archos

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments on Low Cost Android Tablets: Archos Arnova 8 and Arnova 10

Low Cost Android Tablets: Archos Arnova 8 and Arnova 10

Archos – a leader in low cost android tablet with its Archos Gen8 Series (Archos 28/32/48/70/101) – has just released the Arnova Series with the Archos Arnova 8 (149 USD), an 8″ inch Android 2.1 tablet and Archos Arnova A10HT (199 USD), a 10.1″ Android 2.1 tablet. Currently those 2 tablets are based on Rockchip ARM9 RK2818 @ 600 Mhz and use a resistive touchscreen, but in the next few months, they’ll release version with Rockchip RK2918 @ 1GHz (Cortez A8 based), a capacitive touchscreen and Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) for the same price. The firmware of those tablets is apparently not directly supported by Archos, but is developed by a subsidiary in Hong Kong called Arnova (hence the name). Usually the IT (Internet Tablet) series are developed and supported by Archos (better support) and HT (Home Tablet) developed and supported by third parties. Have a look at Charbax’s video of the […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments on Archos has released a new version of Appslib 2.0

Archos has released a new version of Appslib 2.0

Archos has just released a new version of AppsLib, the Android marketplace for tablets to be used with its Archos Android tablet including Archos 70 and Archos 101. The new version is Appslib 2.0 (Build 58): Faster, easier to use, multilingual, new icons, new category “adult content” and more to enjoy the thousands of apps available on AppsLib. The file is Appslib_2.apk. You can download it directly on your Archos device and install it there. You can also install it via your PC as follows: Click on the AppsLib icon on above to download the latest version of Appslib. Save the.apk file onto your PC’s hard drive. If the file extension is NOT “apk”, but is instead “zip”, change it to “apk”. Transfer the .apk file to a folder folder on your device. Unplug your device. Open the File Manager or AppInstaller on your tablet (note these names may be […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment on Rockchip RK29xx Processors at CES 2011

Rockchip RK29xx Processors at CES 2011

Rockchip (瑞芯微电子), a Fuzhou (China) based company, showcased its new RK29XX processors at CES 2011. The processors are aimed at smartphones, mid, tablet and internet tv (smart tv) and compete directly with the like of Qualcomm snapdragon or Samsung Hummingbird. Here are the specs for the RK29XX series: 1.2 GHz ARM Cortex A8 core with Neon and 512KB L2 cache High performance 2D and 3D processors supporting OpenGL ES 2.0 and Open VG. The GPU can deliver up to 60 MT/s. 1080p video decoding for H.264, VP8, RV, WMV, AVS, H.263, MPE-4…. 1080p H.264 video encoding Supports DDRIII, DDRII, Mobile DDR memory 24-bit HW ECC for MLC Nand, support e-MMC boot 3 USB ports for device, host, 3G module 2 SD  ports for SD card and WiFi Sensor interface for front and rear camera, up to 5M Standard TFT/EPD controller for variable panels 8 channel I2S and SPDIF TS port […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments on Building Archos Gen8 Source on Ubuntu 10.10

Building Archos Gen8 Source on Ubuntu 10.10

[ad#Google Adsense-Leaderboard] In a follow-up post of GPL Source code and SDE for Archos Gen8 Devices earlier today, here are the steps I followed to build the toolchain, kernel and root file system with buildroot on Ubuntu 10.10 Desktop version: Extract the source code: tar xzvf ../Downloads/gen8-gpl-froyo.tgz Install extra packages for the build: sudo apt-get install flex bison build-essential zip curl libmpfr-dev libmpfr1ldbl automake autoconf libtool gettext texinfo Run the build to generate the toolchain, kernel and root file system: cd gen8-gpl-froyo/buildroot sudo make Then wait for a while (It took 1h15 on my machine) to get the binary images: zImage (kernel) in buildroot/linux/arch/arm/boot rootfs.arm.squashfs (rootFS) in buildroot/binaries/uclibc Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft)Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011. www.cnx-software.com

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments on GPL Source code and SDE for Archos Gen8 Devices

GPL Source code and SDE for Archos Gen8 Devices

Right at the end of November, Archos released the first version of their Android 2.2 firmware (2.0.54). They now have also released the GPL code for this firmware. http://www.archos.com/support/download/software/sources/gen8-gpl-froyo.tgz In this package, you’ll find the following: Linux Kernel 2.6.29 buildroot – Set of tools to generate the cross-compilation toolchain, the kernel and the root file system A directory called “external”  with the following libraries, tools and drivers: alsa-lib – Audio library blktrace – Driver debugging tool elfcopy –  Tool to generate executable binaries grub – Bootloader iptables – Firewall Tool liblzo  – LZO Compression Library webkit – Web Browser Engine alsa-utils – Audio Tools BlueZ – Bluetooth Protocol Stack elfutils – Tool to manipulate executable binaries hostapd – For Wifi Authentication jdiff – Java Code Analyzer openvpn – VPN Client/Server wpa_supplicant – Wifi tools for WPA/WPA2 bison – Parser Generator dbus – Libray and daemon for IPC (InterProcess Communication) genext2fs […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments on Android 2.2 is now available for Archos 28/32/43/70/101 Internet Tablet

Android 2.2 is now available for Archos 28/32/43/70/101 Internet Tablet

Archos Android 2.2

Archos has just released a firmware update for Gen8 Devices with Android 2.2.1. This will be faster and more responsive, but you’ll have to wait a bit longer for flash support since they need the flash plugin to be certified. If you already installed Google MarketPlace on your Archos device, you might need to wait for a new gApps4Archos.apk file or follow the instructions here, install the new version for Android 2.2. The file name is now gApps4Archos2.apk. Here are the features of this firmware update (2.0.54): 1. New Features of Android 2.2.1 Higher performance: Just In Time compiler (JIT technology), makes applications run up to 5 times faster than previous 2.1 Eclair (firmware 1.0.84). Enhanced Microsoft® Exchange support: it is now possible to synchronise contacts and calendar events. Allow to install more 3rd party applications by installing them on the internal storage memory (for applications that support it). New […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment on Installing Google MarketPlace on Archos Gen8 Devices

Installing Google MarketPlace on Archos Gen8 Devices

Update: Please now use the files and instructions at http://code.google.com/p/archos-apps-installer/ instead of the instructions below. Currently the Archos Gen8 devices (Archos 28, 34, 43, 70 and 101) are only shipped with AppLibs that contains “only” 10,000 applications. I believe it’s because Google requires tablets to be mobile devices (with GSM or 3G capabilities) to fully access Google MarketPlace. But do not despair, since the guys at Archosfans found a way to install Google MarketPlace on the new Archos android tablets and you’ll be able to use an APK file to install the marketplace. Here are the steps: Simply download gApps4Archos.apk here, here or here. (Firmware version before 2.0.54) Copy gApps4Archos.apk file to your Archos disk. Install it by selecting this file using the device file manager Run the installed package and follow the installation steps Bear in mind, that this has been tested on Android 2.1 and it may or […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment on Archos 101 Archos 70 with Android 2.2

Archos 101 Archos 70 with Android 2.2

In the previous blog post about Archos 70 Video Review, I mentioned the device was running on Android 2.2. This is not currently accurate, as the device now ships with Android 2.1, but will be upgradable to Android 2.2 soon after. [ad#Google Adsense – Wide Banner] In the meantime, here’s an another Charbax’s video about Archos Gen8 devices (i.e. Archos 28,Archos 32, Archos 43, Archos 70and Archos 101) running a beta version of Android 2.2 for this series of devices. Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft)Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011. www.cnx-software.com