Android and Linux Handhelds - Shield, GCW Zero, GP2X, Pandora, Pyra, JXD, etc.

fenikso

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That looks pretty cool. Love the form factor of the OG GB.
 

SML

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I placed an order for the LDK. I don't think it's actually going to perform better than my GPH Wiz or Caanoo, but the (proprietary) batteries are going on my Wiz and the analogue stick on the Caanoo is getting rubber rot.

It's weird that the progress made in the last ten years for pocketable linux consoles has mostly come in terms of getting the price down.
 

pixeljunkie

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I placed an order for the LDK. I don't think it's actually going to perform better than my GPH Wiz or Caanoo, but the (proprietary) batteries are going on my Wiz and the analogue stick on the Caanoo is getting rubber rot.

It's weird that the progress made in the last ten years for pocketable linux consoles has mostly come in terms of getting the price down.

be sure to post your thoughts on it, I'm tempted to grab one as well
 

SML

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I'm in the middle of crunch time, but I did get the LDK today and mess around a little bit.

I was able to replace the 16gb internal sdhc with a 32gb. I've read that the internal can't be an sdxc but I haven't tested it yet.

I have a 400gb sdxc in the mail to serve as the external. Might as well see how far I can push things. If it doesn't work out can always use more space on my shield portable.

I've flashed to the current full RetroFW.

Running SNES roms off the internal card with PocketSNES, I'm getting comparable/better performance than on my Wiz. There's only one speaker, but it's clear and loud. No screen tearing. Very nice picture. I can't really see any difference between the LDK screen and the OLED on my Wiz, in terms of black levels and vibrant colors.

I see what looks like a single speck of dust inside the case at the edge of the screen. I hope Incan blow that out when I rearrange the buttons to match the SNES layout. (The RetroFW interface is color coded in a way that seems to assume you'll swap the buttons.)

The D Pad is very good. Better than the shallow Wiz dpad. The shoulder buttons are more comfortable than you'd think. The face buttons feel a little small, but not out of place on the LDK body.

Right now I couldn't be much happier with it as a replacement for my old gp2x handhelds. I'll have a more detailed report in a few days.
 

SML

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Quick family photo for comparison:
20190507_202655.jpg

Edit: One more just to be overkill:

20190507_205710.jpg
 
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SML

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My LDK does have a speck of dirt and a hair(?) under the screen. Please stop putting dusty pubes in my devices, Chinese factory workers.

At first I thought the dirt was a dead pixel, but you can see it clearly in the picture next to the Odroid Go. (Gotta love that battery in the Odroid.)

20190508_050509.jpg20190508_034712.jpg20190508_050912.jpg
 

SML

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Quick performance test:

Again, I've only loaded SNES roms onto the LDK at the moment, so that's all I have for benchmarking, but under normal circumstances everything runs very close to 60fps. The title screen for Yoshi's Island tends to slow things down. So here's a quick comparison:

Wiz: DrPocketSNES (7.2.0 "Compatible") 0 frameskip, unscaled, mono sound 44.1 khz, overclocked to 770mhz= 34 fps

Caanoo: DrPocketSNES (Same version and settings as above.) = 37 fps

GP2X F100(B): (DrPocketSNES 7.2.0 "Fast." CPU overclock at 250mhz. Otherwise, same as above.) = 20 fps

LDK: PocketSNES (Mar 17 2019 Build) 0 frameskip, unscaled, mono sound 44.1 khz, overclocked to 702mhz = 37 fps
 

Xavier

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How could you possibly fill 400gb with retro roms? Does it run any kind of ISO's. Even if you loaded it up with all playable Pc Engine games, Sega Cd and cdz platform original (pretty sure Crossed Swords II and Ironbringer have rom hack versions these days) I cant picture them taking up more than 200gb.

I feel better now about my handheld obsession after seeing your linux collection.
 

SML

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How could you possibly fill 400gb with retro roms? Does it run any kind of ISO's. Even if you loaded it up with all playable Pc Engine games, Sega Cd and cdz platform original (pretty sure Crossed Swords II and Ironbringer have rom hack versions these days) I cant picture them taking up more than 200gb.

I feel better now about my handheld obsession after seeing your linux collection.

Amiga, PSX, DOS... Some emus on here I don't recognize. :)
 

Yoshi

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I've gotten a chance to load up my GCW Zero with ROMs, and I'm really blown away. My intent for it is to have essentially every pre-DS/PSP portable game worth playing with me when I travel, and this thing really does the trick. There are very strange design choices in some of the emulators, like OhBoy requiring a flick of the power switch to enter the options menu, but the performance seems near-flawless. I think the low res, 320x224 screen is a key factor for both battery life and the games looking "right." Even at that resolution, the Game Boy games need to scale quite a bit to avoid playing them in a tiny window.

edit: Frankly I wish the 3DS Virtual Console would have been more fully realized, as I'd prefer to support the developers and publishers, but I guess that's neither here nor there now. Maybe someday they'll want my money again.
 
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Xavier

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New releases for the bitboy3 and rs-97
Can't tell much of a difference for the Bitboy but the rs-97 has massive upgrades.
Some decent YouTube videos on it.
 

SML

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The initial "rs-97 plus" release had such serious hardware problems that the community devs blacklisted it. They've fixed those?
 
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SML

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I like the LDK a lot. The performance is pretty much on par with the Caanoo, but it doesn't seem to really outperform it on any point. The lack of a touch screen doesn't come up *that much* for me, but it's something to keep in mind. I'll still be relying on an android device (Shield Handheld) for PSX, etc.

My decrepit hands don't do so hot with the shape of it. It's a top-heavy design, and my thumbs start to ache after half an hour of use. Working to keep the system balanced in your hands makes more of a difference than you might think.

The manufacturers seem to sell basically the same hardware in tons of different form factors. It's all built around the same chip family as the Neo Geo X and the Neo Mini cabs. The rs-90, which has more of a DMG-style body, looks much more comfortable to hold, especially since it moves the L and R buttons to the back of the device, instead of the top. But it's only got the two face buttons, so it's a clear trade off. The rs-07 is basically the Neo Mini Arcade with six buttons. Shop around, read the dingoonity forums, and see where the community developers are with the device you're considering, because that's ultimately going to determine what you'll be able to do with it.

I've seen a picture of a rumored redesign (which looks pretty much exactly like the rs-97 plus. For all I know, it *is* exactly the same device) which I think would be a lot more comfortable to hold and use.

ldk_v2.jpg

For $50, the LDK is a great deal. If you aren't in a rush, you might want to wait for another revision or look at some of the other devices that are currently available.
 

genjuro1

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I've got 2 JXD S7800b's one of them I just did a factory reset because it was glitching\bugging out. After I did the factory reset the language went from English, to another language (Dutch maybe?). I can't find the option\setting to change it back to English. Can anybody enlighten me on how to change it back to English?
 

geise

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@SML. Nice on all the GPH Handhelds. I sold my GP2X after I got the Wiz. Sadly my Wiz only works now off AC power. The battery won't charge anymore. I still use my Shield Portable from time to time, but I mostly end up using my GPD Win 2 now.
 

max 330 mega

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Edit: gonna post this in the retropie related thread from a while ago instead of derailing this one.
 
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GohanX

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I dusted off the GPD XD a few days ago and it got me in the itch to mess with emu handhelds again since there are much better options now than the 3d printed crap I was building a few years ago. The XD is excellent but the ergonomics aren't great without using a grip attachment which makes it less than portable. So took apart my old Raspiboy that never worked quite right to steal the Pi out of it and ordered one of the Retroflag GPI cases. That thing seems so simple to assemble it kinda takes all the fun out of it. I also ordered an Odroid-Go since it was dirt cheap and why the fuck not, it's tiny and the battery lasts forever. I might like it better purely for playing Gameboy stuff since it's got the GB Pocket form factor and only two buttons. And chances are 9 times out of ten when I grab an emu thing I'm just playing Operation C or something on Gameboy.
 

GohanX

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Ok, so this thing is fucking awesome. It feels so great in the hands and the screen is pretty good even without tinkering with settings.
6f5d5279350166bd74cb4f3e94e4b9d0.jpg
 

tangemo

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This just popped up and has been getting some good reviews from youtubers. I'm definitely interested, performance caps out on a few difficult PS1, SNES and MAME games but it seems to run most retro stuff really well. Nice IPS screen and dual analog to boot.

https://retrogame300.com/products/rg350

 

GohanX

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I put together the Odroid Go last night. It's pretty much a Gameboy Pocket that runs ROMs. Feels the same and the screen is much better than an actual system with a backlight mod. The only real flaw is that it has no headphone jack, which is a bummer. I'm sure someone makes a hat or something for it to fix that problem.

It can do Gamegear very well too, but the NES emulator is pretty poor.
5259b936807848a07ade1515ca2e6759.jpg
 
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