CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

October 31, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 12 Comments

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 […]

October 31, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

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 […]

October 31, 2016November 2, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 121 Comments

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 […]

October 30, 2016December 10, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

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:

uname -a
Linux raspberrypi 4.1.7-v7+ #817 SMP PREEMPT Sat Sep 19 15:32:00 BST 2015 armv7l GNU/Linux
pi@raspberrypi ~ $ /opt/vc/bin/vcgencmd version
Sep 23 2015 12:12:01 
Copyright (c) 2012 Broadcom
version c156d00b148c30a3ba28ec376c9c01e95a77d6d5 (clean) (release)

uname -a

Linux raspberrypi 4.1.7-v7+ #817 SMP PREEMPT Sat Sep 19 15:32:00 BST 2015 armv7l GNU/Linux

pi@raspberrypi ~ $ /opt/vc/bin/vcgencmd version

Sep 23 2015 12:12:01

version c156d00b148c30a3ba28ec376c9c01e95a77d6d5 (clean) (release)

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 […]

October 29, 2016October 29, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

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 […]

October 28, 2016October 28, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

CS668 Combines Android TV Box, Power Bank, and Bluetooth Speakers Into One Device

CS668 is an Android 6.0 TV box powered by Amlogic S905X quad core processor, which triples as Bluetooth stereo speakers and a power bank thanks to its built-in 5,000 mAh battery. CS668 3-in-1 TV box specifications: SoC – Amlogic S905X quad core ARM Cortex-A53 @ up to 1.5 GHz with Mali-450MP GPU System Memory – 1GB DDR3 Storage – 8GB eMMC flash + micro SD slot up to 32 GB Video Output – HDMI 2.0a up to 4K @ 60 Hz Audio I/O – HDMI output, 3.5mm headphone jack, 10W stereo speakers, built-in microphone Connectivity – 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi @ 2.4 GHz and Bluetooth 4.0 (AP6212 module) USB – 3x USB 2.0 host ports, 1x micro USB OTG port Misc – Power & Play/Pause combo button, and volume buttons Battery – 5,000 mAh rechargeable lithium battery good for up to 48 hours Power Supply – 5V/3A Dimensions – 15.1 cm […]

October 28, 2016October 31, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 12 Comments

NanoPi S2 Quad Core ARM Linux Board Comes with WiFi & BT Connectivity, HDMI, LVDS, and LCD Interfaces

FriendlyARM has released a bunch of Allwinner based NanoPi Allwinner boards recently, but they also have some Samsung/Nexcell S5P ARM Cortex A9 boards in their portfolio, and the latest is NanoPi S2 with Samsung S5P4418 quad core processor, three display interfaces, a camera interface, wireless connectivity through WiFi and Bluetooth 4.0, a 40-pin “Raspberry Pi” header, and more. NanoPi S2 specifications: SoC – Samsung/Nexcell S5P4418 quad core Cortex A9 processor @ 400 MHz to 1.4 GHz with Mali-400MP GPU System Memory – 1 GB DDR3 Storage – 8GB eMMC flash + micro SD slot Video Output / Display I/F – micro HDMI port up to 1080p60, 24-pin LCD RGB interface, 24-pin LVDS interface Audio – 3.5mm audio jack, micro HDMI Camera – 24-pin DVP camera interface Connectivity – 802.11 b/g/n WiFi + Bluetooth 4.0 classic & LE (AP6212 module); IPEX/u.FL antenna connector USB – 1x USB 2.0 Host, 1x micro […]

October 28, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Fujitsu Launches F-Cue 96Boards Compliant Board Powered by SocioNext MB86S71 Processor

While 96Boards platforms may not be selling like Raspberry Pi boards, the form factor is quite popular with vendors, as there are now around 10 development board either directly supported by 96Boards, or at least compliant for the form factor. Fujitsu has also made their own 96Boards compliant F-Cue board powered by SocioNext MB86S71 quad core Cortex A15/A7 processor, as well as F-Cue extension board with Ethernet & PCIe interfaces. F-Cue board specifications: SoC – Socionext MB86S71 big.LITTLE quad core processor with 2x Cortex-A15 cores @ 1.2GHz, 2x Cortex-A7 cores @ 800MHz, and Mali-T624 GPU System Memory – 2GB LPDDR3 1333MHz Storage – 16GB eMMC 4.51 flash, micro SD 3.0 UHS-I slot Video & Audio Output – HDMI 1.4b Multimedia Capabilities – 1080p@30fps encode/decode, 4 stream H.264 decode; 32k x 32k JPEG codec Connectivity – 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac WiFi , Bluetooth 4.2 USB – 1x USB 3.0 host port, 1x USB […]