In the dark days (or good old days) before the advent of the smartphone, there was the T-Mobile Sidekick (also known as the Danger Hiptop). It was a phone with a screen that you could slide up to reveal a QWERTY keyboard that you could use for typing text messages.

The days of the Sidekick may be gone (and for the most part so are mainstream smartphones with physical keyboards), but one hardware hacker is keeping the dream alive with a DIY project called mutantC.

In a nutshell, it’s a handheld computer situated in a 3D-printed case with a QWERTY keyboard and a slide-out screen that covers the keys when you’re not using them.

The design files are posted online, along with instructions for assembling your own. And developer rahmanshaber wants the platform to be open enough to support add-ons such as GPS, cellular radios, or other components.

Components include:

  • Single-board computer (such as a Raspberry Pi Zero, RPi 1, 2, or 3
  • 3.5 to 4 inch display
  • 43-key push-button keyboard
  • Sparkfun Pro Micro
  • 3D-printed case
  • some cables, connectors, and screws

While the initial design is based on a Raspberry Pi, you could theoretically adapt the layout to accommodate other single-board computers with a similar size and form factor such as the Asus Tinker Board S or devices from Pine64 or Banana Pi. But rahmanshaber does advise against using a Raspberry Pi 4 due to heat concerns.

Another limitation? Right now the mutantC doesn’t have a battery compartment, which severely limits its utility, but rahmanshaber plans to add a battery in the future.

Until then, one solution may be to carry around a USB power bank. It’s awkward, but at least it would make the mutantC mobile.

via HackADay

 

Support Liliputing

Liliputing's primary sources of revenue are advertising and affiliate links (if you click the "Shop" button at the top of the page and buy something on Amazon, for example, we'll get a small commission).

But there are several ways you can support the site directly even if you're using an ad blocker* and hate online shopping.

Contribute to our Patreon campaign

or...

Contribute via PayPal

* If you are using an ad blocker like uBlock Origin and seeing a pop-up message at the bottom of the screen, we have a guide that may help you disable it.

Subscribe to Liliputing via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 9,543 other subscribers

4 replies on “MutantC is a DIY Sidekick clone with a Raspberry Pi at its heart”

  1. It reminds me of the OQO computer. It seems similar in size and function.

    I read about a Palm phone that had a screen that slid up to reveal a keyboard. I think it had tow; one when slid sideways and another when slid up.

  2. To me, this looks like it harkens a lot more to the old Sony UX-series UMPCs. I had a couple of them… Great machines. This thing is practically a spitting image.

    1. Yep. The sidekick was a twist open design. I really liked mine until it suddenly stopped reading my sim card.

      1. I’m pretty sure Brad was just trying to troll us gadget nerds with this headline. I immediately wanted to make both of the above observations.

Comments are closed.