ARM Introduces Bifrost Mali-G51 GPU, and Mali-V61 4K H.265 & VP9 Video Processing Unit

Back in May of this year, ARM unveiled Mali-G71 GPU for premium devices, and the first GPU of the company based on Bifrost architecture. The company has now introduced the second Bifrost GPU with Mali-G51 targeting augmented & virtual reality and higher resolution screens to be found in mainstream devices in 2018, as well as Mali-V61 VPU with 4K H.265 & VP9 video decode and encode capabilities, previously unknown under the codename “Egil“. Mali-G51 GPU ARM Mali-G51 will be 60% more energy efficiency, and have 60% more performance density compared to Mali-T830 GPU, making the new GPU the most efficient ARM GPU to date. It will also be 30% smaller, and support 1080p to 4K displays. Under the hood, Mali-G51 include an updated Bifrost’s low level instruction set, a dual-pixel shader core per GPU core to deliver twice the texel and pixel rates, features the latest ARM Frame Buffer Compression […]

Giveaway Week – WeTek Core Android TV Box

For day 2 of this giveaway week, I’ll send one lucky winner WeTek Core Android or OpenELEC TV box powered by Amlogic S812 processor, and one of the rare boxes with support Netflix HD, which is partially why I listed it as one of the best Android TV boxes. But as discussed in WeTek Core review, there are also other reasons the box stands out with HD audio pass-through and automatic frame rate switching support, support forums, regular firmware updates, and WeTek is one of the few companies providing an official OpenELEC firmware image. All accessories shown above are included, except the HDMI cable. 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 at 10am (Bangkok time) every day. Comments will […]

Khadas Edge2 Arm mini PC

GIGABYTE GB-BPCE-3350 Apollo Lake Mini PC to be Powered by Intel Celeron N3350 Processor

GIGABYTE GB-BPCE-3350 will be one of the first Intel Apollo Lake mini PCs powered by the entry-level Celeron N3350 dual core processor, with two SO-DIMM slots for up to 8GB RAM, SATA support, HDMI 2.0 and VGA ports, etc… and very much designed like an Intel NUC. GIGABYTE GB-BPCE-3350 specifications: SoC – Intel Celeron N3350 dual core processor @ 1.1 GHz / 2.4 GHz with 12 EU Intel HD graphics 500 @ 200 MHz / 650 MHz (6W TDP) System Memory – 2x SO-DIMM DDR3L 1333/ 1600/ 1866 MHz slot up to 8GB Storage –  1x 2.5″ SATA 3.0 bay for drives with 7.0/9.5mm thickness, 1x micro SD slot Video Output – HDMI 2.0 with HDCP 2.2 up to 4K @ 60 Hz, and VGA up to 1920×1200 @ 60 Hz; Dual independent display support Audio – HDMI out, 3.5mm audio in/mic in combo jack; Realtek ALC255 audio codec Connectivity […]

Voyo V2 Bay Trail mini PC with Battery Sells for $70 (Promo)

Voyo V2 is an ultra thin mini PC powered by Intel Atom Z3735F Bay Trail processor with the usual 2GB RAM and 32GB storage configuration, and depending on model an extra 64GB SSD, as well as a battery acting as a UPS. GearBest now has promotion with the mini PC without SSD, but with the 5,000 mAh battery, for $69.99 including shipping with CPVY2 coupon. Voyo V2 specifications: SoC – Intel Atom Z3735F “Bay Trail” quad core processor @ 1.33 GHz (Bust freq: 1.83 GHz) with Intel HD graphics System Memory – 2 GB DDR3 Storage – 32 GB eMMC flash +  SATA II connector for 1.8″ SATA drives (via USB to SATA bridge) Video Output – HDMI 1.4b port Audio Output – HDMI, and 3.5mm audio jack Connectivity – Fast Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth 4.0 (Ampak AP6212 module) USB – 1x USB 2.0 host, 1x micro USB […]

Samsung eMMC and UFS 2.0 embedded Flash Chips and Performance in 2016

Samsung does not always keep up its website up-to-date when it comes to its embedded flash chips, and performance metrics such as sequential read/write and random read/write values are not shown for all devices. The former is mostly important for data storage, while the latter may make a big difference for the operating systems responsiveness, and applications that rely on many short write and/or read operations. A table with the latest Samsung eMMC 5.0/5.1 and UFS 2.0 chips, and performance metrics somehow dropped in my computer. The company offers low end eMMC 5.0/5.1 flash with capacities between 4 and 16 GB with performance up to 285/40 R/W MB/s and 8K/10K R/W IOPS, mainstream chips between 32 and 128 GB delivery up to 310/140 MB/s and 14K IOPS, and all UFS 2.0 device are faster than any of the eMMC flash (limited in theory to 400 MB/s) with capacity between 16GB […]

Giveaway Week – VR SKY CX-V3 Android Virtual Reality Headset

It’s been a while since I’ve organized a Giveaway week, and with Christmas less than two months away, it might be a good time to launch another one. It will take place on October 31 – November 6 with one device or board offered every day, starting with VR SKY CX-V3 All-in-one Android VR Headset. CX-V3 review showed that it’s good enough to play 2D and 3D videos, but Allwinner H8vr might not be quite powerful enough for VR games, and the IPD (Interpupillary distance) is not adjustable, so depending on the distance between your eyes, virtual reality apps may not be usable at all. That’s not a problem for videos however. I’ll send the kit with all accessories to the lucky winner. 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 […]

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Getting Started with RabbitMax Flex IoT and Automation Hat for Raspberry Pi

At the beginning of the month I showed how to assemble RabbitMax Flex, a Raspberry Pi HAT compliant add-on board for Raspberry Pi boards with 40-pin header, that targets IoT and home automation project with its relay, IR transmitter and receiver, I2C headers for sensors, buzzer, RGB LED, and more.  Since I’ve already described the hardware, I’ve spend some time this week-end following the user’s guide to play around with the board using a Raspberry Pi 2 board, and try various features. The user’s manual explains that you need the latest version of Raspbian, but I’d not played with my Raspberry Pi 2 board for a while, so the kernel and firmware were quite old:

So the first thing I had to do was to upgrade Raspbian. There are basically two options to upgrade, either downloading and dumping the latest Raspbian firmware image to your micro SD card, and […]

ESP32 Updates – ESP32-S Module Replaces ESP3212, ESP32 DevBoards for Sale, Arduino & NodeMCU Support

There have been some developments with regards to Espressif ESP32 in the last month since my post about upcoming ESP32 development boards. First ESP3212 module is no more, and has been replaced with ESP32-S module with about the same features, but it’s not pin-to-pin compatible, so the new module won’t work with older breakout boards made for ESP3212. ESP32-S is now out of stock on Seeed Studio, but you’ll find it on IC Station, Banggood, and others shops. One good news is that it’s now easier to buy – or at least pre-order – ESP32 development boards, although stock may still be an issue, as the platform is very popular. If you live in the US, you can now backorder “Sparkfun ESP32 Thing” for $19.95. ESP32 board can be powered by either a micro USB power supply or a LiPo battery, and exposes close to 30 I/O pins. ESP32 developer […]

Khadas VIM4 SBC