CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

April 3, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments

SPURV Runs Android Apps in Linux over Wayland

We’ve previously seen it was possible to run Android apps natively inside Linux thanks to Anbox that leverages the Linux kernel in Ubuntu for better integration and performance, and uses an LXC container to run Android operating system. Collabora now offers a different solution with SPURV that runs the full Android OS, including a separate Linux kernel, in its own container and works over Wayland thanks to a graphics bridge from Android to Wayland. Four main components are part of the implementation: Android target device – This component integrates SPURV into Android by using the device infrastructure that the Android codebase provides, and the company specifically the target runs inside of a systemd-nspawn container. SPURV Audio – Bridges the Android Audio Hardware Abtraction Layer (HAL) to the host PulseAudio stack. SPURV HWComposer – Integrates Android windows into Wayland by implementing a HWC-to-Wayland bridge, where HWC is the Android API for […]

April 3, 2019April 3, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

Gaokede Building in HuaQiangBei Electronics Market Closed, Scheduled for Destruction

HuaQiangBei electronics market is one of the most popular places for makers in Shenzhen, as you can purchase any kind of components in shops spread across several multi-story buildings. If you can’t find something over there, you’re unlikely to find it anywhere else. So this morning when I read an article entitled “Vendors protest eviction from Shenzhen’s historic Huaqiangbei electronics market” with photos like the one above I was shocked initially thinking the complete market would potentially close. I can still clearly remember SEG building along the main street when I lived in China many years ago. This building is still up and running, and instead Technode reports about the closure of the eight-story Gaokede building which was planned since the end of 2018, and the owner cut off electricity and water supplies yesterday. Even if you are a regular visitor, you’d be forgiven if you forgot where Gaokede is […]

Graperain Samsung, Rockchip RK3588, and Qualcomm CPU modules, SBCs, and carrier boards

April 2, 2019May 10, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 18 Comments

Ugoos AM6 Fan-Cooled S922X TV Box Coming Soon

We’ve reported about the first Amlogic S922X TV box – Beelink GT1-K – last week, and unsurprisingly more are coming starting with Ugoos AM6. The former appears to the passively cooled, but Ugoos AM6 will include a fan for cooling providing optimal performance for the new Amlogic processor. While we do not have photos of the enclosure so far, Ugoos share with us some pictures of the board and the specifications. Ugoos AM6 specifications: SoC – Amlogic S922X hexa-core big.LITTLE processor with 4x Arm Cortex A73 cores, 2x Arm Cortex A53 cores, Arm Mali-G52 MP6 GPU; 12nm manufacturing process System Memory – 2GB LPDDR4 RAM (3GB/4GB optional) Storage – 16GB eMMC flash (8GB/32GB optional), micro SD card slot Video Output HDMI 2.1 up to 4K @ 75 Hz with CEC, HDCP 2.2, HDR support 3.5mm AV port for composite video (and stereo audio) Video – 4K UHD H.265/VP9/AVS2 video decoding […]

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

SERVO K07 Bluetooth Pen Phone also Works as a Radio, Camera, and Flashlight

Before I start this post I’d like to confirm April’s fools day has passed in all time zones, and is now gone for a year. With that out of the way, I’d just come across some strange gadget called SERVO K07 that looks like a pen, but is a 6-in-1 thingy working as a normal pen, a 2G phone via a NanoSIM card, audio recording device, a radio and music player, a camera, a flashlight. I understand you can also sync with your smartphone over Bluetooth to synchronize contacts and make calls through your actual phone if you don’t add your own SIM card. SERVO K07 specifications: SoC – Unnamed MediaTek processor System Memory – 32MB RAM Storage – 32MB flash, microSD card slot up to 32GB Display Size – 0.96″ display Cellular 2G: GSM850/900/1800/1900MHz Dual SIM card Dual standby (2x Nano SIM card) Phone book with 500 entries Camera […]

April 2, 2019April 2, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

MINIX NEO Z83-4U Review – Ubuntu 18.04, Kodi 18, and Xibo Digital Signage

MINIX NEO Z83-4U is a Cherry Trail mini PC pre-loaded with Ubuntu 18.04. I received a sample a little while ago, and in the first part of NEO Z83-4U review I checked out the specifications and hardware that appears to be exactly the same a MINIX NEO Z83-4 Pro mini PC, except for the eMMC flash capacity that has increased from 32GB to 64GB. Since the mini PC comes with an older Atom X5-Z8350 processor, and is designed for commercial applications, I’ve decided to make a slightly different review. We already now how the system is supposed to perform thanks to benchmarks with NEO Z83-4 mini PC running Windows 10 Pro, so I’ll just check the main features are working as expected in Ubuntu 18.04, test audio & video support in Kodi 18.1, and try out Xibo Linux open source digital signage CMS and player on the mini PC. MINIX […]

April 1, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

ARBOR Introduces SOM-RP301 Rockchip PX30 SoM for Retail Kiosks

Rockchip PX30 is a quad core Cortex-A35 processor with a dual VOP (Video Output Processor) in order to drive two independent displays, that has low power consumption, low thermal requirements, and that we previously found in some car infotainment systems. But the processor is also suitable for other applications, and ARBOR Technology recently launched SOM-RP301 system-on-module based on the PX30 processor, and specifically designed for fanless retail kiosks such as electronic restaurant menus, automated currency exchange machines, ticketing kiosks and more. SOM-RP301 system-on-module specifications: SoC – Rockchip PX30 quad core Cortex-A35 processor @ 1.5 GHz with Arm Mali-G31 MP2 GPU System Memory – 1GB LPDDR3 (Up to 4GB as option) Storage – 16 GB eMMC flash Connectivity – Fast Ethernet transceiver, 802.11 b/g/n/ac WiFi 5 + Bluetooth 4.0 module Edge Connector – SO-DIMM connector with Display – LVDS or MIPI DSI Camera – MIPI CSI RX interface with 8MP ISP […]

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

April 1, 2019April 1, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 9 Comments

Introducing CNX Election Meddling System

We love what we do at CNX Software, covering news, product launches, reviewing various types of boards and devices related to embedded systems. But we are also trying to expand our readers’ and our own horizon, always on the look out for unmet market needs that may be filled by the community at large. A few years ago, we found out that while democracy was all good, about people power and blah blah, it could create severe mental stress to the losing side, with talks of dark days for democracy, the end of the country as we know it, and so forth and so on. So we thought about ways to either help change the election outcome, at least lower the blow by making people feel they did the best they could possibly do beside just throwing a piece of paper in a box. That’s why we came up with […]

April 1, 2019April 1, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

TB-96AI & TB-96AIoT are the First 96Boards Systems-on-Module

First introduced in 2015, 96boards specifications define mechanical, electrical, and software specifications for single board computers, but in 2017 Linaro asked companies to provide some feedback on what they’d like for a 96boards system-on-module standard. And for the first day of Linaro Connect Bangkok 2019, the 96Boards SoM specifications have now been announced, together with the introduction of Rockchip RK3399Pro powered TB-96AI and Rockchip RK1808 based TB-96AIoT, the first compliant 96Boards SoMs, and corresponding 96Boards SoM Carrier Board. 96Boards System-on-Module Specifications Two 96Boards SoM specifications have been unveiled with the Compute Module Specification and the Wireless Specification. The 96boards Compute Module Specification defines a SoM with up to four 100-pin connectors, but only one is mandatory (X1), and two form factors are specified: SOM-CA (85 x 50 mm) and SOM-CB (50 x 50 mm). List of signals associated to each connectors: X1 – SoM managements, 1x UART, 2x I2C, 1x […]