CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

March 1, 2017April 15, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 21 Comments

FriendlyELEC NanoPi M1 Plus Allwinner H3 Board Adds Gigabit Ethernet, WiFi & Bluetooth, and an 8GB eMMC Flash

FriendlyELEC has introduced an update to NanoPi M1 board, aptly named NanoPi M1 Plus with a similar form factor and Allwinner H3 processor, but adding Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n WiFi & Bluetooth, and an 8GB eMMC flash, at the expense of one USB port that had to go to make place for the new features, and it got a little wider too.NanoPi M1 Plus board specifications: SoC – Allwinner H3 quad core Cortex A7 @ 1.2 GHz with an ARM Mali-400MP2 GPU up to 600 MHz System Memory – 1GB DDR3 Storage – 8GB eMMC flash + micro SD card slot Video & Audio Output – HDMI and 3.5mm jack for CVBS (composite + stereo audio) Connectivity – Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n WiFi and Bluetooth 4.0 dual mode (classic + low energy) with chip antenna and IPEX/u.FL connector USB – 2x USB 2.0 host ports, 1x 4-pin USB 2.0 […]

March 1, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 28 Comments

Some Sonoff TH16 and Sonoff POW Manufactured in December 2016 / January 2017 Are Being Recalled

Sonoff TH16 and Sonoff POW are inexpensive and useful wireless switches based on ESP8266 WiSoC. I’m using Sonoff TH16 to control a water pump, and Sonoff POW to monitor my office power consumption. I received mine in early November 2016, so they were probably manufactured sometimes in October. Does manufacturing month matter? Yes, it does, as ITEAD Studio has just issued a recall notice for both devices for a batch manufactured between December 2016 and January 2017. The problem is that while the switches come with a 16A relay, the trace were not thick enough, and if you connect a device that draws enough power, they would heat enough to make the case slowly melt. The problem is that ITEAD Studio asked the factory to add “sufficient tin to the wires to ensure low enough impedances”, but they did not quantify it clearly, and that’s why the product is not […]

March 1, 2017March 22, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 49 Comments

MINIX NEO U9-H Media Hub Review – Part 2: Android 6.0 Firmware & Kodi 17

MINIX NEO U9-H is the successor of MINIX NEO U1 media hub with an upgrade from four to eight cores with Amlogic S912 processor, as well as added support for VP9 and HDR. The company sent me a sample, and I’ve already checked out NEO U9-H hardware in the fist part of the review, so I’ll report by testing results in Android 6.0 and Kodi 17 in the second part. Since the user interface & many of the features have not changed, I’ll refer to MINIX NEO U1 review from time to time. First Boot, OTA Firmware, Settings and First Impressions I connected the MINIX A3 air mouse RF to one of the USB port, a USB 3.0 hard drive to another, and a USB hub to the last one with Tronsmart Mars G01 gamepad, a USB keyboard to take screenshots for the review, and a USB webcam. There’s also […]

February 28, 2017February 28, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

Xiaomi Introduces Surge S1 ARM SoC, Xiaomi Mi 5c Smartphone

Xiaomi may be skipping Mobile World Congress 2017, but they’ve still announced their first in-house Surge S1 octa-core SoC, and Xiaomi Mi 5c powered by the processor right at the same time as the even takes place. Surge S1 processor specifications: CPU – Octa-core 64-bit chipset with 4x Cortex A53 cores @ up to 2.2GHz, 4x Cortex A53 cores @ up to 1.4GHz GPU – ARM Mali-T860 quad-core GPU with AFBC + ASTC image compression technology 32-bit high performance DSP for voice processing 14-bit dual ISP; enhanced image processing capabilities with Surge ISP algorithm improving camera light sensitivity by 150%, and dual noise reduction algorithm reducing noise and preserving image detail in low light Upgradable baseband; programmable modem, OTA upgradable VoLTE high quality call and video support Security – Chip-level security; TEE architecture, strict compliance with safety regulations 28nm High Performance Computing (HPC) process The specifications and Antutu score (64,817) […]

February 28, 2017February 28, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 37 Comments

Raspberry Pi Zero W Adds WiFi & Bluetooth, Sells for $10

The first Raspberry Pi was launched 5 years ago on February 29, 2012, and the Raspberry Pi foundation has made an habit of announcing new products on the anniversary of the board. This year is no exception, as the foundation has just announced Raspberry Pi Zero W, based on the popular Raspberry Pi Zero, but potentially much more useful, as they added a WiFi and Bluetooth LE module to the board. Raspberry Pi Zero W specifications: SoC – Broadcom BCM2835 ARM11 processor @ 1GHz with VideoCore IV GPU System Memory – 512MB RAM Storage – microSD slot Video Output – mini HDMI port and composite video (via 2 unpopulated pins) Connectivity – 802.11 b/g/n WiFi and Bluetooth 4.0 (same Cypress CYW43438 wireless chip as Raspberry Pi 3 Model B) USB – 1x micro USB OTG port, 1x micro USB port for power only Camera – 1x CSI camera connector Expansion […]

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

Compulab IOT-GATE-iMX7 is an NXP i.MX7 IoT Gateway for Industrial Applications

CompuLab has introduced IOT-GATE-iMX7 compact fanless IoT gateway and industrial controller built around the company’s CL-SOM-iMX7 system-on-module, and offering Ethernet, WiFi, Bluetooth, 3G and Zigbee connectivity.Compulab IOT-GATE-iMX7 gateway specifications: SoC – NXP i.MX 7 dual ARM Cortex-A7 processor @ up to 1GHz with ARM Cortex-M4 core @ 200Mhz, 2D graphics engine System Memory – Up to 2GB DDR3L-1066 Storage – Up to 32GB on-board eMMC + micro-SD socket Connectivity Dual Gigabit Ethernet Dual band WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n Bluetooth 4.1 BLE Optional 3G cellular module via mini PCie socket Optional ZigBee NXP JN5168 module Display – DVI up to 1920×1080 using a HDMI connector Audio – 3.5mm jacks for stereo line out, stereo line in USB – 4x USB2.0 host ports, type-A connectors Serial – 1x RS485 / RS422 port, RJ11 connector; 1x RS232 port, ultra-mini serial connector; 1x serial console via UART-to-USB bridge, micro-USB connector Expansion mini-PCIe socket, full-size embedded […]

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

Oppo’s Ultra-Thin Smartphone Dual Camera Comes with a 3x Optical Zoom, Supports 5x “Lossless” Zoom

Smartphones allow you to zoom in when taking a picture, but most of the time it’s achieved using a software based digital zoom, and quality suffers greatly as a results. Oppo has however designed a new smartphone camera module with a 3x optical zoom, and “image fusion” technology to bring the level of “lossless” zoom to 5 times. Some phones such as Asus Zenfone Zoom come with a 3x optical zoom, and you can purchase detachable zoom for your smartphone, but none of those are as quite as compact as Oppo solution, which from the outside looks like a standard dual camera since it’s so thin (5.7 mm). They’ve managed to keep the module compact by designing a periscope-style structure that divert light through a prism and into a telephoto lens nested inside the smartphone, set at a 90° angle to a rear-facing wide-angle lens. The camera also comes with […]

February 28, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

Spreadtrum SC9861G-IA is an Octa-core Intel Airmont LTE SoC for Smartphones

Do you member Rockchip & Intel partnership about “SoFia” SoC for smartphones? It did not pan out so well, and but Intel has apparently not given up on the idea of partnering with Chinese companies to design and launch Intel based smartphone application processors, as Speadtrum has just announced SC9861G-IA octa-core Intel Airmont processor @ up to 2.0 GHz with an LTE Cat. 7 modem, and manufactured using Intel’s 14nm process technology. The Airmont architecture is also found in Intel’s own Cherry Trail and Braswell SoCs designed for respectively tablets and mini PCs, so they must have found some further power efficiencies in order to use it in a smartphone, and used some of technology developed for Intel canceled projects. SC9861G-IA withh support 5-mode full-band LTE (TDD-LTE / FDD-LTE / TD-SCDMA / WCDMA / EGG) Cat 7. as well as Carrier Aggregation and TDD/FDD hybrid networking, allowing for peak data […]