Android

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments on VIA Unveils VAB-820 Pico-ITX Board Powered by Freescale i.MX6 Quad

VIA Unveils VAB-820 Pico-ITX Board Powered by Freescale i.MX6 Quad

About two weeks ago, VIA announced the VAB-820, which according to the company, is the first ARM based quad core Pico-ITX single board computer (SBC) on the market. A claim that looks to be incorrect by the way. The board is powered by Freescale i.MX6Quad quad core ARM Cortex A9 processor, and comes with 1GB DDR3 SDRAM and 4GB eMMC Flash. This is an industrial board targeting in-vehicle, surveillance and industrial applications, designed to work in an operating temperature range from -20°C ~ 70°, and with a seven years longevity support. VAB-820 Specifications: SoC – Freescale i.MX 6Quad ARM Cortex-A9 @ 1.0GHz with Vivante GC2000 GPU System Memory – 1GB DDR3-1066 SDRAM using 128M x16 memory devices Storage – 4MB SPI Serial Flash, 4GB eMMC Flash, and microSD slot (up to 64GB) Connectivity – Gigabit Ethernet using Micrel KSZ9031RNX Ethernet transceiver with RGMII support Audio – Freescale SGTL5000 low power stereo […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 15 Comments on Geniatech ATV1800 Android TV Box To Feature AMLogic Quad Core Processor & Android 4.3

Geniatech ATV1800 Android TV Box To Feature AMLogic Quad Core Processor & Android 4.3

A few months ago, we learned AMLogic was working on a Quad core Cortex A9 SoC with the new ARM Mali-450MP6 (8 cores) GPU called AML8726-M8. It turns out AML8726-M8 may not only be one processor, but a family of processors (M801, M802, M803, and M805) according to a recent article in Chinese. This SoC was going to be part of Geniatech ATV1800 Android STB, but specifications were not available. More details have now surfaced. Geniatech (aka Mygica) ATV1800 Enjoy TV Specifications: SoC – AMLogic M801 or M802 Quad core Cortex A9 @ 1.6 to 2.0 GHz + ARM Mali-450MP6 GPU System Memory –  2GB DDR3 Storage – 8GB NAND + microSD card slot Video Output – HDMI 1.4 up to 1080p, and composite Audio Output – HDMI, Stereo RCA output, and optical SPDIF (TBC) Connectivity – 10/100M Ethernet, built-in 802.11 b/g/n WiFi, and Bluetooth USB – 4 USB 2.0 […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments on Android 4.4 KitKat on Galaxy Nexus – ROM, Linaro, and Petition

Android 4.4 KitKat on Galaxy Nexus – ROM, Linaro, and Petition

Google has already released the binaries for Android 4.4 “KitKat” for the Nexus 5, and images are coming for Nexus 4, Nexus 7, and Nexus 10, in the next few weeks. Source code is also available in AOSP (Android Open Source Project). However, even though KitKat has been optimized for older devices, the Galaxy Nexus won’t an official Android 4.4 released because it was released at the end of 2011, which is over the 18 months update window guaranteed by Google. Many people are upset about this decision, and several people have started working on KitKat for Galaxy Nexus. The Linaro team found a solution within minutes by going to the convenience store, and providing KitKat on Galaxy Nexus as shown below. However, usability was not really ideal, so they had some more work to do… In the meantime, Grabak, a developer and member of XDA Forums, provided an alpha […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments on $91 IPPLI Mars i8 is a Cylinder Shaped STB Based on Rockchip RK3188

$91 IPPLI Mars i8 is a Cylinder Shaped STB Based on Rockchip RK3188

Most of set-top boxes come with a casing with a rectangular shape. But some designs are more original: spaceship-like, spherical, or even in the shape of a pyramid. We’ve now got another option with IPPLI Mars i8, a media player based on Rockchip RK3188, that comes with a cylindrical enclosure. Here are the technical specifications of the device: SoC – Rockchip RK3188 quad core Cortex A9 @ 1.6 GHz + Mali-400MP4 System Memory – 2GB DDR3 Storage – 8GB NAND Flash  + microSD slot (Up to 32GB) Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n with external Wi-Fi antenna. Bluetooth Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR 10/100M Ethernet Video Output – HDMI v1.4 up to 1080p Audio Output – HDMI, optical audio, and 3.5mm jack Camera – 2.0MP with microphone USB – 2 x USB 2.0 port, 1 x Mini USB (OTG) Dimensions – 8.5 cm x 8.5 cm x 13.0 cm Weight – 252 g […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment on One2Touch Softpad C1 and S1 are NFC Keyboards for Android Devices

One2Touch Softpad C1 and S1 are NFC Keyboards for Android Devices

It’s pretty easy to find Bluetooth keyboards if you want to a keyboard to type more easily and faster on your phone. They have two small inconveniences however: they need to be paired, and need to be recharged. The first one is not really a problem, but the second can be. If your phone supports NFC, you can now get One2Touch Softpad C1 or S2 wireless keyboard using NFC technology. These do not require pairing, nor charging (but uses CR2025 batteries). Softpad S1 is similar to C1, expect there’s space in the middle of the keyboard to insert your phone. S1 has recently been (quickly) reviewed by Android Central. To make the keyboard work with your Android smartphone, you’ll need to download the drivers from Google Play, and you’re ready to go. You can watch the video below for some of the use cases with Softpad C1. I could not […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments on AllWinner Roadmap Until 2015: A23, A6X, A7X, A8X and A9X

AllWinner Roadmap Until 2015: A23, A6X, A7X, A8X and A9X

AllWinner has recently unveiled their products roadmap until 2015. They’ve got big.LITTLE cortex A7/A15 processors, as well as a processor for wearable planned for 2014, and a big.LITTLE Cortex A53/A57 processor, as well as another Octa-core bit.LITTLE processor (cores unknown) for 2015. There’s also a new processor for 2013, called A23, which is a cost down version of Allwinner A20 dual core Cortex A7. Let’s have a look at the different upcoming processors. AllWinner A23 – Dual core cortex A7 @ 1.5 Ghz with Mali-400MP2 GPU, and 40nm process. Planned for Q3 2013, and tablets will be available this month (More below) AllWinner A6X – Quad-core cortex A7/A15 (big.LITTLE) @ 2.0GHz with a GPU offering 1.7x more performance (compared to SGX544MP2 in A31?). Planned for Q2 2014. AllWinner WX – Quad-core processor for wearable devices (e.g. smartwatches). Q4 2014. AllWinner A8X (A80) – Octa-core cortex A7/A15 @ 2.0GHz with a […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment on ARM Unveils Mali-T720 and Mali-T760 GPUs

ARM Unveils Mali-T720 and Mali-T760 GPUs

ARM has recently announced two new Mali GPUs: Mali-T760 for high-end smartphones and tablets, and Mali-T720 for entry-level devices, but with better performance and energy performance compared to previous cost-optimized Mali GPUs, as well as OpenGL ES 3.0 support. These new GPUs have already been licensed by companies such as MediaTek, Rockchip, Samsung and LG Electronics.   Mali-T760 GPU ARM lists the key benefits and features of the ARM Mali-T760 GPU as follows: An increase in energy efficiency and performance of approximately 400 percent over the ARM       Mali-T604 GPU; Scaling to 16 shader cores, which doubles the previous generation, plus an increase in both performance per shader core and overall performance; Reduction of internal and SoC bandwidth utilization, significantly reducing energy consumption, enabled by ARM Frame Buffer Compression (AFBC), and Smart Composition, delivering more than 50 percent reduction in total memory bandwidth utilization; Simplified implementation through reduced wire count and […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments on VIA Announces $99 Springboard Platform for Android and Linux Development

VIA Announces $99 Springboard Platform for Android and Linux Development

Back in May 2013, VIA unveiled VAB-600 Pico-ITX board powered by WonderMedia WM8950 with an ARM Cortex A9 processor @ 800 MHz and a Mali-400 GPU. At the time they provided a starter kit with a 7″ display. The company has now announced the VIA Springboard Platform based on VAB-600 that is available without Wi-Fi for $99 or with Wi-Fi for $129. Here are the items included in the kits: VAB-600 Pico-ITX board with WM8950, 1GB DDR3 SDRAM, 4GB eMMC Flash memory and microSD slot. See VAB-600 post for detailed specifications. VIA VAB-600-A I/O extender card: 1 x Line-Out jack 1 x Mic-In jack 2 x USB 2.0 A-type ports 1 x Suspend LED power indicator 1 x Power On/Off button 3 x board-to-board connectors 1 x USB board-to-board connector VIA VNT9271 Springboard USB WiFi module (Wi-Fi Kit only) – Supports IEEE 802.11b/g/n standards and 802.11e WiFi Multimedia (WMM). Based […]