Orange Pi PC 2 Development Board based on Allwinner H5 SoC Launched for $20

Shenzhen Xunlong had already launched Orange Pi Zero, the cheapest ARM Linux board with networking you can find today, earlier this week, and I’ve just been informed the company has now listed the more powerful Orange Pi PC 2 board powered by Allwinner H5 quad core Cortex A53 processor on Aliexpress for $19.98 plus shipping.Orange Pi PC 2 specifications: SoC – Allwinner H5 quad core Cortex A53 processor with an ARM Mali-450MP4 GPU System Memory – 1GB DDR3 Storage – micro SD card slot up to 64GB, 8Mbit SPI NOR flash Video Output – HDMI 1.4 with CEC support, AV port Audio I/O – HDMI, AV port, on-board microphone Connectivity – Gigabit Ethernet USB – 3x USB 2.0 host ports, 1x micro USB OTG port Camera – MIPI CSI Interface Expansions – 40-pin Raspberry Pi compatible header Debugging – 3-pin UART header for serial console Misc – IR receiver; Power […]

Giveaway Week – K1 Plus T2 S2 Android TV Box and DTV Receiver

Videostrong K1 Plus T2 S2 is one of the most popular devices this year on CNX Software, as it’s probably the cheapest 4K Android TV box that includes both DVB-T/T2 and DVB-S2/T2 tuner, and beside just supporting Android, the community has also released an OpenELEC image with tuner support, and tools such as a Windows channel editor. When I first reviewed K1 Plus T2 S2 in February of this year, I found the Android part still needed some work, but the DTV app to watch live TV through my aerial antenna or satellite dish worked reasonably well despite some bugs here and there. Since then the company must have fixed some of the issues through various firmware updated, but some people are running Vitmos OpenELEC image instead since it may be more familiar, and other interfaces like Enigma may also be supported. All accessories shown above will be included in […]

Khadas Edge2 Arm mini PC

Sonoff POW and Sonoff TH16 WiFi Relays Review – Part 1: The Hardware

Sonoff TH16 is a WiFi 16A relay that can take external sensors via a 2.5mm jack, while Sonoff Pow is a WiFi relay capable of measuring power consumption. Both have been designed by ITEAD Studio, and feature Espressif ESP8266 WiSoC. The company sent me both items for review, and I’ll start by checking out the hardware a little more closely than what is possible during the product announcement. I received Sonoff TH16 together with Sonoff AM2301 temperature and humidity sensor, which I’ll use to use to control an outdoor water pump and gather temperature and humidity data, as well as two Sonoff POW relays,which I plan to use to measure power consumption in my office, both from the power outlets and my aircon. All three WiFi relays support 3500 Watts, and 85 to 250V input. The packages have three QR codes for eWeLink iOS app, the Android app (coolkit.apk), and […]

Inforce Computing Introduces 6301 SoM and Devkit Powered by Snapdragon 410E SoC with Long Term Availability

Qualcomm launched Snapdragon 410E and 600E processors for the embedded market at the end of September, meaning the processors were easy to source by any company, not matter how small they are, and the company would now offer long term availability often required for embedded systems. Inforce Computing is now leveraging the new Snapdragon 410E processor with their Inforce 6301 micro SoM, and corresponding development kit. Inforce 6301 micro SoM specifications: SoC – Qualcomm Snapdragon 410E (APQ8016 SoC) quad core ARM Cortex A53 processor @ 1.2GHz, Adreno 306 GPU, and Hexagon DSP @ 700MHz Memory – 1GB LPDDR3 @ 533MHz  (Option: 2GB) Storage – 8GB eMMC v4.5 flash (Option up to 64GB) NAND, 1x micro SD card interface with support up to HS200 Connectivity – Bluetooth 4.1 LE, Wi-Fi dual stream 802.11 b/g/n @ 2.4GHz (WC3620), on-board GPS/GNSS/BeiDou/Galileo (WGR7640) Video – H.264/263 playback and capture @1080p; H.265 playback @720p; Interfaces […]

Huawei Unveils Mate 9 HiSilicon Kirin 960 Smartphone with 5.9″ display, 4GB RAM, 64GB Storage

Hisilicon Kirin 960 is one of the most powerful ARM mobile processor to date with four ARM Cortex A73 cores up to 2.4 GHz, four low power Cortex A53 cores, and a Mali G71MP8 GPU. It was expected in Huawei Mate 9 smartphone, but we did not have that many details, and now the company has made it official. Huawei Mate 9 specifications: SoC – HUAWEI/HiSilicon Kirin 960 octa-core processor with 4 Cortex A73 cores @ up to 2.4 GHz A73, four Cortex A53 cores at up to 1.8 GHz, a Mali-G71 MP8 GPU, and i6 co-processor/sensor hub System Memory – 4GB RAM Storage – 64GB UFS 2.0 flash + micro SD card slot up to 256 GB Display – 5.9″ FHD (1920 x 1080) display, 373ppi, 16.7M colors Audio – 4x microphones, stereo? speakers, 3.5mm headphone jack! Cellular connectivity MHA-L29 model: dual SIM support (one share with micro SD […]

Giveaway Week – Coowell V4 TV Box with Camera

It’s Friday, and Coowell V4 giveaway day. The device is an Android TV box powered by Rockchip RK3368 octa-core processor, 2GB RAM, 16GB storage, and a retractable HD camera with video conferencing. I have not fully reviewed the device, instead focusing on the camera review with Skype and Hangouts, and I could use it without issues with Skype, but video calls in Google Hangouts were not that stable, and frequently lost video. I also quickly benchmarked the device with Antutu and found the score was rather low, so if your ambient temperature is high the device may throttle easily… I’ll send the package to one lucky winner with all accessories shown above. To enter the draw simply leave a comment below. Other rules are as follows: Only one entry per contest. I will filter out entries with the same IP and/or email address. Contests are open for 48 hours starting […]

UP 7000 SBC

Anet A8 DIY 3D Printer Could Be a Worthwhile First 3D Printer for $147

You probably have wished getting started with 3D printer, as I did, but you may have been put off with the high cost associated with 3D printers even the cheaper ones for several hundred dollars, especially if you are unsure whether you’re going to use it often. But there’s now a very affordable 3D printer kit based on Prusa i3 printer that sells on GearBest for $146.99 including shipping with A8PRINT coupon. Anet A8 3D printer specifications: Print Area: 220 x 220 x 240mm Print speed – 100 mm/s Nozzle diameter – 0.4 mm Layer thickness – 0.1 – 0.3 mm XY-axis positioning accuracy – 0.012 mm Z-axis positioning accuracy – 0.004 mm Supported materials – ABS, PLA, TPU, Luminescent, Nylon PVA, PP, Wood??? Material diameter – 1.75mm Frame material – Acrylic plate Platform board: Aluminum Base 2004 LCD screen for configuration SD card for offline print Supported file formats – […]

Zidoo A5 and A5S Android TV Boxes Powered by Amlogic S905X SoC Sell for $62.99 and Up

Zidoo never stops pushing new hardware, and today I’ve come across the company’s two new models powered by Amlogic S905X processor with Zidoo A5 and A5S sold on GeekBuying for respectively $62.99 and $79.99. Zidoo A5 & A5S models look exactly the same but have different hardware specifications under the hood: SoC –  Amlogic S905X quad core ARM Cortex-A53 @ up to 1.5 GHz with  penta-core Mali-450MP GPU System Memory – A5: 1GB DDR3; A5S: 2GB DDR3 Storage A5 – 8GB eMMC flash + micro SD card slot A5S – 16GB eMMC flash + micro SD card slot Video & Audio Output – HDMI 2.0a, AV Video Codec – 4K@60 Hz video decoding 10-bit HEVC and AVS+ codec support; H.264 up to 4K,VP9 up to 4K,support HDR Connectivity A5 – 10/100M Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 A5S – 10/100M Ethernet, Dual band 802.11 b/g/n/ac WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0 USB – […]

Khadas VIM4 SBC