Autumn Bumper Harvest from Gearbest

Wednesday, April 30, 2014

How to fix your MK802 IV Android mini PC's WiFi performance

Over the past year Android TV sticks have gotten more and more powerful, while prices continue to drop. These days you can get a device that fits in the palm of your hand, has a quad-core processor, and lets you run Android apps on a TV for well under $100.

But one problem that plagues many of these little devices is poor WiFi reception. Some models are better than others, but I got so tired of testing Android mini-computers that didn’t work in my office that I recently invested in a WiFi range extender for the house.

Fortunately some device makers have been paying attention and adding features such as external antennae to improve performance. Sometimes there are easy ways to fix models without an external antenna though.

The folks at Rikomagic, for example, noticed that you can dramatically improve WiFi performance on the MK802 IV just by moving the antenna inside the case.


Retailer W2Comp sent me an MK802 IV demo unit a while back, but I’ve been a bit too busy to test it. Incidentally, W2Comp sells the device for $76.

It’s a small Android device with a Rockchip RK3188 ARM Cortex-A9 quad-core processor, 2GB of RAM, 8GB of storage, an HDMI connector, USB 2.0 port, and 2 micro USB ports (one of which is used for power).

Today I finally followed Rikomagic’s advice and cracked open the case to see if moving the antenna really does help improve WiFi performance. The short answer? It does.

The first thing I did was to plug the MK802 IV into my monitor, hook up a keyboard and mouse, and install the Network Signal Info app. I did this before moving the antenna.

At first, I saw signal strength of 60 to 70 percent. Then I unplugged the WiFi range extender in my office and watched the signal strength plummet down to 36 percent.


It didn’t stay there — that’s about as high as it got, but the signal occasionally dipped lower and from time to time the MK802 IV simply disconnected itself from my wireless network.

I didn’t have much hope that moving around the antenna would change things. But Rikomagic had assured me it would. So I unplugged the device and pried open the case (it’s tough to do this without breaking off some of the plastic — but basically if you run a fingernail, credit card, or other thin (and preferably not sharp or metallic) item along the edge of the case you should be able to do this without causing serious damage.

This is what my device looked like with the case open.




While a 100 percent signal would be even more exciting, this is a strong enough signal to stream videos, surf the web, make video calls, or do just about anything else without fear of losing the internet connection.

Not bad, considering my WiFi router is on the first floor of the house and my office is on the third.

This solution clearly won’t work for every Android TV stick. But if you happen to have a Rikomagic MK802 IV and you have trouble holding onto an internet signal, you might want to open the case and try moving the antenna.

There’s one interesting side note to this story. Rikomagic also recently issued a software update for the MK802 IV that upgrades the device from Android 4.1 to Android 4.2.2. It’s also supposed to optimize WiFi performance and offer a few other improvements — but I find that my signal strength is actually weaker after the upgrade.

I wrote most of the above article while running Android 4.1. After updating to Android 4.2, my signal strength dropped to about 51 percent.

via 


Comparison of Amlogic SOCs for TV Boxes and TV Sticks

Amlogic published an interesting table in the web that compares the Amlogic SOCs used for android tv boxes and sticks. From all of these SOCs we have only seen the MX and S802 in the market for the moment, i do not think that the other two SOCs, S812 and S805 will arrive any time soon. Moreover MX, S802 and S805 will also be present on mini pcs with TV Stick format.


Geniatech presents the ATV1800 and ATV582 TV Boxes

A few months ago Geniatech announced their new TV Box models based on the new AMLogic S802 SOC. Now we know the official data of the final products. These models are also distributed under the name Mygica. As you can see we have two different models to choose from with different prices, they will soon be available at the usual online stores but the final prices may vary.

  • ATV1800 with 1GB RAM + 8GB NAND / 2GB RAM +16 GB NAND =  149$  (108 euro) / 199$ (144 euro)
  • ATV582 and ATV1800 with 1GB RAM / 8GB Nand = $ 139 / € 101 

Sources say that the ATV1800 1GB model will not continue to be manufactured

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

How to root Amlogic S802 TV Boxes

This guide shows you how to easily root your Amlogic S802 device. You Just need a PC with Internet connection, the USB cable, and the TV Box.
  1. Install on your PC the Kingo Android Root program
  2. Your TV Box must be turned on and the USB Debug option must enabled. It can be found in Settings / Advanced / Developer Options. 
  3. Execute Kingo ROOT Android and connect your PC to the TV-Box with a USB cable via the OTG port. The system will recognize the TV Box and if any driver is missing it will be automatically downloaded. When the Box is correctly detected just click the Root button. 

Monday, April 28, 2014

Firmware Upgrade Tutorial for TV Boxes with Amlogic S802

This is a short guide to upgrade your Amlogic S802 TV-Box. There are two methods to update it. If there is only one file use method 1 and if there are multiple files use Method 2.

1 - From a PC with .img file
  1. Download and install the tool on your PC from HERE the appropriate drivers will be installed too.
  2. Restart your PC 
  3. Run the USB_Burning_Tool that you installed on your PC and from the File / Import image img tab select the file you downloaded to install the firmware.. 
  4. Now turn your TV-Box off and connect it to your PC by the USB-OTG port with the MicroUSB cable. Now press the recovery button that is located beside the A/V connector and simultaneously turn the TV-Box on. If all went according to plan the flash tool will recognize your TV-Box as pictured.

Official Firmware for Beelink S802 Quadcore TV Round Box (24/04/2014)

A new firmware for the Beelink round TV Box powered by the Amlogic S802 is available for download, this device is sold by various stores and brands. It also has two variants with different WIFI chip and internal storage.


Rii Mini i7 a simple and economical flyMouse

A new flymouse from the company Riitek has emerged in the market. This new model is called Rii mini i7 and it  stands out for its simplicity and its low price because it costs only 13 € with shipping included.




Sunday, April 27, 2014

How to fix Video Lag for the Bluetimes BT919 Android TV Stick

There were some reports of dropped frames during video playback on the Bluetimes BT919 android TV Stick. This video tutorial is a simplified guide to fix this problem and make your video playback with any android video player and XBMC -including 1080p on Gotham 13- super smooth.



Saturday, April 26, 2014

MINIX V1 Launcher Final available for download

MINIX has launched the final version of their launcher that still has to polish some points but it seems more stable. There are also other themesin the Minix forum with different colors and icons. A simple launcher and very user friendly. You can download it from HERE,

Changes:
  • Added extra row so that users can put their apps
  •  Some minor adjustments to improve navigation

MINIX Mini HD equipped with an Atom chip

MINIX may be best known around these parts for making tiny computers and TV sticks featuring ARM-based processors and Google Android software. But the company’s also got a line of small motherboards and desktop computers featuring x86 chips.

The MINIX Mini HD, for example, is a small form-factor desktop PC with an Intel Atom D2550 dual-core Cedar Trail processor. It’s available from Geekbuying for just $116


 

Gotham XBMC 13.0 Beta 4 now available for download

XBMC Gotham 13 Beta 4 is now available for download, this new version brings a number of general improvements in compatibility with various systems.

The ARM Android version can be downloaded from HERE

The Android x86 version can be downloaded from HERE

More information in the official announcement. Specific changes XBMC Gotham Beta 4:
  • Improved playback of various formats 
  • Improved support Fire TV

Source code for the TV-Box Huawei M310 MediaQ

Huawei has released the source code for the M310 MediaQ TV Box powered by the Quad Core Hisilicon K3V2 Soc. You can download the file from the official website HERE





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Powerfull BRIX mini-PC with NVIDIA graphics unveiled by Gigabyte

Gigabyte is adding a new tiny desktop PC to its BRIX line of mini-computers. The company already offers several models with Intel or AMD processors. Now Gigabyte is preparing to launch a new model with an Intel Core i5 Haswell CPU and NVIDiA GeForce graphics.

gigabyte brix with geforce

Thursday, April 24, 2014

Sceptre TVs with Android-powered SoundBar SB301524W

There are plenty of cheap Android boxes that let you run apps, surf the web, and stream internet video on a TV. But most tend to use HDMI output for the audio, which means they pretty much use your TV’s speakers for sound.

Spectre has another solution: They’ve basically built an Android 4.0 mini PC into their latest SoundBar. With the SoundBar SB301524W, you can improve the sound on your 42 inch or larger TV while also running Android apps on the screen.

New Minix Neo X7 model with external Wifi antenna

Android Mini PC manufacturer MINIX will launch a new Neo X7 mini model, this time with the inclusion of an external wifi antenna, With this addition wifi reception will be improved dramatically and a better solution is presented to you if you need a good TV Box reduced in size at an affordable price

 

Official Firmware for Rikomagic RKM MK802-IV TV-Stick (3.24.2014)

This is the latest firmware dated at 24/03/2014 for the Rikomagic RKM MK802-IV (AP6210) android TV Stick, which includes several interesting improvements.

You can download it from HERE or HERE for the model with wifi AP6210 chip serial number from 201307****
 

List of Changes:  
  • Optimized wifi performance.
  • Fixed some problems restarts TV-Stick.  
  • Optimized wifi function display (Miracast) 
Update instructions:

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Measy B4A 4K Amlogic S802 TV Box

B4A 4K is the name of the "new" Tv-box to incorporate the Amlogic S802 Quad Core SOC that has created too much excitement in the last few days. Surely this Measy model is a direct opponent to Tronsmart Vega as they are equally powerfull. Basically i believe that they are the same device but with a different brand name because they have exactly the same looks and specs


Quad-Core Amlogic S802 M8 TV-Box from Enybox

These are the pictures of the Quad-Core M8 TV Box from Enybox.  The M8 fitted the new Amlogic Soc S802 in its basic version and also incorporates 5G wifi.

The M8 has powerful specs such as:
  • Quad Core Amlogic S802 CPU running at 2 Ghz
  • Octa-Core Mali-450 MP8 GPU
  • 2 GB of RAM
  • 8GB of NAND Flash
  • 5G wifi
  • Bluetooth 4.0

FunBox Android game console with Tegra 4 available for $159 (unofficially)

The FunBox is a Chinese video game console with an NVIDIA Tegra 4 processor, 2GB of RAM, and an Android-based operating system. Developed by ZTE and The9, the FunBox launched in China recently, and now it’s available internationally for $159… if you don’t mind ordering from a reseller at retail marketplace AliExpress.


Tuesday, April 22, 2014

The Bluetimes BT919 Android TV Stick

     There are good android TV Sticks and there are great android TV Sticks. The BT919 is one of the great ones. It is extremely good looking with a black slick glossy design and a vibrant and fresh orange colour on the dual wifi antenna and the HDMI plug cap
.
     This dual antenna provides an excellent wifi reception and it supports 802.11 b/g/n as well as Bluetooth 4.0, wifi direct and miracast are also present.
     The ports of the device consist of 2 MicroUSB (one of them is OTG), a full sized USB 2.0 and a MicroSD card slot. It also has an Fn button for firmware upgrade. It is worth to mention that the HDMI plug is gold plated to provide the best picture signal and it succesfully does.

Monday, April 21, 2014

Unboxing and Review of the CS968 Android TV Box

     What's up guys? CS968 is a very popular android tv box these days and i'm gonna help you decide whether it's worth buying it or not. So let's start with what you get in the box.

What's in the Box:

  •  The Device itself (CS968 Android TV Box)
  •  A suction cup to place it and adjust it on a furniture of your choice
  •  An ir remote control (it doesn't work as a fly mouse, it is used for simple menu navigation) with  battery  included 
  •  An A/C Adapter
  •  An A/V Cable
  •  An HDMI Cable (mine was gold plated)
     I have to say that this is a very generous package. You can watch my unboxing in the video below


 

How to run Windows XP on Android

Getting Started:

Congratulations. So you want to run Windows XP on your Android device. The process is pretty easy and only takes around 30 minutes, but the time may vary depending on your computer speed.  To get started, you will need to have a .iso format of Windows XP.  If you have your windows' disc, then you could use programs such as ISOBurner to make an ISO from it.  After you have that all figured out, continue to download the rest of the items below.