with Arm Mali-G31MP2 GPU System Memory – 4GB DDR4 RAM Storage – 64GB eMMC flash, Micro SD slot Video & Audio Output HDMI 2.1 up to 4K @ 60 Hz with […]

July 5, 2019July 6, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

XIDU PhilPad 2-in-1 Hybrid 2K Laptop Review

I had never heard about XIDU laptops and tablets, and it’s apparently the brand name of “Shenzhen Baohuazhong Co Limited” that was founded in 2014 and specializes in the design, development, manufacturing, distributions, and support for computer systems. I came to know about the company as they approached me to review one of their laptops, namely XIDU PhilPad XT133A model with an Intel Celeron N3350 dual-core Apollo Lake processor coupled with 6GB RAM and 64GB storage, and equipped with a 13.3″ touchscreen display with 2K (2560×1440) resolution. XIDU PhilPad Specifications SoC – Intel Celeron N3350 dual core Apollo Lake processor @ 1.10 GHz / 2.40 GHz (Turbo) with 12EU Intel HD graphics 500 GPU; 6W TDP System Memory – 6GB DDR3 Storage – 64GB eMMC flash, microSD card slot Display – 13.3″ touchscreen IPS display with 2560 x 1440 resolution Audio – 3.5mm headphone jack, built-in microphone and speaker Camera […]

July 5, 2019 by Tiwalade Joanna Okedara - 15 Comments

Javaino JoC Reference Board & Module Bring Java to the Embedded World

There is a Java-programmable module on the block. The module is going to change the face of programming and make things easier. The Java-on-Chip (JoC) module was designed by the Austrian manufacturer, Demmel. This module minimizes programming and development time of smart applications. The first thing to remember is that commercially embedded systems are developed with programmable languages, and they typically employ the use of either the C language or assembly. However, Demmel has made this new module and board specifically for Java programmers. The Java-programmable module is designed to work with the Javaino JoC reference board. Another thing about the JoC module is that it radically shortens development times. Furthermore, it simplifies PCB design efforts and also reduces programming effort. Also, the Java-programmable module comes as a tiny 24 × 36-mm module. As a matter of fact, it offers a diverse selection of interface options. Now, these options can […]

July 5, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

SAMD21 MINI / Wemos D1 SAMD21 M0 Mini Development Board Sells for $7 and Up

Microchip / Atmel SAMD21 Arm Cortex-M0+ microcontroller has been around for several years, and we covered various boards based on the MCU include the official Arduino Zero launched in 2014, Arduino Tian, and the tiny SAM 15×15 or Exen Proto boards among others. Another SAMD21 development board has now shown up on Electrodragon website: SAMD21 Mini Development Board sold for $14.50 on the website, but you’ll also find it, under the RobotDyn or Wemos brand on Aliexpress for $7.05 and up. SAMD21 Mini Board / WeMos D1 SAMD21 M0 Mini Specifications: MCU – Microchip ATSAMD21G18 Arm Cortex-M0+ microcontroller @ 48 MHz with 32KB data RAM, 256KB flash USB – 1x micro USB port for power and programming Expansion 2x 14-pin headers with 19x digital I/O (including 12x PWM), 6x Analog I/O 3.3V logic level Programming – 6-pin ISCP connector Misc – Power, Tx and Rx LED’s, button Power Supply Input […]

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

July 5, 2019July 5, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 55 Comments

$20 ICE Tower CPU Cooling Fan Targets Raspberry Pi 4

The Raspberry Pi 4 is much more powerful than its predecessors, but with great power comes a lot of heat, and it may affect the performance of your board under leaod. We’ve already seen that fitting a heatsink to Raspberry Pi 4 does help, and provided it’s sized appropriately, should help you board work at its full potential in most circumstances. The Raspberry Pi Foundation is also working on improved firmware to lower temperature and power consumption of their latest single board computer, but if you want to make sure your board stays cool at all times: ICE Tower CPU cooling fan will certainly do the trick. It’s fitted to a Raspberry Pi 3 board in the photo above, but Seeed Studio reports it’s compatible with Raspberry Pi 4, and can reduce the temperature of the Raspberry Pi from 80°C to 40°C. It’s actually compatible with all recent Raspberry Pi […]

July 4, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Ivport Stereo CM Breakout board for Raspberry Pi Compute Module Supports Two Cameras

We’ve previously written about IVport V2 camera multiplexer board that can connect up to 16 cameras to a single Raspberry Pi board in order to create 360 degrees camera setups for example. The company also offered a version with two cameras for stereo recording and capturing modes. But if you’d rather use a Raspberry Pi Compute Module with or without eMMC flash, and use either Raspberry Pi camera V1 or V2, the company has launched Ivport Stereo CM breakout board with support for up to two cameras and exposing some extra ports. Ivport Stereo CM specifications: RPi module compatibility Raspberry Pi CM1 Raspberry Pi CM3 (eMMC equipped) Raspberry Pi CM3 Lite Raspberry Pi CM3+ (eMMC equipped) Raspberry Pi CM3+ Lite RPi camera compatibility Raspberry Pi Camera Module V1.3 (OV5647 sensor) Raspberry Pi Camera Module V2 (Sony IMX 219 sensor) Storage – microSD slot Video Output – HDMI Networking – 10/100M […]

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