CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

June 24, 2019June 25, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 140 Comments

Raspberry Pi 4 Features Broadcom BCM2711 Processor, Up to 4GB RAM

Long expected, the Raspberry Pi 4 model B has finally launched, and it should not disappoint with a much more powerful Broadcom BCM2711 quad-core Cortex-A72 processor clocked at up to 1.5 GHz, 1 to 4GB LPDDR4, 4K H.265 video decoding and output support, a proper Gigabit Ethernet port, as well as USB 3.0 and 2.0 ports. Raspberry Pi 4 comes with all those extra features, but the form factor remains the same, and importantly the price is still $35 for the version with 1GB RAM, making Raspberry Pi alternatives suddenly much less interesting. Raspberry Pi 4 specifications: SoC – Broadcom BCM2711 quad-core Cortex-A72 (ARMv8) @ 1.5GHz with VideoCore VI GPU supporting OpenGL ES 3.0 graphics System Memory – 1GB, 2GB or 4GB LPDDR4 Storage – microSD card slot Video Output & Display I/F 2x micro HDMI ports up to 4Kp60 (Currently 1080p60 max. in dual-display configuration, although 2x 4Kp30 is […]

June 24, 2019July 17, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 8 Comments

ODROID-H2 Rev B Review – Part 1: Kit Unboxing and Assembly

ODROID-H2 was announced in October 2018 as the first x86 SBC from Hardkernel. The board features an Intel Celeron J4105 Gemini Lake processor, two SO-DIMM slots for memory, two SATA ports and M.2 NVMe slot for storage, two Gigabit Ethernet ports, a mix of USB 3.0 and 2.0 ports, as well as HDMI and DisplayPort video outputs. The board went for sale the following month for $111, and the first batch of 2,000 boards was sold within 24 hours. In normal cases, this should not be a big problem, and in a few weeks, the company should have been able to produce more boards to fulfill the demand. But Intel decided to prioritize higher-end processors, and Gemini Lake SoCs’ manufacturing was put on the back foot. That means Hardkernel had to wait over 6 months to get supply of the Celeron J4150 processors. In the meantime, the company slightly redesign […]

June 23, 2019 by Stephen Vicinanza - 5 Comments

Google to Roll Out RCS App as an Alternative to SMS

The Rich Communication Services (RCS) is a messaging platform that allows messaging from carrier to carrier and between phone and carrier, that is positioned to replace SMS but has had its share of pushback from the communication industry. The service has been around for a long time but had very little noteworthy attention since its inception in 2007. Named the GSM Association in 2008, there were many upgrades, but three years after the GSMA formed the steering committee to oversee the project, the project platform was named Rich Communication Services and now called simply RCS. Between 2007 and the present there have been many versions of the RCS platform, and Google stepped in in 2010 and has been helping with updates right up into its announcement that it would be offering an opt-in version of the platform on all Android devices this month, June 2019, called RCS Chat. The advantages and […]

June 22, 2019June 28, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 20 Comments

Create Minimal Debian Upstream Images with Debos and Armbian

Debos Armbian Debian Orange Pi Zero Plus 2 H5

[Update June 28: Post updated with correct procedure thanks to Collabora help] Armbian provides lightweight Debian or Ubuntu images for various Arm Linux SBC, and over the years has become the recommended source for stable firmware images for boards part of Orange Pi & Banana Pi families, and others. Uncompressed images are still over 1GB and come with Armbian-specific tools, kernel and bootloader. If you’d like to leverage Armbian images, but instead create a Debian upstream image with only the packages you intend to use, Collabora explains how to do just that with Orange Pi Zero +2 H5 and Libre Computer AML-S905X-CC (aka Le Potato) boards using Debos Debian OS builder. I’ve decided to give a try at the instructions for Orange Pi Zero Plus2 H5 in my laptop running Ubuntu 18.04 to better understand how this all works. I’ll assume you’ve already installed Docker, and made sure you’ve got […]

June 21, 2019February 22, 2021 by Tiwalade Joanna Okedara - 3 Comments

LEGO Minifigure shaped Mini SAM M4 Board Supports CircuitPython and Arduino

If you are a fan of the Lego movie. Perhaps you have always wanted to use Lego bricks to make something innovative and techy. Then the Mini SAM M4 board is here for you, as it is a LEGO minifigure-sized development board. Additionally, the design and layout of the board is based around the classic 1980’s ‘spaceman’, and is made by Ben Shockley. Although the board is very small, it has a lot of wonderful features. It comes with an analog reference decoupling/filtering capacitors. Also, it has an analog to digital ferrite bead, as well as a debounce circuitry for the reset and user buttons. Furthermore, the board’s software and firmware can be developed using CircuitPython or Arduino. The development board is either based on the Microchip SAMD51G 48-Pin 32-Bit ARM – Cortex M4F MCU (Mini SAM M4), or features the Microchip SAMD21G 48-Pin 32-Bit ARM Cortex -M0+ MCU running […]

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

Ugoos X2 Cube Android 9.0 TV Box also Serves as a SAMBA Server

Ugoos X2 Cube is a tiny Android 9.0 TV box powered by the latest Amlogic S905X2 processor coupled with 2GB RAM and 16GB flash storage. The new Amlogic processor happens to have a USB 3.0 port which provides good storage performance, and the box is also equipped with a Gigabit Ethernet port, which should make the device especially suitable for network storage beside the usual 4K HDR video playback or streaming offered by any typical Amlogic S905X2 TV box. However in most cases, the firmware provided for such TV boxes does not offer an option to easily configure a SAMBA server (aka Windows network share), so you’d need to either mess up with the firmware configuration yourself, or install a paid app. Ugoos is different since they long have had the option to enable NFS & SAMBA client and/or server in the settings, and Ugoos X2 Cube is no different. […]

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

June 21, 2019June 21, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 16 Comments

Android Patch Brings Bluetooth SBC Codec Audio Quality on-par with aptX

In the context of CNX Software’s topics, SBC usually stands for “Single Board Computer”, but SBC also stands for “SubBand Codec“, a standard and mandatory Bluetooth codec which is supported by all headphones, portable speakers, car head units, and basically everything that plays audio over Bluetooth. SBC is known as a basic and low-quality Bluetooth codec, so people will often recommend using other codecs such as aptX, AAC or LDAC wherever possible, but ValdikSS has submitted a patch for Android which improves Bluetooth SBC codec audio quality on most existing devices, allegedly making it as good as the high quality aptX HD codec. ValdikSS explains this basically works by increasing the bitrate: My patchset bypass Android Bluetooth stack limitations and increase bitrate from stock 328 kbps to 452 or 551 kbps, depending on device speed capabilities. It’s already merged into LineageOS 15.1 and 16.0, Resurrection Remix and crDroid alternative Android […]

June 20, 2019June 20, 2019 by Tiwalade Joanna Okedara - No Comments

BOE Showcases Rollable Displays for Smartphones (Video)

Companies have already announced foldable smartphones, but another type of smartphone may soon come to retail shelves as BOE showcased rollable displays for next generation smartphones at SID Display Week 2019. BOE, a China-based tech company, is a global leader in the semiconductor display industry. In addition they are an IoT company providing intelligent interface products. Also, they produce Interface Devices, Smart IoT Systems and Smart Medicine & Engineering Integration. In the video, you can see two different foldable phones, one which is about 7.7 inches display but, can be folded into a 6 inches display. And another rollable smartphone, which is up to 12.9 inches, the main attraction of the day. The 12.9 rollable smartphone, although still a prototype and not ready for the market, showed a lot of potential. With the plan to add more features to future versions, this smartphone, BOE is really heating things up. Additionally, it […]

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