What can be done with ITEAD IBOX. Part 1

The other day there was an IBOX review . I decided to make my version of this review, as I also received a sample.

TRAFFIC

Introduction

It all started one fine day with a reading of an article on a hub about a new piece of iron.
And then I thought, why didn’t we try our luck and beg a sample, all the more I never succeeded. And writing a letter with a request, I did not expect absolutely nothing.

What was my surprise when they confirmed my request and sent me as soon as possible.
As the saying goes: Fools - lucky!

Getting

I will not describe here how I opened the box and what kind of pimples there is on the film - this is a kindergarten and the Internet is full of it.
I will go straight to the point.
The kit included the IBOX itself and a 9V 2A power supply. All, no shields and goodies. But we do not need them. There are hands - we’ll do the buns ourselves.

Debriefing

The device did not turn on and did not hold a memory card.
There was no spring in the memory card slot.
The non-inclusion was due to the fact that the processor module was not fully inserted into the slot. Upon delivery, the board started up.
First of all, I decided to change the slot to a new one.

Here is a photo of the old slot in which the memory card does not snap in:



Unsolder : Spruce fallen



, the Chinese saved on copper, there is no normal fastening of the slot as such, and as a result of removal, one mass platform broke - insanity, but we will fix it.

The old slot with the missing mechanism:



And now they put a new slot and strengthened the fasteners:



Everything holds.

My opinion is that ITEAD was in a hurry with the release of IBOX because they hacked in full, and without preliminary rollback.

The next step, I drew attention to the basically useless expansion port, ITEAD, and here I was distinguished by the fact that the port is not bolted to the board, and it is also not standard, and I did not want to steam it. We are changing!

Taken: The



old port and the board:



Installed a new one:



It's the same:



I removed the new one from the old motherboard and filed a little. Now it’s convenient to connect to some pins.

I did it for every fireman, you never know.

Madness

And then I sat and thought what to make of this device ...
Making a media center is stupid.
Workstation - boring.
And then I remembered an article on Habré .
Where in the comments I was indignant at the fact that they simply gathered from everything ready, and even that is crooked. And he promised to roll out his version.
But at this point, unfortunately, thank God, I already burned the pen and therefore decided to fulfill the promise and make a tablet based on this device.

Insanity grew stronger

As a matrix, I decided to take a 5-inch matrix from the coolest COWON Q5W player at one time:


The matrix has a resolution of 800x480, the type of matrix is ​​PARALEL RGB and it is IPS. Manufacturer Mitsubishi.
I was not confused by the fact that the pin pitch is too small and the complexity of the connection.

Lie on the bed! Turn on the soldering iron!

After digging through the manuals, drawing the pinout, and fixing the configs in the Debian boot image, I started building.
It took me an hour and a half of leisurely soldering.

Soldered to the matrix:



And then to the board:



More.

The second board is the motherboard from the tablet, with which I use the converter to illuminate and power the matrix:



The general process of disorder. And yes, this is not a table but a bed. And on the right lies the wife and observes:

It's Alive !!!

Launched Linaro:



Well, the video of the work process:

Conclusion

Since this is only the beginning, the screen will be built into the native case, a battery will be installed.
Continued in next part
Opinion on IBOX:

Weak. The quality of the expansion board upset me. Also, I can not call it anything else than just a TV set-top box, since there is no normal access to ports to a normal developer.