CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

August 16, 2017August 17, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Asus WA039T All-in-One PC is Powered by Intel Pentium J4205 Apollo Lake Processor

Intel Pentium N4205 is the most powerful Apollo Lake processor launched by Intel with four cores up to 2.6GHz (turbo), and 18 EU HD graphics, but so far I have not seen many products with the processor, with only ASRock J4205-ITX motherboard and Beebox J4205 mini PC. So I went to Aliexpress, and nothing at all shows up for J4205, I had better luck on Alibaba with Unistorm / ACEPC AK1 mini PC apparently also having Pentium N4205 as an option (for OEM only), and several industrial computer and motherboards. But none of those products seem to be easily purchasable just yet. A final search on GearBest led me to their one and only J4205 based product: Asus WA039T AIO PC, so let’s have a look. Asus WA039T AIO computer specifications: SoC – Intel Pentium J4205 quad core “Apollo Lake” processor @ 1.50 / 2.60 GHz with a 18 EU Intel […]

August 15, 2017August 19, 2017 by Ian W MORRISON (Linuxium) - 2 Comments

ECDREAM A9 Apollo Lake HDMI “TV Stick” Review with Windows 10 and Ubuntu 17.04

The ECDREAM A9 is arguably the first Intel Apollo Lake ‘PC stick’ available for purchase. However, in reality it is surprisingly large, and when compared to earlier Intel Atom ‘sticks’ and mini PC ‘boxes’ it lies somewhere in between. Measuring 2.3 inches (58 mm) wide and 0.6 inches (16 mm) thick it feels almost double in size of the original Intel Compute Stick (1.5 in/38 mm by 0.5 in/12 mm) and like nearly half of a mini PC (Beelink’s AP34 is 4.7 in/119 mm by 0.8 / 20 mm). Given that you only get two USB ports, an micro SD card slot and the obligatory HDMI and power port, the large size would be better justified if an Ethernet port had also been included given other smaller ‘sticks’ have shown this is possible. However the reason for its size is due to the oversized fan and heatsink… and that […]

ArmSoM RK3588 AIModule7 NVIDIA Jetson Nano-compatible SOM

August 15, 2017August 15, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 27 Comments

GIGABYTE MA10-ST0 Server Motherboard is Powered by Intel Atom C3958 “Denverton” 16-Core SoC

Last year, we wrote about Intel Atom C3000 series processor for micro-servers with the post also including some details about MA10-ST0 motherboard. GIGABYTE has finally launched the mini-ITX board with an unannounced Atom C3958 16-core Denverton processor. GIGABYTE MA10-ST0 server board specifications: Processor – Intel Atom C3958 16-core processor @ up to 2.0GHz with 16MB L2 cache (31W TDP) System Memory – 4x DDR4 slots for dual channels memory @ 1866/2133/2400 MHz with up to 128GB ECC R-DIMM, up to 64GB for ECC/non-ECC UDIMM Storage 32GB eMMC flash 4x Mini-SAS up to 16 x SATA 6Gb/s ports 2x Mini-SAS ports are shared with PCIe x8 slot Connectivity 2x 10Gb/s SFP+ LAN ports 2x 1Gb/s LAN ports (Intel I210-AT) 1x 10/100/1000 management LAN Video – VGA port up to 1920×1200@60Hz 32bpp; Aspeed AST2400 chipset with 2D Video Graphic Adapter with PCIe bus interface USB – 2x USB 2.0 ports Expansion Slots […]

August 15, 2017August 15, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Aspencore 2017 Embedded Markets Study – Programming Languages, Operating Systems, MCU Vendors, and More

Aspencore media group asked readers of their EE Times and Embedded.com websites to fill out an online survey about their embedded system projects. They got 1,234 respondents mostly from North America (56.3%), followed by Europe (25.2%), and Asia (10.6%). This resulted in a 102-page market study which you can download here. I’ve extracted a few slides to have a look at some of the trends. C language is still the most used language in embedded systems, but other languages like C++, Python and even assembly language are gaining traction. Operating system is more spread with Linux being the most used via Embedded Linux distributions, Debian, and Ubuntu. FreeRTOS comes in second place, while Android registers fourth with 13%. Git has finally supplanted Subversion in 2017, with all other version control software losing ground. Switching to some hardware slides, 44% used a development board to start their embedded design with ST […]

August 14, 2017August 24, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

Tanix TX3 Mini TV Box is Powered by Amlogic S905W SoC

So it looks like Amlogic has outed another SoC with Amlogic S905W processor that appears to be a cost down version of Amlogic S905X limited to 4K @ 30 fps video decoding. One of the first device to used the new processor is Tanix TX3 mini TV box that should be priced similarly to Rockchip RK3229 devices. Tanix TX3 mini specifications: SoC – Amlogic S905W quad core ARM Cortex-A53 @ up to 1.5 GHz with penta-core Mali-450MP GPU @ 750 MHz System Memory – 1GB/2GB DDR3 Storage – 16GB eMMC flash + micro SD card slot Video Output – HDMI 2.0 output, AV port (composite) Audio – HDMI, optical S/PDIF, AV port (stereo audio) Video Codecs – 4K@30fps H.265, MPEG1/2/4, H.264, HD AVC/VC-1, RM/RMVB, Xvid/DivX3/4/5/6 , RealVideo8/9/10 Connectivity – 10/100M Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi USB – 2x USB 2.0 host ports Misc – IR receiver, front panel LCD display Power Supply – 5V/2A […]

August 14, 2017August 14, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 33 Comments

Fedora 26 Supports Single “Unified” OS Images for Multiple ARM Platforms

The decision to use device tree in Linux occurred several years ago, after Linus Torvalds complained that Linux on ARM was a mess, with the ultimate goal of providing a unified ARM kernel for all hardware. Most machine specific board files in arch/arm/mach-xxx/ are now gone from the Linux kernel, being replaced by device tree files, and in many case you simply need to replace the DTB (Device Tree Binary) file from an operating system to run on different hardware platforms. However, this is not always that easy as U-boot still often differ between boards / devices, so it’s quite frequent to distribute different firmware / OS images per board. Fedora has taken another approach, as the developers are instead distributing a single Fedora 26 OS ARMv7 image, together with an installation script. Images for 64-bit ARM (Aarch64) are a little different since they are designed for SBSA compliant servers, so […]

Rockchip RK3568, RK3588 and Intel x86 SBCs and SoMs in 2025

August 14, 2017August 15, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

Intel Gemini Lake Block Diagram and Yet More Info

So yesterday, I wrote about some of the new features of Intel Gemini Lake processors like native HDMI 2.0, 4-wide pipeline, 10-bit VP9, and possible built-in 802.11ac wireless controller. I went to bed, and somehow this morning I woke up with something that looks like Gemini Lake (GLK) block diagram, and a few more details. So we indeed have HDMI 2.0 output, as well as DP 1.2a and eDP 1.4, and an embedded wireless controller via the CNVi (Connectivity Integration Architecture) block for WiFi’s MAC and Bluetooth’s MAC + Baseband modem. We’ll have plenty of USB 3.0 host interfaces, and the usual PCIe and SATA 3 interfaces. Still no UFS support, but eMMC 5.1 is supported, as well as x128 DDR4, LPDDR3 and LPDDR4 memory up to 2400 MHz (No ECC support). Cache size is confirmed to be 4MB for up to four GoldMont Plus (GLM+) cores, which combined with […]

August 14, 2017August 14, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 10 Comments

Sony Spritzer is an Arduino Compatible Board with Built-in GPS, Audio Codec

Look who is joining the maker community! Sony has showcased their Arduino compatible Spritzer board during the Maker Faire Tokyo on August 5-6. Despite lacking on-board network connectivity, the board is said to have been designed for IoT applications with features such as an integrated GPS and an advanced digital audio codec and amplifier. Sony Spritzer specifications: MCU – Sony CDX5602 ARM Cortex-M4F ×6 micro-controller clocked at up to 156 MHz with 1.5MB SRAM Storage – 8MB Flash Memory, micro SD card GNSS – GPS, GLONASS, supported Audio – 3.5mm audio jack Expansion I/Os Digital I/O Pins – SPI, I2C, UART, PWM ×4 (3.3V) Analog Pins – 6ch (3.3V range) Audio I/O – 8ch Digital MICs or 4ch Analog MICs, Stereo Speaker, I2S, CXD5247 audio codec with 192 kHz/24bit High-Resolution audio 2x camera interfaces USB – 1x micro USB port for programming Power Supply – Via Power barrel and Vin […]