As we’ve previously discussed on TG Daily, Rockchip’s RK3188 quad-core processor is currently one of the fastest ARM Cortex-A9 chips available on the hyper-competitive market.
However, up until recently, only Google’s Android OS ran on mobile devices powered by RK3188 silicon. Fortunately, users can now load up Ubuntu, and perhaps even other flavors of Linux as well.
As Liliputing’s Brad Linder notes, Rikomagic has released the Linux source code for the MK802 IV mini PC – which is equipped with an RK3188 chip.
Unsurprisingly, the disclosure prompted a number of software modders to use the the MK802 code as a starting point for running Ubuntu on similar devices such as the QC802 and Tronsmart T428.
“For the most part, the steps for installing Ubuntu should work on most Android TV boxes with RK3188 chips — and since you’re booting Ubuntu from an SD card, you should be able to do it without affecting the Android software that probably came with your device,” Linder explained.
“On the other hand, Ubuntu for RK3188 sticks is still pretty rough around the edges. There’s currently no support for WiFi, Bluetooth, or hardware-accelerated graphics.”
Indeed, it is likely to be some time before Ubuntu is fully functional on all devices fitted with a RK3188 chip due to a plethora of wireless chips. In the meantime, you can check out Ian Morrison’s instructions for getting Ubuntu up and running on a RK3188 box here.
