Love the idea but a Zero W is pretty underwhelming. I have couple and it’s barely useful because of the single core limitations. I’m guessing it’s a supply chain issue?
Also, does this have to work with beeper? What if I have my own synapse running?
People have built essentially the same idea before but used the far more powerful Pi CM4 boards, which aren't really that much bigger at all than the Zero:
That said, I ordered a uConsole when it was announced and have heard nothing, I should really chase this...
My guess is the decision here to use a Zero wasn't one of availability, they sell it without a Zero too so you can roll your own. There is probably less complexity in using the Zero's GPIO support to attach to the host device vs the CM4's much more complex pin out which may have been a bigger factor.
Wow the Devterm looks amazing. Unfortunately according to reviews, the quality is extremely subpar. I get it’s niche but at that price, it’s probably a better financial design to get an iPad mini with a small keyboard.
Yep, I weighed the risk of the poor Devterm reviews when deciding to preorder the uConsole. My hope is with the uConsole being a simpler device with a traditional 4:3 display etc there will be more scope to just treat it like a plain ole Linux computer, but absolutely it's a niche toy for me too - neither of the devices make financial sense as a work tool!
I also love the design of the Devterm and would absolutely have bought one if reviews were better.
I have a DevTerm R-01 and it is basically a beautiful $200 novelty cyberdeck that sits on my desk. The R01 version in particular is greatly under powered and is really only usable with twm and a Xterm.
I mostly use it to read gopher:// and the kids love printing things off using it's thermal printer.
It's not great but not absolutely horrible. Two-finger typing most of the time and the overall feel is stiff, but not too stiff.
I usually hold it with my hands and use my thumbs, like a Game Gear. Re-mapping the "d-pad" joystick and "yxba" buttons to arrow keys and hjkl [1] makes it easy to read and navigate text content on it (hence of gopher://), especially with the wide and high resolution screen.
It's size is what turned me off most about the devterm. I would be much more tempted by a device just a bit bigger. This[1] blog post has good pictures, one next to a DVD case for size comparison.
The hardware quality is actually decent. The software support isn’t unless you get the pi version. I’ve owned two. First, the A04 and then the R-01. I actually used the A04 frequently, until I bought a SteamDeck. I’ve since sold it. I would use the R01 more if the HDMI out worked.
Clockwork will ship, it takes them some time. The software support isn’t great, and the community does a lot of the heavy lifting.
It's basically impossible to get any Pis these day - we were able to score a bunch of Pi Zero W so that's what we're including for now, but it's fully compatible with any 'zero' form factor SBC.
I hear your pain, I’ve been trying to get a zero 2W for a reasonable price for almost 3 years now. It’s so disappointing how it’s still an issue today.
Super tempted to try one of these out since I run my own synapse anyway. Paired with tailscale running, I could do a lot with it on the fly but probably would need a Zero 2W to handle everything I’m imagining.
Also, does this have to work with beeper? What if I have my own synapse running?