Hardware Category - Page 719 of 1203 - CNX Software

December 31, 2017December 31, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 21 Comments

Year 2017 in Review, Top 10 Posts, and Some Fun Stats

2017 is coming to an end, and as I do every year, I’ll take a look back at the year that was on CNX Software. The pace of development boards launches has not slowed down this year, and we get an even wider range from the low-end with Orange Pi or NanoPi boards, to much more powerful ARM boards, and some new entrants like Libre Computer. The same is true for TV boxes, most of which now support 4K HDR, ranging from ultra cheap models selling for less than $20 to higher end Android TV boxes, while mini PCs were dominated by Intel Apollo Lake models, although some Cherry Trail products were also launched. Processor-wise, Amlogic launched more Amlogic S905X derivatives with S905W/S905D/S905Z, which are popular in the TV box market. Rockchip’s most interesting processor this year was RK3328 quad core Cortex A53 processor designed for 4K HDR Android TV […]

December 30, 2017December 30, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 13 Comments

Grapeboard Raspberry Pi Lookalike Comes with Dual Gigabit Ethernet, Two USB 3.0 Ports

Scalys is a startup founded in 2016 in the Netherlands by Sintecs in order to provide advanced high-performance embedded system solutions for automotive-, avionics-, defence-, industrial-, medical and telecommunication industries. So the company is rather new, but if you visit their website, you’ll find they already have several systems-on-module and single board computers (SBCs) based on NXP QorIQ processors. Grapeboard SBC is their latest product powered by NXP QorIQ LS1012A (LayerScape 1012A) single core SoC with 1GB RAM, and equipped with two Gigabit Ethernet interfaces, two USB 3.0 ports, an M.2 SATA connector, etc… that make it suitable for IoT applications such as sensor/IoT gateways, communication hubs, and secure edge devices. GrapeBoard specifications: SoC – NXP QorIQ LS1012A single core Cortex A53 processor @ up to 800 MHz with Packet Forwarding Engine System Memory – 1GB DDR3 Storage 64Mb (8MB) SPI NOR Flash for BCD and bootloader, 512Mb/64MB SPI NOR […]

December 29, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 11 Comments

Mecool KII Pro Set-Top-Box Upgraded to Amlogic S905D Processor, Android 7.1.2

VideoStrong is making some of the most popular – at least on this website – Android set-box boxes with digital TV tuner on the market with products like Mecool KIII Pro, or KI Pro, mostly because of their affordability. Software may be hit or miss depending on your local requirement (e.g. AC3 on DVB-T2, language encoding issues, etc..), so there’s fairly large number of users and some community tools or firmware such as DVB Channel Editor or Vitmos OS that may make them better devices. Most models are based on Amlogic S905 or S912, but Amlogic launched S905D processor some time ago with better tuner support (multiple demodulator support) which for example allowing me to watch terrestrial TV (DVB-T2) while recording satellite TV (DVB-S2) on Sen5 TV box. VideoStrong decided to upgrade their KII Pro Android set-top box with S905 processor, DVB-T2/T/C and DVB-S2/S tuners to the new Amlogic S905D […]

December 29, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

Dune HD Unveils 5 Entry Level to Premium 4K HDR Linux + Android Media Players & Set-Top Boxes

Dune HD is known to make high-end digital media players that often costs several hundred dollars such as Sigma Designs based Dune HD SOLO 4K or Dune HD Solo Lite. The company has now sent out an email announcing new models classified into three categories with most models based on Amlogic processors: Neo Series – Entry level Dune HD Neo 4K – 4Kp60 HDR media player + Android Smart TV box Amlogic S905X 1GB RAM, 8GB flash 802.11ac Wi-Fi, 100Mbit Ethernet, Bluetooth Dune HD Neo 4K T2 – 4Kp60 HDR media player + Android Smart TV box + DVB-T/T2/C receiver Amlogic S905D 1GB RAM, 8GB flash 802.11ac Wi-Fi, 100Mbit Ethernet, Bluetooth Dune HD Neo 4K T2 Plus – 4Kp60 HDR media player + Android Smart TV box + DVB-T/T2/C receiver Amlogic S905D 2GB RAM, 16GB flash 802.11ac Wi-Fi, 100Mbit Ethernet, Bluetooth Sky series – Models with satellite receiver Dune HD […]

December 28, 2017December 29, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 42 Comments

Orange Pi One Plus Allwinner H6 Board Launched for $20

Allwinner H6 is a processor designed for 4K HDR set-top boxes such as Zidoo H6 Pro, but with USB 3.0, Gigabit Ethernet, and PCIe interfaces, the processor is also a good candidate for ARM development boards where you need fast I/Os. I was expecting Orange Pi 3 Plus as the first board based on the processor, but instead Shenzhen Xunlong has just launched a cheaper Orange Pi One Plus version that sells for $19.99 plus shipping. Orange Pi One Plus specifications: SoC – Allwinner H6 V200 quad core Cortex A53 processor with Arm Mali-T720MP2 GPU System Memory – 1 GB LPDDR3 Storage – micro SD card slot up to 32GB Video & Audio Output – HDMI 2.0a up to 4K @ 60 Hz with HDR, HDCP, CEC Connectivity – Gigabit Ethernet (via Realtek RTL8211 transceiver) USB – 1x USB 2.0 host port, 1x micro USB OTG port Expansion – 26-pin […]

December 28, 2017December 28, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Garmin Launches Vivofit 4 Activity Tracker with One Year Battery Life

I have not spent much time covering wearables like smartwatches and fitness trackers this year, mostly because I find they have too many flaws at this stage. Back in 2016, I found many had a short life time, they would just stop working after a few weeks or months, even the fairly popular Xiaomi Mi Band 2 only lasted 2 months after an ill-fated firmware upgrade. In my case, I also found activity / fitness trackers did not have the motivating factor I thought they’d have, so I don’t think I exercise more or less with one. Finally, another annoyance is that most need to be charged every couple of days or weeks, and I’m frequently leaving the one I’m still using (SH09) run out of battery, losing recent data. The best solution to address the latter issue would be some type of energy harvesting, so that we would never […]

December 27, 2017December 27, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

ALio Proto Board Supports Through Hole, DIP, and SMD Components (Crowdfunding)

Perfboards and stripboards are very useful to design your own simple electronic boards without having to design your own board from scratch. However, you have to select through hole or DIP components, as – while possible with some efforts – such boards are not designed for SMD components. AERD, an open source electronic development startup based in Indonesia, has designed ALio prototyping boards supporting both through hole and SMD components, as well as some common connectors/accessories such as micro SD card, USB connector, and so on. Three versions of the board (basic, embedded, Arduino) are available with the following specifications & features: Fits SMD and PTH components at the same time. Double layer bus (top and bottom) Other components/headers All versions – 1.1 mm pitch pad for micro SD/SD card breakout Embedded & Arduino only – mini & micro USB pads, 1x SPI breakout Arduino only – Arduino header, one […]

December 27, 2017December 29, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 12 Comments

$17 Sonoff S31 Wireless Smart Socket Includes Energy Monitoring Function

ITEAD Studio has just launched another Sonoff Smart Home product with Sonoff S31 WiFi smart socket with energy monitoring. Just like Sonoff switches, light bulbs, and their other products, the device can be controlled using eWelink app for Android or iOS, and supports integration with Amazon Alexa, and Google Assistant. It should be noted that the company only provide a US plug version for now, and so far, there’s no Wiki link, so while it’s likely based on ESP8266 or ESP8285 like their other Sonoff devices, it may not be designed to be easily hackable, although I suspect the electronics may be similar to Sonoff POW switch (TBC). Sonoff S31 hardware specifications listed by ITEAD: Voltage Input – 90~264V AC, 50/60HZ Max. Current – 16A Max. Power – 4200W (Note package above reads max load: 220V/10A) Gang – 1x US type with ground Connectivity – 802.11 b/g/n WiFi with support […]