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Zidoo X5 TV Box Unboxing and Teardown

Zidoo X5 is the latest Android TV from Zidoo, based on Amlogic S905 quad core processor, with 1GB RAM and 8GB flash. The company sent me a review sample, and I’ll start with pictures of the device and board, before writing a full review in a couple of months. Zidoo X5 Unboxing I got the device by DHL in the typical white and green Zidoo branded package. The device ships with an HDMI cable, a remote control with IR learning function that requires two AAA batteries (not included), a 5V/2A power adapter, and Zidoo X5 “simple manual”. Zidoo is innovating for the enclosure of the devices, not following the rectangular shape of most TV boxes on the market. The front panel is extra thin and includes a small window for the power LED and IR receiver, while on one side, we can find two USB 2.0 ports and a micro […]

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Mini Review of G9C Android Media Player

Shenzhen Tomato sent me their G9C Android TV box at the beginning of December, but as Google Play was not working reliably in the first firmware, I decided to delay the review a little, and the company has provided a new working firmware a few weeks ago, and I’ve now taken the time to test some the main issues I normally find on Amlogic S905 Android TV box. I’ve also ready shown pictures of the device and the board, so today, I’ll only report my experience with the firmware. First Boot and First Impressions I’ve connected all necessary cables, and several USB devices include an harddrive and RF dongles for MINIX NEO A2 Lite air mouse and Tronsmart Mars G01 gamepad. The device started automatically upon connecting the power, and on average the boot takes between 25 to 30 seconds. Not bad at all for an entry-level device. The launcher […]

ArmSoM RK3588 AIModule7 NVIDIA Jetson Nano-compatible SOM
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Embedded Systems Conference 2016 Schedule – April 13-14

The Embedded Systems Conference 2016 will take place in Boston on April 13-14, and the organizers have now released the schedule, minus some keynotes, which features four main tracks: Embedded Hardware, Embedded Software, Connected Devices and the Internet of Things (IoT), and the ESC Engineering Theatre. As usual, I’ve gone through the list of talks and composed my own little virtual schedule which ended up with sessions focusing on power management, IoT, and security, as well some optimization and drivers development talks among others, such as patents, and the origin of Gerber files. Wednesday 13 8:00 – 9:00 – Power Management in Embedded Systems by Colin Walls, Embedded Software Technologist, Mentor Graphics The importance of power management in today’s embedded designs has been steadily growing as an increasing number of battery powered devices are developed. In this session, we will discuss design considerations that should be made when starting a […]

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BeagleBone Black Industrial 4G is Red, and Offers an Extended Temperature Range

BeagleBone Black is a great little board for hobbyists with plenty of I/Os, and decent software support, but the development board has not been designed to be used in low or high temperatures as found in some industrial settings, so Element14 has designed BeagleBone Black Industrial 4G with the same specifications as BeagleBone Black Rev C, but a red PCB, support for an extended temperature range between -20 and +85°C, and additional board protection with a conformal coating. BeagleBone Black Industrial 4G Specifications: SoC – Texas Instruments Sitara AM3358BZCZA10 Cortex A8 @ 1 GHz + PowerVR SGX530 GPU System Memory – 512 MB DDR3L @ 800 MHz Storage – 4GB eMMC + micro SD slot Video Out/Display I/F – HDMI and LCD interfaces Connectivity – 10/100M Ethernet (RJ45) Serial Port – UART0 access via 6 pin 3.3V TTL Header. Header is populated USB – USB 2.0 Client port: Access to […]

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Bringing a Better Port of MicroPython to ESP8266 (Crowdfunding)

MicroPython is an lightweight implementation of Python 3 that runs on ARM Cortex-M micro-controllers such as STM32 or Texas Instruments CC3200, and since ESP8266 is so popular, work has started to port MicroPython on the Tensilica Xtensa LX106 based WiFi SoC. The current ESP8266 port comes with some API callss specific to ESP8266, but is quite basic, uses the execution model provided by Espressif, requiring callbacks to process WiFi requests, and doesn’t include support for many of the chip’s interface such as SPI, nor support WiFi fully. That’s why Damien George, the project lead, has launched a Kickstarter campaign to help fund development of the port, aiming to raise at least 6000 GBP (~$8,500 US). The goal is to develop “proper” Berkeley sockets for MicroPython on the ESP8266, in order to provide a true Python socket API to make development easier, optimize RAM usage, and implement the missing parts on […]

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SDK Released for Steam Link Based on Marvell ARMADA 1500 Mini Processor

Steam Link is a small $50 device that streams PC Games played from Steam PC or Steam Machine to your TV up to 1080p resolution through your home network, and Valve has recently released an SDK to allow developers creating their own apps. But before getting into the SDK features, let’s check out the hardware. The company (Valve) did not provide many details, but some users torn it down, so the hardware specs are not a secret anymore. SoC – Marvell DE3005-A1 ARMv7 processor @ 1.0 GHz with OpenGL ES2.0 capable GPU System Memory –  512MB RAM (Micron MT41K256M16LY-107) Storage – 4GB NAND flash (Micron MT29F32G08CBAC) Video Output – HDMI up to 1080p60 Connectivity – 10/100M Ethernet, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n/ac and Bluetooth 4.0 LE via Marvell 88W8897 wireless chip USB – 3x USB 2.0 host ports Power Supply – 5V via power barrel Dimensions – N/A Marvell DE3005-A1 is also […]

Rockchip RK3568, RK3588 and Intel x86 SBCs and SoMs in 2025
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GPD HK is Working on a Windows 10 Portable Game Console Powered by Intel Atom x5-Z8500 SoC

GPD and JXD are two companies specializing in portable game consoles, and in recent years, they seem to have focused on ARM based platforms running Android, but GPD has consulted with Dingoonity community (registration required to access pictures) for an upcoming Windows 10 hand-held console powered by Intel Atom x5-Z8500 processor. The company has also released preliminary specifications: SoC – Intel Atom x5-Z8500 / Z8550 quad-core Cherry Trail processor System Memory – 4GB RAM Storage – 64GB eMMC flash (It could change to 32 or 128GB however) + micro SD slot up to 128GB Display – 5.5″ capacitive touch screen; 1280×720 resolution; Corning Gorilla Glass 3; In-Cell technology. Video Output- micro HDMI Audio Output – micro HDMI + 3.5mm headset jack Connectivity – WiFi and Bluetooth USB – 1x USB Type-C port, 1x USB 3.0 host Battery – 6000 mAh non-removable Li-Po battery, good for 6 to 8 hours of […]

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Zsun Wifi Card Reader Can Now Run OpenWrt

Zsun Wifi card reader is a tiny micro SD card reader with WiFi connectivity, and while people managed to access the device serial console a few months ago, the plan was to eventually run OpenWrt since it’s based on the popular Atheros AR9331 WiSoC combined with 64MB RAM and 16MB SPI Flash. It would also be one the smallest OpenWrt capable device with dimensions of 30 x 33 mm. A team of Polish managed this feat, and have now posted instructions to install OpenWrt, as well as other documentation, for example a description of the board’s GPIOs. There are four methods to flash OpenWrt: Solder on an Ethernet jack and flash from the original uboot (hard but safe) Reflash the bootloader from the original firmware to one that supports upload over serial (less soldering but fatal if you mess up) Reflash the firmware from the original firmware using mtd_write (easy […]

Boardcon CM3588 Rockchip RK3588 System-on-Module designed for AI and IoT applications