[Tech Memorial] PocketCHIP - The Maker's GameBoy

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All the way back in 2015, a new single-board computer hit the scene that went by the name C.H.I.P. and it was almost instantly funded on Kickstarter. The CHIP was to be a competitor to the Raspberry Pi, beating it in many regards until the Raspberry Pi Zero was released shortly after the CHIP's successful crowdfunding campaign. There was one thing that really made the CHIP stand-out against the competition, and that was the PocketCHIP. This was to be an all-in-one, portable, battery-powered, touchscreen Linux computer with a physical keyboard and all the ports, pins and wireless connectivity you could ever need. When I saw it, I had to have it.

I'm sure you're thinking "why haven't I seen this thing before?", and well unfortunately the answer to that question is a sad one. This was going to be a review, not a memorial and although the company that created the CHIP, Next Thing Co., had several successful crowdfunding campaigns, delivered the product to backers (with a slight delay, but that's to be expected) and received rave reviews from tech moguls and noobs alike, it appears that the company is no more. I just want to get that out there first, so that no-one gets their hopes up. It makes me appreciate the one I have even more though, and I'll be taking good care of it.

The PocketCHIP was like a futuristic hacker's GameBoy. It was a glimmering beacon guiding us into the future of DIY computing and makers. It also gave you really bad finger cramp if you used it for too long. This isn't a device for everyone, if you think you can pick one up and starting playing your old games immediately you'd be mistaken. Unlike it's older Pi cousin, the PocketCHIP really was a complete system that you could start using off-the-shelf. The seemingly oddly sized 480x272px LED backlit screen was just from a sat nav unit, but it worked really well for this device. Theoretically at least, you could still make one of these yourself if you could get hold of the core CHIP computer module.

It comes with a built in battery-pack, that you can easily swap out for a readily available replacement. In fact, power management on this thing is really impressive, you can go from USB power to battery seamlessly, which isn't something the Pi can claim. Battery life is good, giving you ~6 hours of use from a single charge. There aren't any built-in speakers, but there is a headphone jack or, and this is what you should do really, you can fit your own speaker. That's the point of this open source device, hack it! You can 3D print new parts, like the D-Pad I had made for mine, or customise it to your heart's content. Hardware-wise, I only really have one complaint and that would be the "SUPERClicky" keyboard, which during the campaign was billed as a quirky plus, but it really is just annoying. As I've demonstrated with the D-Pad though, you could rather easily design and build a better keyboard cover with some real buttons if you wanted to.

Did I mention it runs Linux? It runs Linux, and not some watered down version but full-blown Debian with some mods made to the UI to make it work better with touchscreens, and it does what you need it to do. The interface is very minimal, but it can be easily modified to allow for more shortcuts to be added, along with custom wallpapers and the like. It's Linux, you do what you want with it. It's a great little way of getting familiar with the command-line part of Linux, which is what Linux is all about really. I've had a fair amount of experience setting up and managing web servers in the past, but this gave me the opportunity to really test my command-line abilities.

With regards to software, the other major selling point of this device was the fact that it came bundled with PICO-8, an indie games platform that allows you to play impressive retro-style games as well as hack and make them yourself. I have to be honest though, and say I haven't really used PICO-8 other than a quick look when I first got it, all those years ago...

Mine has sat faithfully next to my laptop pretty much since I got it, where I'll occasionally run apt and make sure it's still running, but other than that it's literally just gathered dust. When I preordered mine, I had images of me hooking things up to the GPIO and installing some of the Kali tools to do some penetration testing, but it's just an odd looking curiosity now. Writing this has reawoken the hardware hacker in me, and after looking at some projects that are available for this thing, I might have to give some a try. It's hard not to think about what could have been with this device, it's very much a fun weekend project type of thing, but there's nothing wrong with that. It was priced at $69 ($49 preorder), so you can see why they were always trying to keep up with orders. It would be nice to see the community maintain this project, but I really don't see that happening sadly. It seems that PocketCHIP is dead, long live PocketCHIP!

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What do you think about the PocketCHIP? Is it something you'd have been interested in? Rarely they appear on ebay for around $80, so it is still possible to find them but the company didn't fulfill their final orders before going into liquidation so the unwanted ones have largely been snapped up by now, shame. I wouldn't mind having a spare one myself. Let me know your thoughts and feelings down in the comment section, and as always make sure to follow me for the latest Internet, Pop Culture and Technology updates. Until next time, take it easy!

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Sources:
Next Thing Co. - PocketCHIP (https://getchip.com/pages/pocketchip)

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