It’s pretty amazing how much computing power can be crammed into a small space these days. After all, our smartphones are very capable computers themselves, but we also have handheld gaming PCs and single-board computers or SBCs that are no larger than (very thick) credit cards. The latter, popularized by the super-affordable Raspberry Pi, blasted wide open the doors to creative projects and gadgets, from mirrors that act as your smart home console to fictional cyberdeck computers brought to life. This latest design is one of the latter, offering a handheld computer with modern features and an aesthetic that seems to come from an alternate 80s timeline.
Designer: soulscircuit
Despite its size, the Raspberry Pi is a complete computer, one that can run desktop operating systems, including a trimmed-down version of Windows. With just the right peripherals, it can be used as a normal computer, and some have even turned the SBC into a laptop or even a desktop, complete with liquid cooling. These, however, don’t take full advantage of the Raspberry Pi’s small and portable size, a form that’s perfect for a handheld computer.
The Pilet 5 handheld console adds those essential missing parts to the barebones computer, turning it into a finished product that is usable the moment you turn it on. This form takes the shape of a rather chunky box with a 5-inch screen at the top and a QWERTY keyboard on the bottom half. This isn’t the first BlackBerry-like design powered by a Raspberry Pi and it definitely won’t be the last, but there are a few details that makes this project a bit interesting.
In addition to the keyboard, Pilet 5 has a four-direction D-pad as well as a tiny trackball on the right side of the device, while the opposite side has a joystick and a scroll wheel. These would definitely be more than enough to move the mouse, if the touchscreen still wasn’t enough, and they open up more use cases, like gaming for example. The aesthetic of the design is also less grungy and raw, unlike typical cyberpunk-inspired “cyberdecks.” The beige motif, gray buttons, and minimal colors give it a vibe similar to the consoles and computers from the late 80s and early 90s.
Just like the Pilet 7, formerly known as Consolo, the more compact Pilet 5 still promises a 7-hour battery life thanks to dual 8,000mAh batteries, just in a smaller and more complete form. That said, it does lose out on the appeal of a modular design that can adapt to almost any use case, which is what the Pilet 7 will bring to the table once it’s actually out.
