Raspberry Pi makes a line of computers so tiny you can fit them in your pocket. But you probably need to take them out of your pocket, plug them into a power source, and hook up a mouse, keyboard, and display to use them.
The developer behind the Noodle Pi has another idea. He’s launched a Kickstarter campaign for a Raspberry Pi computer kit that fits into your pocket when fully assembled.
The good news is that the kit is pretty cheap: you can reserve one for a pledge of about $35 or more, and units should begin shipping in September (although this is a crowdfunding campaign, so delays are always possible).
The bad news? Your pledge doesn’t actually go toward any of the electronic components. You’ll have to buy those separately.
Here’s a list of things you need to buy:
- Raspberry Pi Zero or Raspberry Pi Zero W
- Raspberry Pi Camera Module v2
- Pi Zero camera cable
- Pimonroni HyperPixel Screen
- 500mA LiPo battery
- Adafruit PowerBoost 1000C
- Pimoroni Hammer Header
Once you account for the cost of those components, a fully assembled Noodle Pi will run you about $145. For that price you could just buy a cheap phone.
But then you you wouldn’t get a fully functional desktop computer capable of running GNU/Linux desktop software. The Noodle Pi can work like a tiny tablet or like a desktop since you can still access the USB and HDMI ports once the kit is put together.
It’s a nifty idea… but essentially what you’re paying for is a 3D printed case and instructions for assembling a device using off-the-shelf parts. If you have access to your own 3D printer, you could probably just design your own Noodle Pi-like system.
via Geeky Gadgets
500mA seems like it wouldn’t be enough battery when driving such a high dpi display.
Sorry, but it’s been done already and in a far better packaged way, Kano anyone?
Hmm, the Kano products are cool (if a little spendy), but their Screen Kit builds something more like a shrunken imac or ipad w/ wireless keyboard than something you could carry in your pocket.
I’d be up for a kit that incorporates a slide out thumb keyboard + mouse. Otherwise, I wouldn’t put myself through the pain of using a desktop OS via a tiny touch screen.
Enlightenment (EFLTizen) has a somewhat capable touch interface option and has a Debian package.
This person has multiple rpi0 builds, this one is probably the most interesting: https://n-o-d-e.net/zeroterminal.html
I’d totally be up for a full kit to make a pocketable slider or clamshell Raspberry Pi or any other ARM based board running a Linux desktop.