Pi0cket Unveils the TinyPi Pro
The world’s smallest Raspberry Pi gaming console
UK-based Pi0cket has designed the world’s smallest Raspberry Pi-based handheld gaming console with the TinyPi Pro. According to Pi0cket, the console was a personal project he had originally developed to see how little he could make a Pi-powered mobile gaming device, taking a year of tweaking and refinement to get to its current form.
The TinyPi Pro uses the Raspberry Pi Zero as the console’s base-platform, which does all the substantial processing power for emulation, and a custom PCB outfitted with a 240 x 240 IPS display, 10 tactile switches, and a pair of right-angle switches for the platforms d-pad, navigation and action buttons, all of which are controlled by an AVR microcontroller.
The PCB also features an I2S chip for audio amplification along with a tiny speaker that provides the console’s sound. The PCB mates with the Zero using a set of pogo pins for the GPIO, and four screws to clamp them in place — meaning there is no soldering involved to bring the boards together. A three-piece 3D-printed case holds the components firmly together, and an internal 400mAh battery supplies enough power to game for about an hour.
The TinyPi Pro uses the RetroPie emulator, which allows you to play games from most retro consoles — including the NES, SNES, Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, Master System, Megadrive/Genesis, and GameGear. Pi0cket states you can even tweak some config files to play PlayStation 1 games. Pi0cket is currently crowdfunding the TinyPi Pro on Kickstarter, with pledges starting at $62 and up, which gets you the kit but you will have to purchase the Zero and storage card separately.