CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

December 7, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 9 Comments

Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 Octa Core Kryo 385 SoC to Power Premium Smartphones, XR Headsets, Windows Laptops

Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor was expected since May 2017 with four custom Cortex A75 cores, four Cortex A53 cores, Adreno 630 GPU, and X20 LTE modem. with the launch planned for Q1 2018. At least, that what the leaks said. Qualcomm has now formally launched Snapdragon 845 Mobile Platform and rumors were mostly right, as the the octa-core processor comes with four Kryo 385 Gold cores (custom Cortex A75), four Kryo 385 Silver cores (custom Cortex A55) leveraging DynamIQ technology, an Adreno 630 “Visual Processing System”, and Snapdragon X20 modem supporting LTE Cat18/13. The processor is said to use more advanced artificial intelligence (AI) allowing what the company calls “extended reality (XR)” applications, and will soon be found in flagship smartphones, XR headsets, mobile PCs, and more. Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 (SDM845) specifications: Processor 4x Kryo 385 Gold performance cores @ up to 2.80 GHz (custom ARM Cortex A75 cores) 4x […]

December 6, 2017December 6, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments

A Day at Chiang Mai Maker Party 4.0

The Chiang Mai Maker Party 4.0 is now taking place until December 9, and I went there today, as I was especially interested in the scheduled NB-IoT talk and workshop to find out what was the status about LPWA in Thailand. But there are many other activities planned, and if you happen to be in Chiang Main in the next few days, you may want to check out the schedule on the event page or Facebook. I’m going to go though what I’ve done today to give you a better idea about the event, or even the maker movement in Thailand. Booth and activity area should be the same over the 4 days, but the talks, open activity, and workshop will be different each day. Today, people could learn how to solder in the activity area. The even was not really big with manufacturers/sellers like ThaiEasyElec, INEX, or Gravitech closer […]

December 6, 2017June 13, 2018 by Karl Johnson - 18 Comments

HE3D K280 3D Printer Review – Part 1: Build, Tweaks, and First Prints

Hello Karl here again with another 3D printer review. Today we are looking at an HE3D K280. I saw the brand for the first time on Gearbest a couple months ago and asked for it to review. I never heard of this brand before and have been wanting to review a delta style printer. In my case, I should have been careful what I asked for. It took me quite some time to get it to print utilizing the whole print bed. I experienced several challenges and after defeating them I enjoy this printer quite a bit. Delta style printers mesmerize me with the movements that they make and all the math that goes into moving the extruder in the X, Y and Z. Regular Cartesian printers are rather simple in this respect. Build Volume – 280×600 mm Heated bed No Parts cooling 2020 aluminum and all injected molded parts […]

December 6, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 30 Comments

Meet the First Windows 10 Arm “Always Connected PCs” – HP Envy x2 (2017) and ASUS NovaGo TP370

Qualcomm and Microsoft showcased some Snapdragon 835 based Windows 10 “Mobile PCs” at Computex 2017 last June, and while the press was allowed film the demo, the device could only be operated by a Qualcomm employee. But both companies and their partners have made progress, and at the Snapdragon Technology Summit, Qualcomm announced “Always Connected PCs” which will run Windows 10, be always on and always connected at Gigabit LTE speeds, and support all-day battery life while keeping thin and fanless designs. all while incorporating Windows 10. HP and ASUS unveiled their very own “Always Connected PCs”, respectively Envy X2 and Novago TP370. What I used to call laptop or in this case 2-in-1 hybrid (laptop) is now apparently called “Always Connected PC”, but in any case let’s have a closer look at both devices. HP Envy x2 (2017) Specifications: SoC – Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 Mobile Processor @ 2.6GHz with Adreno […]

December 5, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

Riot Micro RM1000 NB-IoT and eMTC Baseband Chip Unveiled for the Cellular IoT Market

Telecommunication providers don’t intend to let newcomers like Sigfox or Semtech (LoRa) get all the fun and money with the Internet of Things, and that’s why LTE Cat M1 (eMTC) and Cat NB1 (NB-IoT) have been standardized. We have already covered module and silicon vendors products such as U-blox SARA-R4 / SARA-M2 modules, or Mediatek MT2625 SoC supporting the new protocols defined in 3GPP release 13 specifications. U-blox even have a module that supports both NB-IoT and eMTC in a single chip, but they are not alone anymore, as a startup called Riot Micro introduced RM1000 baseband NB-IoT & eMTC chip. RM1000 key features & specifications: MCU – ARM Cortex-M0 processor Storage – QSPI Flash interface Connectivity LTE-M Baseband supporting 3GPP Release 13 NB-IoT Baseband supporting 3GPP Release 13 SIM interface with power control Peripherals Digital data and control interface to popular RFICs (RBDP/DIQ/SPI) 3x UART interfaces General purpose I/O […]

December 5, 2017December 5, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 13 Comments

Google Introduces Android 8.1 Go Edition for Low End Smartphones

With Android 8.1 preview release, we already knew Google was working on optimizations for Android Go for devices with 512MB to 1GB memory, and a new Neural Networks API to accelerate on-device machine intelligence. Android 8.1 will be released tomorrow, and Google has now officially introduced Android Oreo Go Edition that will be part of the release tomorrow. Optimizations cover three main components Operating System – Performance and storage improvements with data management features and security benefits built-in. The company now claims the operating system will take much less space, and actually double free space on a typical 8GB eMMC flash. Google Apps – New set of Google apps designed to be lighter and relevant to people who are coming online for the first time. App size will be reduced by around 50% on Android Go. Google Play Store – A tuned version of the Google Play Store that works […]

December 5, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

This Tiny ESP8266 Board is Designed for DIY WiFi Switches

Various breadboard-friendly boards based on ESP8266 or other chips are available on the market, but some readers are not quite satisfied with the offerings, and need more available pins on the breadboard so they ended up hacking the board matching their needs by either bending header pins, or soldering modules to stripboards. As I browsed new arrivals on ICstation website, I found a tiny board with ESP8266 module that exposes I/Os via what looks like 2.54 mm pitch header that should fit right into a breadboard. But after further checking only three I/Os are exposed, and the board is actually specifically designed for wireless switches, and comes with firmware that works with eWelink app used in Sonoff devices. So the module could be useful for people wanting to control devices without doing programming at all, and limited to no soldering. Just connect the module, and control it without smartphone. Board […]

December 5, 2017December 5, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 41 Comments

Libre Computer Renegade SBC Features Rockchip RK3328 Processor with up to 4GB DDR4 RAM (Crowdfunding)

After Amlogic S905X based Le Potato board, and the on-going Kickstarter campaign for Tritium Allwinner H2+/H3 boards, Libre Computer has now launched an Indiegogo campaign for their Renegade SBC (Single Board Computer) powered by Rockchip RK3328 SoC. The board follows Raspberry Pi 3 form factor like the two previous models, and three versions of the board are offered with 1, 2 or 4GB RAM, making Renegade SBC a direct competitor to Pine64 ROCK64 board. Renegade SBC specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3328 quad core Cortex A53 processor with ARM Mali-450MP2 GPU System Memory – 1, 2, or 4 GB DDR4 Storage – eMMC 5.x flash module socket (8 to 128 GB) + micro SD card slot Video & Audio Output – HDMI 2.0a up to 4K @ 60 Hz with HDR10 and HLG support, 3.5mm AV port (composite video + stereo audio) Video Codec – 4K VP9, H.265 and H.264, 1080p […]