Linaro Connect Hong Kong 2015 will take place on February 9 – 13,2015 in Hong Kong, and the organization has released the schedule for the five days events with keynotes, sessions, and demos. Each day will start with the keynote including speakers such as: George Grey, Linaro CEO, who will welcome attendees to Linaro Connect, and provide an update on the latest Linaro developments Jon Masters, Chief ARM Architect, Redhat, who will present Red Hat update and latest ARMv8-A demonstrations Dejan Milojicic, Senior Researcher & Manager, HP Labs Bob Monkman, Enterprise Segment Marketing Manager, ARM, will discuss about the impact of ARM in next generation cloud and communication network infrastructure Greg Kroah-Hartman, Linux Foundation Fellow, will introduce the Greybus Project (Linux for Project Ara modular phones) Warren Rehman, Android Partner Engineering Manager, Google The agenda also features sessions covering Android, ARMv8-A, Automation & Validation, Digital Home, Enterprise Servers, LAVA, Linux […]
X29 Intel Celeron J1800 / J1900 mini PC Sells for $125 and Up
Today, somebody asked me to test 4K output on Intel Atom Z3735F, but I can’t do that since the platform only supports 1080p. As I just posted my unboxing of MeLE PCG03 mini PC, I noticed several ICs where added for extra functionalities, and people also started to complain about lack of Gigabit Ethernet, Fast Ethernet via a USB bridge, no USB 3.0, and no SATA. That’s what happens when you use a Tablet SoC in a mini PC, but if you’re ready to pay a little more, you could still get a mini PC with a proper desktop processor (Bay Trail-D) including SATA, USB 3.0, and Gigabit Ethernet (maybe) for about $125 (shipped) with X29-J1800 computer powered by Intel Celeron J1800 (10W TDP). That’s the price for the barebone system without RAM or storage, and if you want a complete system with 32GB eMMC and 4GB RAM the price […]
MeLE PCG03 Windows 8.1 Fanless mini PC Unboxing
MeLE PCG03 was announced in October 2014 with an aggressive price tag of $49 for large orders for barebone systems, and was said to support Windows 8.1 or Android 4.4. MeLE is PCG03 now is now available with 2GB RAM, and 32GB eMMC, and with a properly licensed “Windows 8.1 with Bing NTE”, but no Android for $149 on Ebay, or Aliexpress, and it should eventually show up on MeLE Amazon store. The company sent me a sample for review, so I’ll start by listing the updated specifications, and taking pictures today, before running benchmarks, trying out Kodi, and trying Ubuntu in other posts. MeLE PCG03 Specifications The look of the device and available ports have slightly changed since the first prototype was revealed last year. SoC – Intel Atom Z3735F “Bay Trail” quad core processor @ 1.33 GHz (Bust freq: 1.83 GHz) with Intel HD graphics System Memory – […]
4K Output and Video Playback Capability Tested on 6 ARM based mini PCs and Boards
Since I’ve now got a 4K TV, I’ve decided to test 4K support for six different platforms based on Rockchip, Allwinner, Amlogic, Realtek, HiSilicon, and Mstar processors. For all these platforms I’ll report HDMI 4K output options, user interface resolution, and take close up pictures of the screen while displaying a 4K 1×1 grid picture and video with the image players, and video players such as MX Player or XBMC depending which are available in the firmware. Test Setup and Procedure I’m using LG 42UB820T 42″ UltraHD television with an HDMI cable connected to HDMI 1 port of the TV. Please note that my TV only support 8-bit color depth / YCbCr 4:2:0 which may cause compatibility issues with some boxes, at least the ones based on RK3288 processor, for 2160p 50Hz or 60Hz mode. I’ll take close-up pictures of the screen with a Canon PowerShot A2300HD camera by holding […]
Linux 3D GPU Acceleration Demo on Rockchip RK3288 based Firefly Board
Several devices and development boards based on Rockchip RK3288 processor already support Linux, usually with images based on Ubuntu, including Ugoos UM3 / UT3, Open Hour Chameleon, and Firefly-RK3288 among others. What these images lack however, is support for 2D and 3D graphics acceleration with the GPU, and hardware video decoding/encoding with the VPU. But Jas-hacks has made some progress with 3D graphics support. He has managed to add GPU acceleration via EGL/OpenGL ES bringing 3D acceleration to the platform, but 2D support is not there yet, meaning X11 still heavily relies on software rendering. But the implementation is still good enough to run the usual es2gears and glmark2-es2 benchmarks. as well as some WebGL demos in Chromium. Performance is currently underwhelming, with 50 points in glmark-es2, even a bit lower than the score (54 points) I got with ODROID-X board powered by Exynos 4412 SoC with a Mali-400MP4 GPU, […]
Intel Education Content Access Point Is Designed for Schools with Unreliable Internet Connectivity and Power
Intel has introduced a new device that stores, manages, and publishes digital content for schools with low or intermittent connectivity and /or power. The device stores training materials in its internal storage, comes with a battery, and can be accessed by up to 50 students simultaneously. Specifications: SoC – Intel Atom Bay Trail-I E3815 Processor @ 1.46GHz with Intel HD graphics System Memory – 2GB DDR3L-1067 Storage – 8GB eMMC, Optional 500GB SATA HDD Connectivity – WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Wired Gigabit Ethernet, Optional 3G, Optional LTE USB – 1x USB 3.0 Misc – System and 3G/LTE LEDs, Factory reset and power buttons Power Supply – 12V/2A Battery – Lithium-ion polymer 7.4v, 4050mAh (up to 5 hours of battery life) Dimensions – 190 x 190 x 30mm Weight – 607 grams The system runs Ubuntu 12.04. The optional 500GB hard drive includes 400GB of preloaded content, and educator can use the remaining […]
Ugoos UT3S is an Update to UT3 Android & Ubuntu TV Box with a Fan
Many people like ARM based media player because most of them run Android providing access too many apps available via Google Play Store, a similar experience to what they got used with phones and tablets, and also because they are small, inexpensive, and fanless. However, the latest ARM processors such as Rockchip RK3288, can get really hot, so most of the time CPU frequency needs to be limited to avoid overheating and stability, which reduces performance. Which may be why, Ugoos decided to launch UT3S mini PC, an upgrade to UT3 mini PC with a mini Fan placed on top of a larger heatsink. Ugoos UT3S specifications and look remain very similar to the original model: SoC – Rockchip RK3288 quad core CortexA17 @ 1.80 GHz + Mali-T764 GPU with support for OpenGL ES 1.1/2.0 /3.0, and OpenCL 1.1 System Memory – 2GB to 4GB DDR3 Storage – 16GB or […]
Vonets VM300 Wi-Fi & Ethernet IoT Board with Mediatek MT7620 Runs OpenWRT
Mediatek MT760 is a recent Wi-Fi SoC found in some Nexx WT3020 routers, and WRTnode development board. Both run OpenWRT and costs $17 to $30 depending on the amount of flash, and ports with the former featuring two Ethernet ports, and the latter access to GPIOs. You could probably open the case of the Nexx routers and solder some wires to get access to GPIO, and you can hack an Ethernet cable for WRTnode, but another options could be Vonets WM300 kit that includes a board with Wi-Fi and Ethernet, a cable for USB / Ethernet connection, headers for GPIOs, and two external antennas for less than $30. An OpenWRT SDK is also provided for the kit. Specifications listed for VM300 board: Processor – Mediatek MT7260N MIPS processor @ 580MHz Storage – 4MB SPI Flash (option: 8MB/16MB) for firmware System Memory – 32MB or 64MB SDRAM Connectivity Wi-Fi Single band […]