RK3288: Pipo P8 Android tablet

Pipo P8 Android tablet shows that the number of cores is not all and its quad-core RK3288 CPU has enough guts to stand the octa-core competition.

Pipo P8 is an 7.9" tablet using the recent Rockchip 3288 quadcore (1.8GHz) and the Mali T764 @ 600Mhz. The model tested is the 32Gb (NAND Flast Flash) version with the firmware from 2 Dec. 2014. 

Specifications:
● Display: 7.9",2048*1536 Retina    
● Touch panel: Capacitive 5-touch
● CPU: RK3288 Cortex A17, 1.8GHz, , with Mali T764 GPU
● RAM: 2GB LP DDR 2
● OS: Android 4.4
● Sensor: G-sensor
● Camera: Front 2M, back 8M auto focus, flashlight
● I/O ports: Micro SD slot, HDMI output, speaker, mic
● Wifi: 802.11b/g/n
● 3G built-in: optional. With UltraStick slot 
● GPS built-in: Yes
● Bluetooth : Yes
● Battery capacity: 5300mAh*3.8V
● Back housing material: metal+ plastic
● Weight: 344 gr

Design:

A micro-HDMI connector should be standard on the small tablets but it's not really common. The P8 has one!

The tablet is just a tad bigger than a iPad Mini so the choice of cases will be limited to the bulky universal ones or a specific Pipo case.

Where are the buttons?

There's one "hard" button for Power. The volume is controlled using the soft buttons on the bottom bar. 

Where's my toothpick!?

As for my previous Pipo M6 Max, there's a reset hole that requires a paperclip or a toothpick. I'm not a fan of this design choice. The good news is that the P8 didn't crash once so far. The bad news is that you need to use the reset button with the power button to launch the tablet in upgrade mode. 

The 3G functionality is covered by a Huawei E1220S ultrastick with an SPCI interface. My unit shows a decent battery life of 18h (mixed use/standby). Charging is done only with the USB cable and I noticed that the tablet cannot be turned off while plugged (12022014 firmware).

The cameras:

The front 2MP and the rear 8MP cameras are nothing exceptional, as with most tablets in this price range, but they'll do the job as long as the scene is bright enough. 

Performance:

My tablet of comparison is an iFive Octacore 3GS Mini (MTK6592) using the same 2048*1536 resolution, and on the ART runtime.

The P8 scores 34419 with Antutu but this is mostly due to its superior Mali T764 GPU (30113 for iFive with Mali 450MP).

With GeekBench, the P8 gets a better single-core results with 726 (vs 445), a lower multi-core 1950 (vs 2408) and wins hands down for memory performance 650/658 (vs 243/406)

Curiously, in Epic Citadel, the GPU achieves only an average of 29.2 FPS (vs 37.5 for iFive) and I could see some stuttering during the P8 evaluation.

In the real life, games like Riptide GP2, Real Racing 3 all ran smooth and fast with no lag.
Strangely the tablet generated more heat with Candy Crush...

A video can be played in a smaller (resizable) window while using another app, very much like the Novo 9 Spark II did.

Wi-Fi:

The Wi-Fi signal is fluctuating and on average weaker than my other (MTK6592) 8" tablet within the same distance from the router.

Screen: The 5-point multi-touch Retina screen has a resolution of 2048*1536 and is completed with an auto-brightness feature. If feels slightly brighter and sharper than the iFive Mini 3GS.  

Audio: The speaker is the real bad surprise of this tablet. It produces a faint metallic sound. Hopefully it can be significantly improved using Viper4android. Something that could and should really be looked after in a firmware udpate! 

Conclusions:

The Pipo P8 shows that power is not defined only by the number of cores: a quad-core done right with fast memory can compete with the mighty octa-core models.  

It remains focused on the essential and, unlike some MTK-based phablets, there's no FM radio, no notification LED and not smart-sleep case.

This tablet is perfect for browsing and for gaming. Watching movies or listening to music through the speaker currently requires some tweaking. 

The price goes from 140€ for the 16GB/Wifi-only version and reaches 170€ for 32GB + 3G module.

Good:
- Snappy quad core performance. 

- Great battery life.
- Bright and sharp display.

Not so good:

- Sound from the speaker is faint, metallic and cold

- The tablet turns on when plugged to the charger.

- The tablet can get hot with some apps
- Reset hole requires a pin or toothpick
- Wi-Fi range is slightly weaker than average for that tablet size.

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Dash Cam A118/B40 Review

The A118 (or B40 or AE-CC30 or even SG9665GM) could well be the final answer to the popular DashCamTalk question "Where did you mount the camera?"

It is built on the Novatek NTK96650 chipset and 3.5MP Aptina AR0330 sensor like the G50 reviewed earlier but introduces a new compact design that could make all the difference.




I suppose it is natural to prefer a non-permanent solution when trying a car camera for the first time and a suction mounted camera seems a good choice. But later I became convinced that a car camera was good and useful enough to deserve a permanent mounting solution.


Another trigger for this decision was the discovery of a problem with the suction pad: The best/most discrete location for me was on the dotted area of the windscreen and the camera didn't drop once in month, but one day I removed it and could never fix it back firmly anymore!



I discovered that, over time, the suction pad took the imprint of the dots, making it impossible to stick to anything!





The A118 is found at the price of 65€ (bundle with external GPS, 55€ without GPS)
The GPS module costs between 15~20€ if purchased separately .




My unit was received in November 2014 and came with what appears to be the latest available firmware at time of writing: B40.20140917.001.

The installation is simple and should not exceed 20 minutes, most of that time being used conceal the cabling. The rest is only a matter of sticking the flat plastic base on which the camera will then snap firmly. There's a piece of string provided in order to saw the sticker off the windscreen if ever needed. I just hope it won't take the black dots away with it and I'll wait for someone else to try it first.






Sliding the camera out of its base is easy and the battery give enough freedom to use it for taking plenty of additional snapshots and videos outside the vehicle.

The GPS takes under a minute to kick in from a cold start. Location and speed were accurate during my tests. In my case the GPS unit was mounted on the top left corner against the windscreen and this upside-down position is not recommended by the manufacturer ( should be placed face up on the dashboard ideally). So, test before. 
Video playback was perfectly gap-less with Registrator Viewer using the default 3 minutes length for Loop Recording. A recent version (at least 5.90) is necessary to correctly read the GPS data embedded in the MOV file. 

As seen before with the NTK96650, the 1920x1080@30fps is the only reasonable resolution for such chipset. The lower 720P offers a faster 60fps rate but the quality drop and excessive aliasing make the final result look terrible. The camera will give its best in FHD and at day time. A rainy Irish evening is quite a challenge for it (but I feel the same about it sometimes!).

FHD@30fps, click for full view

720p@60fps, click for full view

With the same 6G 170° lens and sensor as the G50 reviewed this summer the A118 does a slightly better job: the picture has less artefacts at night time, and HDR doesn't help much on that regard.


Conclusion
The A118 has been the first camera to adopt this strange design that turns out to be ideal. It's basically a G50 in a better box and with the GPS option. While it's no match for the Dome G90(1), it remains a very affordable and good quality product, and also a better alternative to the mini 0803 in my opinion.
I read  that some A118 had focus issue after exposure to high heat and I won't be able to confirm this because the heat waves we face here during the Irish summer hardly ever exceed 25 degrees.

(1) CDV300X is a higher spec (and budget) model based on the same concept but with components found in the G90 (Ambarella A7).  

Good:

- Good video quality in FHD
- Wide 170° view angle
- Good sound recording quality
- Gap-less recording
- Fast and accurate GPS 

- The battery provide a comfortable reserve of power for reviewing records or taking snapshots when unplugged (around 30 minutes). 

- Complete and intuitive video playback controls
- Small size 72x52x43mm

Not so good:
- Tends to struggle with brightness changes (typical NTK96650)

- REC/Power/MIC LED indicator are too bright

- Durability? (time will tell)

See also:
Dashboardcamerareviews
Techmoan review
DashCamTalk forum

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Dericam H503W Review

The Dericam H502W was a huge success due to the exceptional follow up of its developer, Maygion.

The new H503W has more potential to brings up the missing features of its predecessor, like the preset positions.









The H503W keeps the well-known design of its older brother.
The double antenna and the removal of the WPS button are the only visible differences.

The unit tested came with the firmware 14.08.19.02 which is also found on Dericam.com

User Interface
I've been tempted to do a copy/paste of my previous review, because that's what the user interface looks like. The only change in the interface is the, now operational, Presets page

Always backup your board.dat!

Connectivity: FTP is still there and login is unchanged: MayGion/maygion.com
so first things first, backup of the board.dat, which can also be done via the unadvertized page /debug_hw.htm






A Wi-Fi hotspot option has been added so the IP Camera now supports a router-less connection to its clients.


Better PTZ control
The H503W does a full rotation when powered up. That's good news! The motors have been upgraded to support preset positions (preset.html seen before).

ONVIF and Synology Surveillance Station
Nothing has changed really with the H503W, there's still no audio capabilities detected by Synology Surveillance Station (ONVIF Profile S certified), nor patrolling option. It's still better to select the H502W in the list so at least the PTZ control is possible.





Video quality:
No change from H502W, both model have the same excellent picture quality.
The streaminfo.htm page tells you all you need to know to intercept the video stream

Audio quality:
The audio quality seems unchanged. I found it good. There are reports of audio being lost after a while, just like with the older H502W but I rarely used the audio it simply doesn't work with Synology Surveillance Station.


Conclusion:
The H503W is not a revolution.
Apart from the welcome addition of the PTZ presets, it shows the same limited Synology compatibility as before. The rest is virtually unchanged and I suspect the double antenna to be there only as a visual distinction with the older model.

However for the price (67.54€ on ebay), it is worth spending the mere 4€ extra for that newer model. Unlike many IP Cameras, the developer has earned some credit in improving his firmware at regular interval.

Better: 
Position presets
Nothing else

Not changed: 
Synology limited compatibility: no audio, no presets control.(Who's fault is not clearly determined).


Similar models:
Cybernova WIP604SW (not WIP604MW),
EyeSight ES-IP922W

Software Download 
Dericam: www.dericam.net/Support.asp?i=1
From Cybernova; www.ipcam-online.com (includes SDK)

loading..

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SUNLUXY SL-C702 IP Camera Review

With a design inspired from the Dericam H502W, the Sunluxy SL-C702 seems to offer a similar set of features, but it's worth a closer look...

Beside the Quick Start leaflet, a mini CD contains
all you need in the "Enlish" folder.

The Sunluxy C702 is sold around 43€ on eBay  with a price in line with the old H502W.

The camera comes with the usual accessories: a start-up guide, a power adapter, a mini-CD, but no network cable. 

The Mini CD contains a more complete documentation, some client software for PC, Android and iOS, plus a search.exe tool to locate your camera on the network.

All this can be also downloaded from the main web site: http://cd.365cam.net/index_en.html

While not identical, the SL-C702 is a look-alike of Dericam H502W with a larger head. Another visible difference is the RS485 alarm interface at the back.  

ONVIF 2.0? 
This camera is mistakenly advertised as ONVIF 2.0 compliant, but its implementation is way too incomplete to work with Synology Surveillance Station.
The Onvif Device Manager detects the camera but fails to read the complete profile. So it seems there's been some (aborted) efforts in that direction at least.

It is possible to use a http url in Surveillance Station:
http://192.168.1.xxx/videostream.cgi?user=user&pwd=password
Alternatively, selecting a compatible product in the list, like Foscam FI8919W seems to work.

RTSP stream uses the following url: rtsp://user:password@192.168.1.xxx:10554/tcp/av0_0
More here: http://www.ispyconnect.com/man.aspx?n=Sunluxy

The bad news is that using the videostream.cgi crashes the video server after a while and there is no picture streamed any more through the web interface or the rtsp channel!

General Impressions
The main page gives the usual access to various kinds of browser, including the "mobile" static page and a SD Card access.

Neither nice or ugly, the user interface is complete with IR lights controls and position presets.
The firmware version reads as Device 30.5.1.0.62 and WebUI 1.0.0.10. There's room for improvement and you can see by the messy page sources that it is still a work in progress.
The most annoying bug is that the first page does not retain the languages choice and always defaults back to Chinese.

Audio quality: The microphone provides good sound but is very sensitive to interference from nearby electrical devices.

Picture quality: Despite the widely used Hi3518E chipset (Foscam, Amovision, ...), the picture was partially blurred , but it turned out that a bit of grease (used for the lens thread) got on the inside of the lens. Once cleaned, the picture was perfectly neat...
The IR light is strong enough, but it's not automatic and does not remain activated.

Conclusion: avoid...go for alternatives
Despite being build on a good hardware base, the C702 is completely let down by the software part.
The unstable video streaming, IR light not automatic, and Onvif non-compliance are significant show stoppers for me. There's little hope that Sunluxy wil provide any support with their unattended email address (reports "Mailbox full"), so don't expect a well-needed firmware update. 

The "clones" I found afterwards have an activity LED on the front as only visual difference, but use more finished firmware, so consider these alternatives:
- Zoneway ZW-NC638MW-P (support site)
- EyeSight ES-IP909IW using a different firmware line. I obtained a firmware from them and it cannot be used on the Sunluxy.
- Owlvision O-E6811, sold by Gearbest uses a better firmware, similar to the E6830. I could upload this one on the Sunluxy but lost the PTZ function, so possibly a slightly revised hardware in those 'clones'.
- Finally don't forget the Dericam H502W (aka EyeSight ES-IP902W, CyberNova CN-WIP604MW ) or its successor H503W.

Good:

Easy to setup 

Position presets

RS485 Alarm interface 

Not good:

Unstable video streaming 

IR light not automatic and defaults to off

Home page defaults to Chinese,  English needs to be re-selected each time.

Audio subject to interferences

No ONVIF compatibility

Equivalent models:

Zoneway ZW-NC638MW-P

Rocam NC-300

Owlvision O-E6811, sold by Gearbest uses a better firmware, similar to the E6830.

Look-alike but not the same firmware line: EyeSight ES-IP909IW (aka PhonesCam PC-IP909IW)

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Some cool changes in Synology DSM 5.1

Synology again adds value to their NAS with the latest update to DSM 5.1.








In some aspects, the changes are more significant than those brought by the previous major version upgrade.
Some of the most remarkable improvements are:

File Station

To me, this is where the most important addition as been implemented.
For years I've been using the Download Station to retrieve files from another distant DSM via native shares. This is fastidious and now a thing of the past: File Station finally can map a (S)FTP or WebDAV connection, therefore making the file transfer operation as simple as a drag and drop!

Video Station

It is now possible to search for subtitles directly from Video Station and it actually works pretty well! 

The sources used are OpenSubtitles.org and Shooter.cn

In addition a video can now be publicly shared via an unique url for viewing.
If they add a way to watch the trailer of each movie and a music theme (like Plex does), Video Station will be nearly perfect. 

Security Advisor

The Security Advisor scans your NAS for threats and weaknesses.
For instance, it reminds you how weak your password policy is and how attractive an unchanged SSH port is to external attackers.

There are many other changes, like the very powerful Note Station (and DS Note mobile app), the addition of OneDrive, Box, and hubiC to Cloud Sync and the new Storage Analyzer, just to name a few.

Check here for an exhaustive list of the changes brought by DSM 5.1

www.synology.com/en-global/dsm/5.1

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iFive Mini 3GS hard to wake up?

Some owners of the iFive Mini 3GS tablet may have experimented troubles when waking up the device or even screen going black randomly while in use...but it turns out that the tablet itself is not to blame ...

The problem:
The FNF iFive Mini 3GS is really a cool Android tablet and provided me so far the best experience in all aspects, but a problem bugged me from the beginning:
The display would turn off in the middle of an activity and would be difficult to wake up at times.

This turned out to be caused by the "Smart Sleep Protective Case Cover" that was sold with the tablet.

The purpose of the Smart Sleep feature (aka Sleep and Wake) is to turn off and lock the screen whenever you close the cover, and turn on the display when the cover is lifted. 

I first though this was done by the light sensor but, instead, the device detects the proximity of a tiny magnet hidden inside the flap cover. 

The cause:
I then realized that the magnet was not only detected by the tablet when the cover flap was folded over the screen... but also when it was folded ...to the back of the tablet, which is something you tend to do naturally when using it! So the screen would turn off, apparently randomly, when the flap is comes close enough to the back cover.

I've seen the problem with the cover sold by pandawill.com (SKU 58155, also sold here), which is NOT specifically made for the 3GS Mini or any current FNF tablet of that size (the speaker holes are not centered).


Solution:
The current Mini 3GS firmware does not allow to disable the smart sleep function, so you either need to avoid folding the cover to the back or, choose a better cover.

There is now a slightly bigger choice of cases for the iFive Mini 3GS. Some protections for iPad Mini may also work, as long as they leave the whole top edge open for buttons and connectors.
I'll report back once I find the right candidate.


Update 11/2014: Many users also reported that, when the tablet had been in a cold environment, it would not turn on at all. In such case, the only solution is to leave the tablet in a warmer place for an hour or two.

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