[DEV] Developing UnBrickable Mod.. - Samsung Galaxy Nexus

I am doing research for UnBrickable Mod on the Galaxy Nexus. UnBrickable Mod will provide a method of recovering a dead device and guarantee unlocked bootloaders for those with the mod.
I just sorted through the 5,000 page OMAP 4430 processor manual. I believe this OMAP 4430 to be very similar to OMAP 4460 used in the Galaxy Nexus http://focus.ti.com/pdfs/wtbu/OMAP4430_ES2.x_Public_TRM_vK.zip
Rebellos and I will require 2 Galaxy Nexus devices to make this technique work. I've done the research and I thoroughly believe UnBrickable Mod on the Galaxy Nexus is possible.
First Galaxy Nexus will be torn down. The processor must be removed and signal endpoints will be documented.
Second Galaxy Nexus will have the modification applied to it. The device will then be shipped to Poland or worked on remotely from Poland by Rebellos.
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If this device is anything like previous Galaxy devices which I have worked on, the SysBoot will be locked to OneNAND.. 0b100110. To enable Boot from USB, a hardware modification must be performed to change that to 0b000110. This will allow boot from USB then boot from OneNAND.
Keep in mind this is a Texas Instruments chip...
The first thing that struck me as odd is that OneNAND used to be a Samsung technology.. The next thing was the fact that the SysBoot pins function similarly to the Samsung S5PC110/Exynos xOM pins... on S5PC110, xOM5 must be brough high to enable boot from USB then OneNAND. the OMAP4 allows this same functionality by modifying SysBoot5... I believe Samsung helped develop the OMAP4 chip.
Code:
27.4.1 Booting Overview
27.4.1.1 Booting Types
Booting is the process of starting a bootstrap from one of the booting devices.
The ROM code has two functions for booting: Peripheral booting and memory booting.
• In peripheral booting, the ROM code polls a selected communication interface such as UART or USB,
downloads the executable code over the interface, and executes it in internal RAM. Downloaded
software from an external host can be used to program flash memories connected to the device. This
special case of peripheral booting is called preflashing; software downloaded for preflashing is called
the flash loader. The flash loader burns a new client application image in external flash memory. Initial
software is a generic term for bootstrap, downloaded software, and flash loader. After the image is
burnt, a software (warm) reset can be performed.
• In memory booting, the ROM code finds the bootstrap in permanent memories such as flash memory
or memory cards and executes it. This process is normally performed after a cold or warm device
reset.
The ROM code detects whether the device should download software from a peripheral interface (USB or
UART) by using the sys_boot[5:0] pin configuration. This mechanism encompasses initial flashing in
production (external memory is empty) and reflashing in service (external memory is already
programmed).
27.4.1.2 ROM Code Architecture
Figure 27-4 shows the ROM code architecture. It is split into three main layers with a top-down approach:
high-level, drivers, and hardware abstraction layer (HAL). One layer communicates with a lower-level layer
through a unified interface.
• The high-level layer performs the main tasks of the public ROM code: multicore startup, watchdog and
clock configurations, interrupt management, interaction with the power-management IC, and main
booting routine.
• The driver layer implements the logical and communication protocols for any booting device in
accordance with the interface specification.
• The HAL implements the lowest level code for interacting with the hardware infrastructure IPs. End
booting devices are attached to the device I/O pads.
Figure 27-4 shows the three layers with their modules.
5198
With all the similarities between S5PC110, Exynos, and OMAP4, there is still alot left to do.

If somebody has got ANY info about this device like used chipset models, internal pictures, service manuals, chipset documentations (especially for the CPU, there are few huge manuals from TI about OMAP4460 covering various aspects) please post it or send to Adam or me through PM. This is what we also do need.
Thanks in advance.

^^what he said... we can hardware unlock the bootloader within hours of release if we can get one for destructive teardown.
With more information, we can really unleash the potential.

Love your work Mr Outler, genius..
congrats
edit: and Rebellos you guys go so far beyond, thanks so much!

http://focus.ti.com/pdfs/wtbu/OMAP4460_ES1.0_PUBLIC_TRM_vF.zip

i already love the development on this device <3
you guys are awsome.

Here's the bootmode pins we are concerned with.
h_SYSBOOT_0 pin: F26
h_SYSBOOT_1 pin: E27
h_SYSBOOT_2 pin: E26
h_SYSBOOT_3 pin: E25
h_SYSBOOT_4 pin: D28
h_SYSBOOT_5 pin: D27
--we are not concerned with the following--
h_SYSBOOT_6 pin: AF8
h_SYSBOOT_7 pin: AE8
These values are for the OMAP4430 and should follow on the OMAP4460

Found a dev board based on OMAP4460.. It's called VAR-SOM-OM44

Here are a few things we unearthed in the Galaxy Nexus:
Silicon
CPU: Texas Instruments OMAP4460 (same as the Droid RAZR and Archos G9 tablets), 2047.7 BogoMIPS
GPU: Imagination Technologies PowerVR SGX 540 (same as the Galaxy S and Nexus S)
Wifi / Bluetooth module: Broadcom BCM4330 (same as in the Galaxy S II)
Audio codec: Texas Instruments TWL6040
HDMI: Silicon Image MHD SiI9234 transmitter over MHL (same as Infuse 4G and GSII)
USB Switch: Fairchild semiconductors fsa9480 (industry standard)
Framebuffer controller: Samsung S6E8AA0 MIPI LCD with Gamma correction driver
Sensors
Geomagnetic sensor: Brand new tri-axial Yamaha YAS530
TouchScreen sensor: Melfas MMSxxx touchscreen
Optical / proximity sensor: GP2A (same as Galaxy S and Nexus S)
Barometric pressure sensor: BOSCH BMP180 (first of its kind in a smartphone)
Triaxial acceleration sensor: BOSCH BMA250
Triple Axis MEMS Gyroscope: InvenSense MPU3050
Fuel Gauge (algorithm to track battery's state of charge): MAXIM MAX17040
Misc. internals
Facial recognition elements (Face Unlock): left eye, right eye, nose base, head, face
Available resolution for standard apps: 720 x 1184px
Refresh rate: 60Hz
LCD Density: 320
Default display color depth: 32bit
Camera uses OMAP Ducati Subsystem, on-screen preview size is 768 x 576
Linux kernel: 3.0.1 compiled for SMP with voluntary kernel preemption for best interactivity
Android ROM: version 4.0.1, built October 13, 2011
Device name: Maguro
Main input/output type supported: Headphone, Speaker, Microphone, Bluetooth, Voice, FM, S/PDIF over HDMI; USB Audio DAC (digital-to-audio converter with USB input and stereo outputs) should also be supported
engadget, by Francois

borce_razor said:
CPU: Texas Instruments OMAP4460 (same as the Droid RAZR and Archos G9 tablets), 2047.7 BogoMIPS
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
great for confirmation. This is what we have been researching
USB Switch: Fairchild semiconductors fsa9480 (industry standard)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This means 301kohm resistor will work (if wired internally) and we can also get 619Kohm resistor UART output as well. This is awesome. No changes to my setup needed.
Linux kernel: 3.0.1 compiled for SMP with voluntary kernel preemption for best interactivity
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Very interesting... I didn't think they had a 3.0 mobile kernel yet. This is good to know. It may need a new version of the SuperUser binary compiled for it.. Many of the currently existing binaries we use may break.
Thanks! And thanks Supercurio!

I'm definitely on board. What's the goal? ~$1,500?

caffeineighted said:
I'm definitely on board. What's the goal? ~$1,500?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
We're not asking for money yet. I'd rather not ask for money at all. I don't like working with that. Money makes things complicated. I'm a horrible businessman, I realize this... I could capitolize on this.. I don't want to deal with money though.
I'm hoping that someone will donate one for research -or- gets one with a warranty which they can blindly let me borrow for a day or two.
Now I realize that it seems underhanded to warranty a device after destroying it, but keep in mind... This modification has potential to help people who would have warrantied their device in the first place... If this modification keeps just 2 people from sending their device in for service, the manufacturers and warranty providers begin saving money for each UnBrickable Mod performed. The users have less to worry about when flashing ROMs. The developers have less stress about bricking their device while developing.

u make a awesome point.
AdamOutler said:
We're not asking for money yet. I'd rather not ask for money at all. I don't like working with that. Money makes things complicated. I'm a horrible businessman, I realize this... I could capitolize on this.. I don't want to deal with money though.
I'm hoping that someone will donate one for research -or- gets one with a warranty which they can blindly let me borrow for a day or two.
Now I realize that it seems underhanded to warranty a device after destroying it, but keep in mind... This modification has potential to help people who would have warrantied their device in the first place... If this modification keeps just 2 people from sending their device in for service, the manufacturers and warranty providers begin saving money for each UnBrickable Mod performed. The users have less to worry about when flashing ROMs. The developers have less stress about bricking their device while developing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

I'd like to also point out that the service manual on the i9000 instructs the service centers to put the device into download mode and download firmware. If the firmware flash fails then it's hardware damage and the board has to be replaced.
Ergo, a bad software flash = a bad board and the board gets replaced
I use i9000 as an example because i9000 is the only example we have of a Galaxy class device service manual.

This is great im so glad there are already devs working hard on making this a reality, im selling my EVO 3D ASAP so i can get this phone as soon as its released!

If there's a fastboot mmc erase function, won't that simply be enough to get it into USB boot mode?

i9100 service manual

borce_razor said:
i9100 service manual
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I declare and ordain this as understated post of the week.

AdamOutler said:
I declare and ordain this as understated post of the week.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
with simple words, useful or not ?

ydaraishy said:
If there's a fastboot mmc erase function, won't that simply be enough to get it into USB boot mode?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah... but if you erase fastboot than you're screwed
Also, rumor has it that this device will have locked bootloaders... this will help to unlock them.
borce_razor said:
with simple words, useful or not ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes

Related

[DEV] Developing UnBrickable Mod..

I am doing research for UnBrickable Mod on the Galaxy Nexus. UnBrickable Mod will provide a method of recovering a dead device and guarantee unlocked bootloaders for those with the mod.
I just sorted through the 5,000 page OMAP 4430 processor manual. I believe this OMAP 4430 to be very similar to OMAP 4460 used in the Galaxy Nexus http://focus.ti.com/pdfs/wtbu/OMAP4430_ES2.x_Public_TRM_vK.zip
Rebellos and I will require 2 Galaxy Nexus devices to make this technique work. I've done the research and I thoroughly believe UnBrickable Mod on the Galaxy Nexus is possible.
First Galaxy Nexus will be torn down. The processor must be removed and signal endpoints will be documented.
Second Galaxy Nexus will have the modification applied to it. The device will then be shipped to Poland or worked on remotely from Poland by Rebellos.
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If this device is anything like previous Galaxy devices which I have worked on, the SysBoot will be locked to OneNAND.. 0b100110. To enable Boot from USB, a hardware modification must be performed to change that to 0b000110. This will allow boot from USB then boot from OneNAND.
Keep in mind this is a Texas Instruments chip...
The first thing that struck me as odd is that OneNAND used to be a Samsung technology.. The next thing was the fact that the SysBoot pins function similarly to the Samsung S5PC110/Exynos xOM pins... on S5PC110, xOM5 must be brough high to enable boot from USB then OneNAND. the OMAP4 allows this same functionality by modifying SysBoot5... I believe Samsung helped develop the OMAP4 chip.
Code:
27.4.1 Booting Overview
27.4.1.1 Booting Types
Booting is the process of starting a bootstrap from one of the booting devices.
The ROM code has two functions for booting: Peripheral booting and memory booting.
• In peripheral booting, the ROM code polls a selected communication interface such as UART or USB,
downloads the executable code over the interface, and executes it in internal RAM. Downloaded
software from an external host can be used to program flash memories connected to the device. This
special case of peripheral booting is called preflashing; software downloaded for preflashing is called
the flash loader. The flash loader burns a new client application image in external flash memory. Initial
software is a generic term for bootstrap, downloaded software, and flash loader. After the image is
burnt, a software (warm) reset can be performed.
• In memory booting, the ROM code finds the bootstrap in permanent memories such as flash memory
or memory cards and executes it. This process is normally performed after a cold or warm device
reset.
The ROM code detects whether the device should download software from a peripheral interface (USB or
UART) by using the sys_boot[5:0] pin configuration. This mechanism encompasses initial flashing in
production (external memory is empty) and reflashing in service (external memory is already
programmed).
27.4.1.2 ROM Code Architecture
Figure 27-4 shows the ROM code architecture. It is split into three main layers with a top-down approach:
high-level, drivers, and hardware abstraction layer (HAL). One layer communicates with a lower-level layer
through a unified interface.
• The high-level layer performs the main tasks of the public ROM code: multicore startup, watchdog and
clock configurations, interrupt management, interaction with the power-management IC, and main
booting routine.
• The driver layer implements the logical and communication protocols for any booting device in
accordance with the interface specification.
• The HAL implements the lowest level code for interacting with the hardware infrastructure IPs. End
booting devices are attached to the device I/O pads.
Figure 27-4 shows the three layers with their modules.
5198
With all the similarities between S5PC110, Exynos, and OMAP4, there is still alot left to do.
If somebody has got ANY info about this device like used chipset models, internal pictures, service manuals, chipset documentations (especially for the CPU, there are few huge manuals from TI about OMAP4460 covering various aspects) please post it or send to Adam or me through PM. This is what we also do need.
Thanks in advance.
^^what he said... we can hardware unlock the bootloader within hours of release if we can get one for destructive teardown.
With more information, we can really unleash the potential.
Love your work Mr Outler, genius..
congrats
edit: and Rebellos you guys go so far beyond, thanks so much!
http://focus.ti.com/pdfs/wtbu/OMAP4460_ES1.0_PUBLIC_TRM_vF.zip
i already love the development on this device <3
you guys are awsome.
Here's the bootmode pins we are concerned with.
h_SYSBOOT_0 pin: F26
h_SYSBOOT_1 pin: E27
h_SYSBOOT_2 pin: E26
h_SYSBOOT_3 pin: E25
h_SYSBOOT_4 pin: D28
h_SYSBOOT_5 pin: D27
--we are not concerned with the following--
h_SYSBOOT_6 pin: AF8
h_SYSBOOT_7 pin: AE8
These values are for the OMAP4430 and should follow on the OMAP4460
Found a dev board based on OMAP4460.. It's called VAR-SOM-OM44
Here are a few things we unearthed in the Galaxy Nexus:
Silicon
CPU: Texas Instruments OMAP4460 (same as the Droid RAZR and Archos G9 tablets), 2047.7 BogoMIPS
GPU: Imagination Technologies PowerVR SGX 540 (same as the Galaxy S and Nexus S)
Wifi / Bluetooth module: Broadcom BCM4330 (same as in the Galaxy S II)
Audio codec: Texas Instruments TWL6040
HDMI: Silicon Image MHD SiI9234 transmitter over MHL (same as Infuse 4G and GSII)
USB Switch: Fairchild semiconductors fsa9480 (industry standard)
Framebuffer controller: Samsung S6E8AA0 MIPI LCD with Gamma correction driver
Sensors
Geomagnetic sensor: Brand new tri-axial Yamaha YAS530
TouchScreen sensor: Melfas MMSxxx touchscreen
Optical / proximity sensor: GP2A (same as Galaxy S and Nexus S)
Barometric pressure sensor: BOSCH BMP180 (first of its kind in a smartphone)
Triaxial acceleration sensor: BOSCH BMA250
Triple Axis MEMS Gyroscope: InvenSense MPU3050
Fuel Gauge (algorithm to track battery's state of charge): MAXIM MAX17040
Misc. internals
Facial recognition elements (Face Unlock): left eye, right eye, nose base, head, face
Available resolution for standard apps: 720 x 1184px
Refresh rate: 60Hz
LCD Density: 320
Default display color depth: 32bit
Camera uses OMAP Ducati Subsystem, on-screen preview size is 768 x 576
Linux kernel: 3.0.1 compiled for SMP with voluntary kernel preemption for best interactivity
Android ROM: version 4.0.1, built October 13, 2011
Device name: Maguro
Main input/output type supported: Headphone, Speaker, Microphone, Bluetooth, Voice, FM, S/PDIF over HDMI; USB Audio DAC (digital-to-audio converter with USB input and stereo outputs) should also be supported
engadget, by Francois
borce_razor said:
CPU: Texas Instruments OMAP4460 (same as the Droid RAZR and Archos G9 tablets), 2047.7 BogoMIPS
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
great for confirmation. This is what we have been researching
USB Switch: Fairchild semiconductors fsa9480 (industry standard)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This means 301kohm resistor will work (if wired internally) and we can also get 619Kohm resistor UART output as well. This is awesome. No changes to my setup needed.
Linux kernel: 3.0.1 compiled for SMP with voluntary kernel preemption for best interactivity
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Very interesting... I didn't think they had a 3.0 mobile kernel yet. This is good to know. It may need a new version of the SuperUser binary compiled for it.. Many of the currently existing binaries we use may break.
Thanks! And thanks Supercurio!
I'm definitely on board. What's the goal? ~$1,500?
caffeineighted said:
I'm definitely on board. What's the goal? ~$1,500?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
We're not asking for money yet. I'd rather not ask for money at all. I don't like working with that. Money makes things complicated. I'm a horrible businessman, I realize this... I could capitolize on this.. I don't want to deal with money though.
I'm hoping that someone will donate one for research -or- gets one with a warranty which they can blindly let me borrow for a day or two.
Now I realize that it seems underhanded to warranty a device after destroying it, but keep in mind... This modification has potential to help people who would have warrantied their device in the first place... If this modification keeps just 2 people from sending their device in for service, the manufacturers and warranty providers begin saving money for each UnBrickable Mod performed. The users have less to worry about when flashing ROMs. The developers have less stress about bricking their device while developing.
u make a awesome point.
AdamOutler said:
We're not asking for money yet. I'd rather not ask for money at all. I don't like working with that. Money makes things complicated. I'm a horrible businessman, I realize this... I could capitolize on this.. I don't want to deal with money though.
I'm hoping that someone will donate one for research -or- gets one with a warranty which they can blindly let me borrow for a day or two.
Now I realize that it seems underhanded to warranty a device after destroying it, but keep in mind... This modification has potential to help people who would have warrantied their device in the first place... If this modification keeps just 2 people from sending their device in for service, the manufacturers and warranty providers begin saving money for each UnBrickable Mod performed. The users have less to worry about when flashing ROMs. The developers have less stress about bricking their device while developing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
I'd like to also point out that the service manual on the i9000 instructs the service centers to put the device into download mode and download firmware. If the firmware flash fails then it's hardware damage and the board has to be replaced.
Ergo, a bad software flash = a bad board and the board gets replaced
I use i9000 as an example because i9000 is the only example we have of a Galaxy class device service manual.
This is great im so glad there are already devs working hard on making this a reality, im selling my EVO 3D ASAP so i can get this phone as soon as its released!
If there's a fastboot mmc erase function, won't that simply be enough to get it into USB boot mode?
i9100 service manual
borce_razor said:
i9100 service manual
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I declare and ordain this as understated post of the week.
AdamOutler said:
I declare and ordain this as understated post of the week.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
with simple words, useful or not ?
ydaraishy said:
If there's a fastboot mmc erase function, won't that simply be enough to get it into USB boot mode?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah... but if you erase fastboot than you're screwed
Also, rumor has it that this device will have locked bootloaders... this will help to unlock them.
borce_razor said:
with simple words, useful or not ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes

US Galaxy S3 missing the FM radio hardware

Well, I started trying to figure out what the max clock speed is for
mmc1 (external SDHC) and why the audio is such crap in SGH-T999.
I thought I would share the differences with US and the i9300 I found.
Starting with the Service Manuals for i535 and i9300 and the
teardowns of the T999 and i9300....
We can figure out enough making some assumptions and also
lacking high quality zooms of all the US board...
First a system overview:
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In the i9300, the FM radio is sent directly from a Silicon Labs
CMOS FM radio receiver chip to an audio line in on the Wolfson
WM1811 audio codec and speaker driver chip. The schematics
don't provide the part numbers, but through the teardowns people
already know about the Wolfson chip. The SiLabs part hasn't been
mentioned anywhere I have seen. The schematics, pin out, and
part number match the unidentified part in the teardowns as the
SiLabs part:
We can see this extra SiLabs radio chip with is on the thin side of the
board and this chip is missing from the US versions:
All Galaxy S3 boards appear to use the same Murata SoC module
that incorporates the Broadcom BCM4334. From the service manuals,
we see the exact same Murata part and schematics: (top one is i9300)
This might be where the confusion is for people trying to use the i9300
firmware to enable FM radio. Yes, the BCM4334 has FM capabilities and
could have been used for maybe FM radio, but it isn't used in any of the boards.
This is the same WLAN/bluetooth hardware, but an unpopulated pin and a deadend.
There isn't even an external pin you could add a wire to.
Now the audio differences:
What is also of interest is that (sadly) the US Galaxy S3 use the
Qualcomm WCD9310 Audio Codec which drives the headphones.
There aren't any datasheets for what this is capable of. In (at least)
the i535 the speaker is driven with a Texas Instruments TPA2039D1
Audio Power Amplifier. And I suspect it is the same for all the US versions.
Whereas, the i9300 uses the Wolfson WM1811 which both drives the
headset and a speaker driver with many other features.
Code:
TPA2039D1 Class-D, 12-dB fixed-gain audio power amplifier
3.24 W (4 Ω, 5 V, 10% THDN)
2.57 W (4 Ω, 5 V, 1% THDN)
1.80 W (8 Ω, 5 V, 10% THDN)
1.46 W (8 Ω, 5 V, 1% THDN)
Code:
Wolfson WM1811
2W stereo (2 x 2W) class D speaker driver
Capless Class W headphone drivers
(5.3mW total power for DAC playback to headphones)
ReTune™ Mobile 5-band, 4-channel parametric EQ
In both cases we don't really know much about the headphone
driver except that you would rather have the Wolfson chip.
I did find this interesting blog post with some
hints about tailoring the WCD9310. Now if only someone had a Qualcomm datasheet.
Good stuff. Thanks.
On a side note. I know everyone agrees about the superiority of the Wolfson implementation, but I don't find the audio in the T999 to be bad at all. Of course, I haven't directly compared the two, and I am certainly no audiophile. Is there a way to do simple tests (besides how loud it is) to find out how good/bad one's audio is?
I know no one cares, and this should be in a R&D development forum, but anyways, here are the tabla registers.
This would allow hardware control of muting, gains, calibration bias currents...
include /linux/mfd/wcd9310/registers.h and the whole commit
http://goo.gl/HZJgw
In related news, I found the debugfs controls for the battery charging, so I guess this adventure comes full circle.
You should move this nice thread to Hardware hacking instead...
http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=1425
So we have the chip that can be used for FM radio, but the antenna isn't there? Am I understanding this right?
aNYthing24 said:
So we have the chip that can be used for FM radio, but the antenna isn't there? Am I understanding this right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, but it's more complicated than that.
None of the Galaxy S/S2/S3/Note class devices use the Broadcom chip for FM. The International versions that have FM use a Silicon Labs chip.
Many cheaper Samsung devices use Broadcom for FM.
There are over 200 posts on the subject of FM on the US GS3 here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1732685 The last 20-50 posts or so might give a more complete idea of the findings made.
joederp said:
...hints about tailoring the WCD9310. Now if only someone had a Qualcomm datasheet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Qualcomm datasheets are almost impossible to find/get.
I'm pretty familiar with most of the info you posted, but thanks for the pics and the added details.
Are you sure the GT-i9300 uses an SI-4705 and what's the source of that info ? There's no clue in the stock ROM of course, the si470x driver is generic and the 470x chips are very similar.
I don't recall exactly the differences with the 4705, but if there's a register difference, I can check on my 9300.
mikereidis said:
Are you sure the GT-i9300 uses an SI-4705 and what's the source of that info ? There's no clue in the stock ROM of course, the si470x driver is generic and the 470x chips are very similar.
I don't recall exactly the differences with the 4705, but if there's a register difference, I can check on my 9300.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm about 99% sure the i9300 uses the SiLabs 4705.
I am the only source for that and I figured it out based on looking through the i9300 Service Manual.
They include some schematics that point to a radio chip labeled U203, well I googled the pin names
on the schematic, because everyone reuses they symbols provided with the models/abstracts. So the
schematic labeled U203 pointed to SiLabs names on some of their chips, I googled the FM receivers a
little and found one with the same footprint. The only one that fit was the 4704/05 series which are for
mobile.
Now I went back to the service manual and if you search for U203, you will find a parts list that designates
the part as a SI4705-D50-GM. What was confusing is the parts list table is shifted by one row on the right
column. This can be confirmed throughout the document.
So it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that is what the chip is.
It is a Silicon Labs 4705-D50.
So, I hope that helps the i9300 rom efforts.
aNYthing24 said:
So we have the chip that can be used for FM radio, but the antenna isn't there? Am I understanding this right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would say that they would need the resistors, and inductors inside the SoC module, and an antenna. And then some was to get the data out of the broadcom chip, and then can it handle FM while using bluetooth and WLAN? So I'm guessing based on the cost and module specs, they abandoned it. For the flagship i9300 international design they just threw in another chip. The respin US version they want to save money and the Wolfson and SiLabs volume and cost makes more sense to use the Qcom part and abandon an extra audio input. Also US cell companies go out of their way to disable FM radio even when it is "free". They would rather you pay for data or some crazy nonsense.
...
joederp said:
I would but some asshole mod just threw my post (Not even a new thread, a legit reply to a thread on 8960)
into the general Q&A thread and removed it from hardware.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1888652
That was a post, not a thread that needed a title.
His own forum rules state:
"relating to the hardware of devices and in many circumstances dealing with families of devices. "
Which my COMMENT was, but the power mad mods have to delete my comment. So they obviously don't care about hardware or my research, so **** that mod.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Chill...mods try to keep things orderly. If you feel you're treated unfairly, pm the mods and plead your case...it's never a good idea to publicly criticise staff (made up of volunteers) dedicated to our shared interests.
On topic, the FM stations are miserable here, full of annoying racket and ads...I'd never even consider listening to FM even if the SIII had an operable implementation.
mikereidis said:
Are you sure the GT-i9300 uses an SI-4705 and what's the source of that info ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just googled some more proof for you that it is Si7405. Check the datasheet and compare the part numbering:
YWW is 2012 Week 7 from the photo.
joederp said:
I would say that they would need the resistors, and inductors inside the SoC module, and an antenna. And then some was to get the data out of the broadcom chip, and then can it handle FM while using bluetooth and WLAN? So I'm guessing based on the cost and module specs, they abandoned it. For the flagship i9300 international design they just threw in another chip. The respin US version they want to save money and the Wolfson and SiLabs volume and cost makes more sense to use the Qcom part and abandon an extra audio input. Also US cell companies go out of their way to disable FM radio even when it is "free". They would rather you pay for data or some crazy nonsense.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm sure you're right about 4705. 9300 schematic shows DOUT which is the digital out the 4701 doesn't have. I didn't even look at the parts list; previous service manuals didn't use the real part numbers so I figured it was useless again.
It's a shame Samsung didn't use the Digital out IMO. But this leads into the fact that they have a "settled design" for FM on the higher end Galaxy S/S2/S3/Note devices. The "settled design" uses a Silicon Labs si470x chip with analog output. I don't know if SL chips have better audio than Broadcom currently, but I suspect they did when the Galaxy S was designed at least (along with a high quality Wolfsson audio chip.)
Samsungs "settled design" for FM on lower end products always uses Broadcom combo chips, that also support BT and WiFi. FM piggy-backs on the BT core and is handled by the Broadcom proprietary BT/FM stack on stock ROMs.
joederp said:
And the Si4705 uses a 32.7MHz crystal, but it can also take
a reference clock from 31.130 to 40.000
...
Can you read RDS through the SDIO?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
32,768 Hz (2^15)
Hardware wise, yes all si470x registers, including RDS registers, are accessed via SDIO.
The V4L driver accesses the si470x registers.
Samsungs proprietary Silicon Labs/high end specific FM API accesses the V4L driver.
My Spirit FM app, like the Samsung app, can access the Samsung API. But Spirit can also speak directly to the V4L driver, which is preferred.
So there are multiple software layers between an app and the hardware pins such as SDIO.
I'd be interested to access some unique features of the si4705, such as operation down to 64 MHz. but I don't think the V4L driver allows it, as it's generic to si470x.
Just for your benefit, they saved cost by skipping the crystal for the radio chip, it is using the reference clock from the BT chip which is 37.4 and might impact which freq you can tune.
joederp said:
Just for your benefit, they saved cost by skipping the crystal for the radio chip, it is using the reference clock from the BT chip which is 37.4 and might impact which freq you can tune.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are no FM tuning problems on GT-i9300: 76-90 or 87.5-108.
I didn't mean problems but more like in the datasheet if you don't use crystal and have ref clock then there are certain multiplier issues. I was pointing out they are sharing they wlan
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
it'd be nice to be able to change the headphone amplifier volume (as voodoo does). Does this information you guys found help in that area? It'd be nice to lower the analogue volume to reduce hiss and artifacts.
Yes and no. You can directly modify the tabla register for the qcom codec, but I don't have and darasheet to know what 00 is versus c4 or whatever in the register. I have to write it up still
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
joederp said:
Yes and no. You can directly modify the tabla register for the qcom codec, but I don't have and darasheet to know what 00 is versus c4 or whatever in the register. I have to write it up still
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Any news on that?

Windows 8.1 USB stick Beelink Intel Pocket P2:when the size (is powerful and) matters

Only some years ago we saw the first Android USB sticks, they were just a way to put the same hardware that most of mobile phones had but without including screen or camera...
Summary? Quite cheap gadgets with lots of possibilities. The mini PCs had been created!
The best of them was that they directly came with hundreds of thousands of applications (from GooglePlay) and almost everybody knew how to use them since it was the same Android platform they were using on their smartphones.
Beelink was one of the companies from the Shenzhen area (created on 2010) who specialized their activity on home entertainment equipment. And once again, as well as many other companies started manufacturing components until the moment they had cumulated enough knowledge to be able to design and manufacture their own (full products).
But then, on the traditional path of development, Beelink has chosen one interesting partnership: Intel.
Yes, with the huge development of Android devices, some chip manufacturers like Qualcomm, or more recently Mediatek, have experimented a great growth. So in 2013 Intel presented a new strategy focused on recovering this big part of the market they were loosing. And so we started to see a very small (but growing number) of devices equipped with Intel processors.
Of course most of the manufacturers are still presenting Android-based devices, because of 2 reasons: licence price and mobile oriented platform with already a great ecosystem of apps.
However, with the arrival of Intel to the playground, it opened the gate to other operating systems like Windows. And needless to say that Microsoft was also really interested on taking some part of the mobile market.
Putting together the acquired knowledge on MiniPCs and the possibilities of an Intel processor, Beelink bring to us the Intel Pocket P2, a powerful device within the smallest possible place, just a little bigger than an USB flash drive.
Just plugging it into our TV and we will have a full PC with big screen, offering a resolution of FullHD (1920x1080) perfect not only for work since we will have available Microsoft Office and all other Windows software, but a perfect gaming station.
We all know that Windows has the biggest catalog of games.
To make all that possible this small stick has inside a Quad-core Intel Z3735F processor inside and 2GB of DDR3 RAM memory, and all the rest we may need is already included: dual WiFi b/g/n antenna, BT 4.0, 32GB of flash drive for storage and of course the infrared sensor for a remote controller. On the side we will find SD card reader, micro USB for OTG purposes, jack output for audio and HDMI for plugging the screen.
The OS included is Windows 8.1 that will surely be updated to Windows 10 as Microsoft announced recently.
So, we have a very interesting device, I never imagined such an easy way to have a real Windows PC with tiny power consumption that we can bring to anyway for less than 100€.
I leave you here some pictures and the full table of specs
CPU Intel® Bay Trail CR,Z3735F
Graphics lntel® HD Graphics
Bluetooth BT 4.0
RAM DDR3 2GB
ROM Onboard eMMC Flash 32GB
Connectivity WIFI IEEE 802.11b/g/n ; Dual 2.400 GHz ~ 2.497 GHz (2.4 GHz ISM Band) ; IR Sensor ; BT 4.0; USB2.0; OTG Port
OS Support Windows 8.1
Power LED
Power Button
DC in Jack
SD Card Slot
Power management Adapter 5V 2A
Multi -language
Keyboard Qwerty keyboard
Support original ecology and AZW custom UI
Work Environment 5°C--35°C,30%--90% Humidity
Storage Environment -20°C--60°C,10%--90% Humidity
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Thanks OP. Do you have troubles when activated Windows 8.1?
Because i heard people said they have troubles on activating the system on their Axgio mini-pc.
Got a hot deal on fatwallet: http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/hot-deals/1444331/?newest=1#last
Someone's talking about Windows 8.1 activation problem on it
Nice review. Been wondering about getting one myself.
Is it running Windows 8.1 with Bing?
I know some of these have some issues with the windows license (windows license is free for tablets <8" but this is no tablet), like the Pipo X7 (hence the more expensive Pipo X7S)
Good product though, still have some concerns about the operating experience and overheating problem caused by long time working. Is it easy to connect to the screen?
I also read a lot of user reviews that Windows wasnt activated and they also couldnt. The problem is that Windows 8.1 Bing editions is just free for tablets <8" I think. And this device is actually a desktop because having a HDMI. So youd need a normal Windows 8.1 license for it. I would buy one too but I cant find any information about the pirated Windows license or which ones have activated version on them.
mkdr said:
I also read a lot of user reviews that Windows wasnt activated and they also couldnt. The problem is that Windows 8.1 Bing editions is just free for tablets <8" I think. And this device is actually a desktop because having a HDMI. So youd need a normal Windows 8.1 license for it. I would buy one too but I cant find any information about the pirated Windows license or which ones have activated version on them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Iv got the Ainol,pipo x7 & the beelink pocket p1 all of them came with windows 8.1 bing fully activated NOT pirated..The pipo also comes with office 365 which alone is worth £50 but the pipo does over heat a lot
blinkone said:
Iv got the Ainol,pipo x7 & the beelink pocket p1 all of them came with windows 8.1 bing fully activated NOT pirated..The pipo also comes with office 365 which alone is worth £50 but the pipo does over heat a lot
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ive read all kind of other reviews, people got a 30days trial and it was activated. Also, even if the Bing edition is installed and activated, it's pirated, because like I said, Bing Edition is just allowed by MS on <8" devices, and this one has not even a display, it's a desktop PC.
Have the P1
Seems pretty good. Windows 8.1 activated no problem.
Reasonably snappy, haven't got past luke warm so far.
Have it running as media server for a Squeezbox & running well.
Managed to delete or corrupt the Bluetooth driver & struggling to fine a copy online...let me know if you can help!
No support online anywhere that I can fine... no response from Beelink.
Anyone know where might find appropriate driver?
I have the beelink p1 and the p2 both came activated even after a system refresh.
But I'm not seeing the windows 10 upgrade pop up on both. I also have a linx 8 tablet also running 8.1 with bing and that's not seeing it either. Hopefully win10 will be coming to these devices.
The P1 does get a little hot after a shot time of use but runs amazingly well.
The P2 runs cool no heat cooking. But it doesn't say in the specs but comes with a built in battery.
I think i'm going to try the P2... Nice price right now.
Thanks for the info
mdabar said:
Only some years ago we saw the first Android USB sticks, they were just a way to put the same hardware that most of mobile phones had but without including screen or camera...
Summary? Quite cheap gadgets with lots of possibilities. The mini PCs had been created!
The best of them was that they directly came with hundreds of thousands of applications (from GooglePlay) and almost everybody knew how to use them since it was the same Android platform they were using on their smartphones.
Beelink was one of the companies from the Shenzhen area (created on 2010) who specialized their activity on home entertainment equipment. And once again, as well as many other companies started manufacturing components until the moment they had cumulated enough knowledge to be able to design and manufacture their own (full products).
But then, on the traditional path of development, Beelink has chosen one interesting partnership: Intel.
Yes, with the huge development of Android devices, some chip manufacturers like Qualcomm, or more recently Mediatek, have experimented a great growth. So in 2013 Intel presented a new strategy focused on recovering this big part of the market they were loosing. And so we started to see a very small (but growing number) of devices equipped with Intel processors.
Of course most of the manufacturers are still presenting Android-based devices, because of 2 reasons: licence price and mobile oriented platform with already a great ecosystem of apps.
However, with the arrival of Intel to the playground, it opened the gate to other operating systems like Windows. And needless to say that Microsoft was also really interested on taking some part of the mobile market.
Putting together the acquired knowledge on MiniPCs and the possibilities of an Intel processor, Beelink bring to us the Intel Pocket P2, a powerful device within the smallest possible place, just a little bigger than an USB flash drive.
Just plugging it into our TV and we will have a full PC with big screen, offering a resolution of FullHD (1920x1080) perfect not only for work since we will have available Microsoft Office and all other Windows software, but a perfect gaming station.
We all know that Windows has the biggest catalog of games.
To make all that possible this small stick has inside a Quad-core Intel Z3735F processor inside and 2GB of DDR3 RAM memory, and all the rest we may need is already included: dual WiFi b/g/n antenna, BT 4.0, 32GB of flash drive for storage and of course the infrared sensor for a remote controller. On the side we will find SD card reader, micro USB for OTG purposes, jack output for audio and HDMI for plugging the screen.
The OS included is Windows 8.1 that will surely be updated to Windows 10 as Microsoft announced recently.
So, we have a very interesting device, I never imagined such an easy way to have a real Windows PC with tiny power consumption that we can bring to anyway for less than 100€.
I leave you here some pictures and the full table of specs
CPU Intel® Bay Trail CR,Z3735F
Graphics lntel® HD Graphics
Bluetooth BT 4.0
RAM DDR3 2GB
ROM Onboard eMMC Flash 32GB
Connectivity WIFI IEEE 802.11b/g/n ; Dual 2.400 GHz ~ 2.497 GHz (2.4 GHz ISM Band) ; IR Sensor ; BT 4.0; USB2.0; OTG Port
OS Support Windows 8.1
Power LED
Power Button
DC in Jack
SD Card Slot
Power management Adapter 5V 2A
Multi -language
Keyboard Qwerty keyboard
Support original ecology and AZW custom UI
Work Environment 5°C--35°C,30%--90% Humidity
Storage Environment -20°C--60°C,10%--90% Humidity
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Got this unit about 2 months ago, installed Windows 10 as soon it was available and it works perfectly
Unlike the original Intel compute stick, no problems with BT devices and no noise from fan.
Using it as a HTPC with Kodi (now on 15.2) and could not be more pleased.
It also runs Asphalt 8 with zero problems (and Xbox One gamepad support), so its ideal for a simple but usable Windows PC, either for entertainment or simple workstation.
One thing that i can't found is a method to access the firmware to unlock the CPU speed (its locked at max 1.33Ghz, so turbo mode is never activated if needed), anyone got suggestions?
Mirror please,software is unreachable
Now price of stick is amazing i got one already. But i do have problems with activation and downloading stuffs from baidu ,drivers etc. Please some one to make mirrors for latest firmware ,drivers-old ways to download from baidu didn't work .This is support page i try to write to this guys ,but more than a month zero answer.This is link of there download page,if someone know how to download without Chinese applications ,please do share
armagani said:
Now price of stick is amazing i got one already. But i do have problems with activation and downloading stuffs from baidu ,drivers etc. Please some one to make mirrors for latest firmware ,drivers-old ways to download from baidu didn't work .This is support page i try to write to this guys ,but more than a month zero answer.This is link of there download page,if someone know how to download without Chinese applications ,please do share
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What are you talking about? The P2 comes with Win8.1 in English and ZERO software from 3rd parties.
You can stick a USB bootable storage device on one of the USB ports and install any OS you want from scratch...
If you choose windows 10 or even 8 the hardware is all detected and supported out of the box, plus windows update will install the latest ones. As for firmware, as far as i know there aren't any updates/backups/images... you are stuck with the UEFI that came from factory.

GeekBox Open Source Cross TV BOX with MXMIII Android Ubuntu Dual Boot 4K

Dual Boot 4K RK3368 Octa Core 2G/16G AC WIFI 1000M LAN BT4.1 HDMI2.0 OTG.
GeekBox Open Source Cross TV BOX with MXMIII Android Ubuntu Dual Boot 4K .
In the Interest to those that like something a little different
This will be a lot of fun for those that like to dabble
Dual Boot 4K RK3368 Octa Core 2G/16G AC WIFI 1000M LAN BT4.1 HDMI2.0 OTG
GeekBox Open Source Cross TV BOX with MXMIII Android Ubuntu Dual Boot 4K
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[FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif]GeekBox: A leading product of Cross- Boxes, a Game Changer[/FONT]
[FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif]Unlike Traditional TV box which turns the television into an intelligent platform like smart phones or tablet PCs,
GeekBox will break this balance by not only fulfilling the aforementioned fundamental missions, but also opening an open-source project.
GeekBox is not simply a piece of hardware, but a DIY carrier, which carries all kinds of ideas and dreams from geeks.[/FONT]
SUV-like Appearance
Outline of a SUV shell, with streamlined figure and ingenious design. The vent-equipped upper shell does not only for ventilation,
but also highlights its SUV-like profile.
2 LEDs soldered on the main board will light up, once being powered. Considering its durability, we have equipped it with a anti-slippery lower shell.
[FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif]Compact & Portable[/FONT]
[FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif]Light as feather, Geekbox is portable enough for you to jam in the pocket and carry on the go.
Delicate as diamond, Geekbox is coated by a streamlined outline and exquisite angular shell.[/FONT]
[FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif]Android & Ubuntu Dual Boot(can install Light Biz OS)[/FONT]
[FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif]Pre-installed Android & Ubuntu Dual OS, a hot key switch Android & Ubuntu.
You can also install Android–based Light Biz OS from Rockchip[/FONT]
[FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif]High Performance Octa Core CPU[/FONT]
[FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif]The RK3368 is an Octa Core 64bit, ARM Cortex-A53 processor with PowerVR G6110 graphics chip, 28nm processing design,
Support OPENGL ES 3.1. RK3368 with super video capabilities, 4K×2K, H.265 and HDMI [email protected] output support.[/FONT]
[FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif]2GB +16GB Samsung eMMC 5.0[/FONT]
[FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif]Samsung eMMC 5.0 is the world's fastest embedded memory, featuring an interface speed of 400MB/s.
In particular boast random read and write speed of 7,000 IOPS (inputs/outputs per second) and sequential read and write speed of 250MB/s and 90MB/s respectively.[/FONT]
[FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif]AP6354 WiFi Module[/FONT]
[FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif]AP6354 is a 2x2 WiFi + Bluetooth4.1 Module, the wireless module complies with IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac 2x2 MIMO standards, with a speed of 867Mbps.[/FONT]
[FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif]MXM-III (MXM3) Interface[/FONT]
[FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif]There is unlimited potential with MXM3 interface. You can connect GeekBox to GeekBox Landingship via MXM3 interface to turn the former into a development board. And connect any compatible device to GeekBox
MXM3 interface to turn the former into a smart one in the future. Such as a display(digital photo frames), router(upload and download files without internet), projector(smart projector), etc.[/FONT]
[FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif]Button[/FONT]
[FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif]A reset button for the ease of system resetting, an update button for the ease of system update[/FONT]
[FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif]Infrared Remote Control[/FONT]
[FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif]Control the box wherever you are in the room with IR remote[/FONT]
[FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif]Multi-interface[/FONT]
[FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif]Visible interface: 2*USB, 1*Micro USB, 1*HDMI 2.0, 1*DC In, 1*RJ45 1000M LAN, 1*TF Card Slot
Invisible interface: 1*Fan connector, 1*RTC Battery connector, 1*Serial Port, 1*TP interface, 1*Display interface[/FONT]
[FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif]HDMI CEC[/FONT]
[FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif]Control Geekbox with TV Remote(XIAOMI TV Remote,etc ) via HDMI CEC[/FONT]
More at Geekbox
Support will be found at Geekbox.tv
More to come on this one
Looks pretty nice, I'd like to know how good of a Ubuntu PC it could be.
By the way, if you haven't noticed, you get $20 discount if you enter your email.
There are some extra components if you are willing to expand your geekbox, such as a screen display (2048x1546) or an extra circuit with extra I/O connectors. This is surely a promising project.
can it be used as a tv box but also a tablet pc?
FumiJ said:
can it be used as a tv box but also a tablet pc?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can't see why not
Being able to customise and program the limitations should be up to your own imagination of what this device could.
Yet to be seen in the field so unsure at the moment how any of the software performs.
Landingship and Bits
Images of the other bits of the Geekbox:
Landingship
Hi Gain Antenna
Dupont Cables
USB to Serial connection
RTC Battery
Keeping it Cool
7.9inch LCD Panel
All plugged in and ready to go
There also is a possibility of a larger LCD and casing to fit Landingship and geekbox.
Geekbox.tv
$20 Coupon: Code WPCXYIEU
o-I-c said:
Geekbox.tv $20 Coupon:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Where's the coupon?
pierscorpio said:
Where's the coupon?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
By clicking on link it will take you there
o-I-c said:
By clicking on link it will take you there
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh, I see it now, the website wasn't loading properly and there was nothing there. Thanks, lol.
If this device does not deserve a large Dev community with custom ROM's & Kernels etc, I do not know what does.
SkOrPn said:
If this device does not deserve a large Dev community with custom ROM's & Kernels etc, I do not know what does.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why?
Because duh it looks like a very good product for us tech geeks, that's why.
Sent from my SM-T700 using Tapatalk
help...!!!!
$20 Coupon:
geekbox.tv " Sorry, the coupon code has expired. Please apply a new one."
endera said:
help...!!!!
$20 Coupon:
geekbox.tv " Sorry, the coupon code has expired. Please apply a new one."
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
O/P has been updated Updated...
Geekbox has released firmware images also find Rockchip’s Light Biz OS desktop operating system based on Lollipop.
More at Geek.TV .

			
				
Subscribing, this box is bad a$$ its got a 2.5" HDD port on the landing ship. I have a 256gb Kingston SSD just waiting for a project like this. I bought a nexus player on sale at Walmart with plans on expanding storage via micro usb and making it into an emulator slash Kodi player but the connection to the micro usb is just to slow and stutters so I couldn't get all the games i wanted to install on it, but this beautiful devices looks as if it will run all the emulators I want and stream movies just fine. I wonder if reicast (dreamcast emulator) will work on it.
GeekBox in Action
Geekbox in Action
Unboxing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nV36XiClfNA
GeekBox Android & Ubuntu Dual Boot Review
https://youtu.be/vEVSo33i7e4
GeekBox TV BOX BizOS Review
https://youtu.be/9J2pgaqXUoY
o-I-c said:
Geekbox in Action
Unboxing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nV36XiClfNA
GeekBox Android & Ubuntu Dual Boot Review
https://youtu.be/vEVSo33i7e4
GeekBox TV BOX BizOS Review
https://youtu.be/9J2pgaqXUoY
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
worth noting, it comes pre-rooted too, and does not share the recovery partition issues of some other streaming devices -- recovery is safe on it's own partition just like phones and tabs.
Sterist said:
worth noting, it comes pre-rooted too, and does not share the recovery partition issues of some other streaming devices -- recovery is safe on it's own partition just like phones and tabs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Really good to know, thanks for sharing...
---------- Post added at 01:47 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:33 PM ----------
johnnywayne28 said:
Subscribing, this box is bad a$$ its got a 2.5" HDD port on the landing ship. I have a 256gb Kingston SSD just waiting for a project like this. I bought a nexus player on sale at Walmart with plans on expanding storage via micro usb and making it into an emulator slash Kodi player but the connection to the micro usb is just to slow and stutters so I couldn't get all the games i wanted to install on it, but this beautiful devices looks as if it will run all the emulators I want and stream movies just fine. I wonder if reicast (dreamcast emulator) will work on it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I really like that 2.5" sata connector as well. Too bad we cant use that to install Android and Ubuntu onto, that would be most incredible. Would love to see how Android performs on a real fast storage device. I'd buy that NP off of you if your not going to use it, lol. I need to get one of those someday soon.

[REVIEW] Much/Snail W3D (Smartphone/Gaming Console)

[REVIEW] Much/Snail W3D (Smartphone/Gaming Console)
​
Nota: Hay una versión en español de este artículo en este enlace
Note: Due the extension, this article is a summary from the original located here.
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Usage of this review
Author give permission to use this review, part of this or by a link reference, to anybody wants to use it, with only one condition that you must keep the author of this article, and the original source, that is on my blog.
For any update for the content of this article, i suggest to visit the link avobe.
Acknowledgments
To Shop-Oye store for send me an unit of their product Snail W3D to test it and write this review.
Agreement
I am not responsible for any problems caused by the implementation of procedures or guidelines indicadated in this article. Any modifications you make in the device (such as a flash ROM, change bios, software installation, configuration, poorly assembled, etc) will be at your own risk.
Presentation of the received product[/i]
As usual withhin this manufacturer, their products come in a very well presented package, and for their star product will no be less.
The box come with an external cover with a photo of the device and their logo (in 3D representation, of course)
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On the back, we found general info of the device.
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The sides of the cover show to us the W3D logo too.
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When get the box out of the cover, we found the real box where the device come. This box come with the logo again on their surface (raised and silvered print).
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Once opened, we found directly the device (with an extra screen protector)
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Under the device there is a User guide with the shape of the device itself. I really like this detail, because last time manufacturers (in general speaking) are avoiding these kind of elements of their products.
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Finally, under the device there is a section divided on 3 parts, where come the rest of the accesories of the device.
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The care of the presentation of the product give a very good first impression, and take away from any concept of "Chinese product" that people may have about this kind of product.
Package ContentsUnboxing y full description of the package contents
When the package is opened, we found the following elements thats, i understand, are part of any standard shippment for this product.
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User guide (in chinese)
Snail W3D device
MicroUSB Cable for data and charge
Wall Charger
Extra Screen protector (the device come with one installed from factory)
Note: I get stranged becaause there is no Headphones included as part of accesories.
Product informationSpecs of the device
According with the manufacturer, or searching info on web pages, we can found many sources of information about the device and sometimes these information may be not consistent (may be different from one web page to other), and this may cause some confusion for anybody that wants to get info about this product.
On this section i will post the info i get from the manufacturer (or is not possible, the web page that i consider more reliable), listing only the relevant points for a tech analysis of the product, and omit these points that don´t get any relevant info about the device (as many time we found on many pages, things such video capabilities, mail capabilities, etc, that really are software based features that we can install on the device, and not a real feature of the device itself)
CPU: MediaTek MTK6592 Octa-Core, 2.0 GHz
GPU: Power VR Series6IMG Rogue G6200 600 MHz
RAM: 2 GB de RAM LPDDR3 @ 933 MHz
Storage: 16GB
Operating System: Amdrpod 4.4.2
Screen Size: 5.5"
Screen resolution: 1920x1080 (FullHD)
Screen feature: 3D Glassfree
Rear Camera: 13 MPx
Front camera: 5 MPx
Stereo loudspeakers
SIM Slots: Dual
External storage: MicroSD
Supports: TD-LTE, LTE FDD, TD-SCDMA, WCDMA, GSM.
Battery: 4000mAh
Wifi: 802.11 ac / aban
Antutu Benchmark System Info
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Benchmarks
Normalized tests for comparing with another similar devices.[/i]
For people that don´t know about these programs, i can tell (in short words) that a benchmark is a program or normalized test that runs on a device. These tests give points (usually, averaging many results) the performance of a device, in the way that the final total point may be useful to compare, in a simple and direct way, the general performance between many devices.
There are so many benchmarks on Google Play Store, but in my test usually i use the most populars.
For the running of these benchmarks, the initial conditions of the device are:
CPU Frequency: 2000 MHz
CPU Governor: Interactive
Screen Resolution: 1920x1080 (FullHD)
Firmware: Official overseas update (including Google Playstore)
3DMark - The Gamer's Benchmark
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Gaming performance
As usual, the most common way to show the performance of a device is running and playing games, android natives and emulated (roms) using emulators.
In the following lines i will show some games and emulators running on the device, and some comments with relevant info.
Android native games
Android games are specific for touch screens, and may use another device sensors such tilt sensor, and most of them show on screen controls to interact with the game, but only few of them have native joystick/gamepad support.
For now, there are some alternatives that we can use to bring these kind of support (joysticks/gamepads and other devices) on these games, bringing another way of playing using physical controls. Most of these alternatives are based on emulating the events and mechanisms that the device originally support for interact with the games. Most of these events are touch screen based, then this kind of apps will "emulate" these touches, linking physical controls (buttons, sticks) to screen locations.
Soulcraft
Dokuro
Savant
Chaos Legends
Taichi Panda Heroes
Call of Duty Strike Team
Kingdom Warriors
Grand Theft Auto
Age of Whushu
Iesabel
The King of Fighters'97
Gangstar Vegas
EmulationRetrogaming
In the same way that Android games are an important way of testing the performance of a device, emulation is another factor to get in concern, and most important, for systems that are quite hard to be emulated, because with these emulators/roms we can see differences between devices. (most of times, the pure power of a CPU/GPU can run better a game in a device, and get poor performance in another device)
In Android, we get many emulator alternatives (emulated systems) that we can recreate on the device that we are testing. We can use emulators of old computers, videogame consoles, and is possible to run some x86 system (MS DOS, windows 9x but so limited), and we can run most modern systems such Nintendo64, Playstation one (PSX), both of these emulators are consider the top of the current frontier of emulation, but this is not limited to these systems. There are new emulators that most probably will become the new top/frontier, with emulation of PSP that many games currently are playables with near of 100% of speed, or Nintendo DS, that currently is able to run many titles.at full speed (or near to)
This way, we can say that the emulators are important than Android games en terms of entertainment, and for this reason are a big and important part of any testing planning of any device.
Assassin's Creed BloodlinesPPSSPP - PSP Emulator
Tekken Dark ResurrectionPPSSPP - PSP Emulator
Tekken 6PPSSPP - PSP Emulator
TMNTDrastic - Nintendo DS emulator
Mario Kart DSDrastic - Nintendo DS emulator
New Super Mario BrosDrastic - Nintendo DS emulator
Soul CaliburReicast - Dreamcast Emulator
Capcom vs SNK 2Reicast - Dreamcast Emulator
This game have some graphic glitches in all devices and emulator versions of android.
Ms PacmanMupen64+ AE (Nintendo 64 Emulator)
Conker Bad Fur DayMupen64+ AE (Nintendo 64 Emulator)
Mortal Kombat 3 Ultimate EditionMAME4droid
Marvel Superheroes vs Street FighterMAME4droid
Pros, contras y mejoras
As in every product, there are pros and cons points that are good to mention in a clear way. These points will help to us to decide if the device features are enough for what the user are looking for in a device of this kind.
Pros are based on features that highlight, comparing the device with another similars, or these features improve the experience of the user.
In the another hand, the cons are these points that worse the experience, or the feature is not enough for fulfill what we expect from the device.
Finally, the improvements pints are some features or specs that i think must be improved in a supposed new version of the device, and will generate a better experience in my opinion.
Cons
The screen of the device have a refresh rateof 58.78Hz. This may mean a problem if you want to execute a precise emulation of some systems.
There is no physical buttons for Select and Start. Now these buttons are virtuals but, for a gaming user is more reasonable these buttons must keep as physicals
The touch screen did not include L2 and R2 buttons
The gamepad driver, for some reason is not so much compatible with android games, and for this reason is preferred to use the on screen mapper than try to configure direct gampead controls in game.
There is no way to enable 3D feature when we want. The device will determine when this feature may be used, and in some cases such some youtube videos that are 3D enabled (side by side) that may be watched on the device, is not possible to activate the 3D screen.
the L1/R1 & L2/R button positions are not so much ergonomics, and most for people with big hands.
The product price is high from the manufacturer, and for this reason the final prince on stores is high too.
Improvements
I think may be a very good point if the device come with a double back camera, for taking 3D photos (the same way as 3DS do)
Counting that the device can add virtual buttons such Select and Start, may the mapper can include the L3 and R3 buttons, needed for some games (such GTA for completing some missions)
Conclusion
From a gaming point of view, there is a improvement about the previous version of the device, but there are some points was dropped on this evolution such Select and Start buttons.
There is missing other buttons from android system, but now these functionality are included on the gamepad via KeyDIY app, but is not the same in my opinion than the previous device.
The design was improved from previous version, and now we have a device that don´t spin on the table (thanks for this). The back of the device is flat and this help a lot to stabilize the device for a normal usage when is on a table.
The 3D screen is especially remarcable. I get so impressed with this feature. Is very similar to Nintendo's 3DS screen, but with better result and resolution.
Watching a 3D movie is simple, and do not get tired as playing on 3DS.
My conclusion is, if you will use and enjoy watching 3D contents (movies) then this device will be worth, because there are not so much devices similar to this (and there is none similar, if consider gaming controls and 3D screen, all in one)
If you have the W1 and don´t get interested on 3D feature, then may not worth this device for your needs, because basically is a very similar device and don´t feel a big difference running apps and emulators on it, but i figure most of people interested on this device come from a non gaming device, then for all of them may be interesting consider this as your new phone/gaming console.
I must recognize that i did not a fan for this device when announced, because i did not get clear about what to expect from 3D screen, but after testing it i can confirm that is something for considering, even for wathching movies, if what are you looking for of course.
Final words
First of all, apologize my english. I did my best on trying to explain my experience and bring all this info directly in english, but is not my primary language and i'm aware that my level is so basic and rude. Even so, i think most of this article is undestandable because is based on data captured from the device, and this will help to you to get a general idea about this device.
I'm so happy for test this device and their 3D feature. I hope that Snail get success with this device and, with this, get more devices from this manufacturer.
Hope this review help to you to get info about this device, and apologize if there are more aspects that i forgot on mention on this article.
Zalu2!
Deen0X​
Thanks Deen0x for posting! Hopefully some Dev's take interest in the device now that they know the specs.

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