Tuesday, 29 September 2026

KONKR Pocket Advance

KONKR POCKET ADVANCE

KONKR Pocket Advance, I had forgotten I'd bought this, about two months ago, so it was quite a nice surprise when it arrived today. So what, exactly, can it do? Is it powerful enough to play PlayStation 3 games or use GameHub to play PC games, well the quick answer is no, you will not be doing either of those things on the KONKR Pocket Advance as the processor is just not up to it. For me the obvious choice is to emulate the Game Boy Advance.
It really isn't rocket science, you look at the KONKR Pocket Advance and see a Game Boy Advance so that is my intention, I will use this as my main Game Boy Advance machine, possibly with a few other consoles thrown in. It has been suggested on a few websites that Dreamcast and PSP look pretty good on the KONKR Pocket Advance due to the aspect ratio and resolution of the screen.

There is one other console that has the aesthetic of the Game Boy Advance and that is the Anbernic RG 34XX which, on first appearance, is a closer facsimile to the Game Boy Advance, however the Anbernic RG 34XX is a much lower power device to the KONKR Pocket Advance, but to play Game Boy Advance games you don't need something that is overly powerful.

 Ninrendo  Anbernic  Konkr 
 Model  Game Boy Advance  RG 34XX Pocket Advance 
 Release 22 June 2001 2024 2026
 OS N/A Linux Android 12
 CPU  ARM7TDMI H700 Helio G90T
 GPU ? Mali-G31 MP2  ?
 RAM 288KB 1GB LPDDR4  4GB
 Storage Cartridge N/A 64GB
 Display 2.9" 3:2 3.4" 3:2 3.5" 3:2
 Resolution  240 x 160 720 x 480
 960 x 640
 SD Slot N/A 2 x microSD 1 x microSD
 Wi-Fi N/A 2.4/5G Wi-Fi 5
 Bluetooth N/A 4.2 5
 Battery 2 AA Batteries 3500 mAh 4000 mAh

Now to the good bit, unboxing, set up, preparing a microSD card and all the other good stuff. Of course once you set it up there is the inevitable system software update which took about 15 minutes. I now format a microSD card and put some ROMs on it. On re-inserting the microSD card into the KONKR Pocket Advance the console wants to do another update. I'm finding it a bit fiddly. I have Dreamcast, PlayStation Portable and of course Game Boy Advance ROMs on the microSD card and restarted the console.

I have installed Redream (Dreamcast), PPSSPP (PlayStation Portable) and Nostalgia.GBA (Game Boy Advance) and of the three emulators the only one I am happy with on the handheld is the Dreamcast emulator which works out of the box, cover art, controls all work. PPSSPP displays cover art but the D-pad doesn't work like a thumbstick would and requires some tinkering. Nostalgia.GBA the controls work but it doesn't display cover art which is a big downside.

I also tried RetroArch and ES-DE and after 15 minutes I was so wound up that I gave up altogether. This handheld will be filed away, possibly to never see the light of day again.                                 

Would I recommend?
Unfortunately this has not been a very enjoyable experience. The system setup, the emulator setup and actually playing have all been rather disappointing and therefore I would not recommend this.

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Michael

Wednesday, 26 August 2026

ANBERNIC RG SP

ANBERNIC RG SP

As soon as I saw the teaser for the Anbernic RG SP it seemed a no brainer that I would order one as soon as it went on pre-order. I'm a big fan of clamshell consoles such as the Ayn Thor and the RetroidPocket Flip 2 and my thinking is that this would be more of the same just smaller, which can only be a good thing.


Let's examine the origins of Anbernics small form factor clamshells, from the Anbernic RG35XXSP released in May 2024 to Anbernic RG34XXSP released 1 year later in May 2025 and now the Anbernic RG SP a little over 1 year later in August 2026.


 Anbernic Anbernic Anbernic 
 Model  35XXSP 34XXSP RG SP
 Release May 2024 May 2025 Aug 2026
 OS Linux Linux Linux 
 CPU  Allwinner H700  Allwinner H700  Allwinner H700 
 GPU Mali-G31 MP2 Mali-G31 MP2 Mali-G31 MP2
 RAM 1GB 2GB 1GB
 Storage 64GB 64GB  16GB 
 Display 3.5" 3.4" 3:2 3.4" 3:2
 Resolution  640x480  720x480
 720x480 
 SD Slot 2 microSD 2 microSD 2 microSD 
 Wi-Fi 5G Wi-Fi 5G Wi-Fi 5G Wi-Fi
 Bluetooth 4.2 4.2 4.2
 Battery 3300 mAh 3300 mAh 3300 mAh

As you can see from the above the Anbernic RG SP looks like a step backwards and to be totally honest it is. The specifications are either the same or less than the two previous releases. OS, CPU, GPU Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and battery are all exactly the same, sure a boost in one of those would have been a benefit, however for this size of a handheld and the main target audience I personally think Anbernic have it just right this time.

On first seeing it I thought “that's a Nintendo Game Boy Advance SP”, which I have, so yes that is the road I first thought I would take, simple as that, I just need a small microSD card with Game Boy, Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance games and for those three systems a 32GB card will be more than enough to do the trick, however I thought I'd add some other systems such as Master System, Mega Drive, Nintendo Entertainment System and Super Nintendo Entertainment System for this I needed a 64GB microSD card, with a total of 8,895 games. Using a 64GB card allows me to add other systems at a later date, such as WonderSwan, Atari Lynx and GameGear.

After inserting the microSD card and switching it on it stated “No Files”, so I thought is my Anbernic RG SP broken, no. What have I done wrong? Absolutely no idea until I checked out Tech Insiders page on how to set up the Anbernic RG SP and the issue was something so simple, the folder structure, I had named my microSD card ROMS and placed my GB, GBC, GBA, MS, MD, SNES and SNES folders on the root, however the microSD card needed a folder called ROMS with the emulation folders inside that.

Having corrected my file structure error and re-inserting the microSD card, on switching the Anbernic RG SP on once again I find that the MS, NES and SNES folders are missing, could it be that it wants FC instead of NES, SFC instead of SNES and if that is the case what should MS be replaced with? Putting the microSD back in my laptop I see that folders have been created and indeed there is a FC folder, a SFC folder and for Master System there is now a SMS folder. So literally 2 minutes later and the files are moved to their relevant folders and microSD card re-inserted into the Anbernic RG SP and all 7 systems are visible.

I played all of the systems for a couple of minutes each apart from Game Boy Advance and I thought each one played pretty well, I then opened Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars for Game Boy Advance and I thought I was playing on native hardware only 3x upscaled and I would feel really comfortable playing this for hours. There are filters that can be applied such as scanlines but I'm not sure I will need them.

Would I recommend the Anbernic RG SP?
Most definitely, get the Anbernic RG SP, a 16GB microSD card and 1,500 Game Boy Advance ROMS and you are good to go for a truly retro feel as it looks, feels and plays just like the real thing as you could possibly get for approximately £100.00. Could it be any better suited to being a Game Boy Advance SP replacement, I think not.

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Michael

Sunday, 2 August 2026

ROG XBOX ALLY STORAGE UPGRADE

ROG XBOX ALLY STORAGE UPGRADE

This has to be one of the most daunting tasks I've undertaken, I've built PCs before, I've written software before, taught myself how to create a website a few years ago now (not hosted, just wanted to see if I could learn) and I even started this blog but replacing the 512GB NVMe (Non-Volatile Memory Express) drive with a 2TB NVMe drive seems a bit of a scary undertaking, in my post about the ROG XBox Ally I did mention that I thought the 512GB drive was way too small for such a heavy duty handheld and that it would probably need upgrading, well today is that day.

I had previously looked at storage options with regards to various NVMe form factors, storage capacities and cost, I wanted more storage space but didn't want to spend a fortune and as RAM prices had started to soar so too had storage prices so a 4TB card was probably out of the question and I would settle for a 2TB card which seemed a nice step up from the 512GB without breaking the bank.

I knew there were other considerations to take into account like read/write speed and just exactly which form factor did I need (2230, 2242, 2260, 2280, 22110)? I looked up the specs for the ROG XBox Ally for a bit of information and it seems I now have the answers I need, the ROG XBox Ally I have contains a M.2 2280 NVMe PCIe Gen 4 SSD, so I now know I need a 2280 form factor, 2TB with a read speed of approx 7200 (the original 512GB installed read speed is 4,900 MB/s) and I wanted this for as cheap as possible but good quality, not too much to ask.

I most definitely wasn't going to change the drive without a little research in advance, so YouTube here I come, other people must have done this replacement so why can't I. I did a search for “rog xbox ally ssd replacement” and surprisingly there were quite a few videos to choose from.


So before I take the ROG XBox Ally apart there are a couple of things I need to do, firstly take out the microSD card and place to one side, then make sure the battery is less than 25%, unfortunately this may take a little time, my ROG XBox Ally may have been sat on the coffee table for about 1 week but it has managed to keep quite the charge 98% so the battery needs draining a little.

The battery is now drained, after a bit of a game playing session, so below is a list bullet points of the things I need, some that are handy to have and a couple of things that are essential:
  • ROG XBox Ally.
  • Acer FA200 2TB PCIe Gen 4 M.2.
  • Freshly purchased STREBITO Electric Screwdriver Set, 67 in 1 (contains screwdriver and prying tool).
  • USB-C lead.
  • MicroSD card (not used for the upgrade but handy none the less).
  • Time and patience (essential).

So I took it apart as the video showed, removing the screws, taking off the backplate and I had to take out the battery, as the SSD is partially under the battery, and went right ahead a changed out the SSD, replaced the battery and closed the backplate and screwed it back on, more straight forward than I had originally thought it would be. Then came the software install which I was more worried about than taking the ROG XBox Ally apart.


I now have to use cloud recovery and I do this by going into the bios and advanced menu this is not something I have ever had to do before, using a combination of the YouTube video and my phones camera so that I could see what was on the ROG XBox Ally display. This was a bit more bumpy than the dismantling. The first time I tried it didn't download the recovery software, the second time I tried it downloaded the cloud recovery software and even though I was plugged into the mains my console would restart so I thought I'd leave it plugged in overnight to get the battery to charge.

It is now the following day and it still won't boot, why? The smart Alec I live with says “did you disconnect the battery when you took it apart?” and the answer “yes” followed quickly by saying to myself “did you connect it again before putting it back together?” OK, let's take it apart again and see, and, yes, I forgot to reconnect the battery, so I reconnect and close up. Now let's try going into the bios again and see what happens.

So, starting from scratch I seem to be getting somewhere, the cloud recovery software has downloaded and rather than shutdown there is now a progress requester, so it seems to be doing something, I just now wait and see. After some time, approximately 75 minutes, numerous restarts and a lot of patience and I now have a fully working ROG XBox Ally to setup, Windows setup that is and once done, approximately another 75 minutes later and I'm back into the XBox dashboard.

Now the process of downloading and installing some games and I'm now back where I started but with a 2TB drive installed.

Would I recommend this procedure?
For a handheld with this amount of power and all the other specs as listed in my ROG XBox Ally post the 512GB storage it shipped with is definitely too little and the upgrade is definitely worth the time, patience and a little investment in a larger drive.

How did I find the process?
It was rather daunting but I felt it was definitely needed so I went straight ahead and literally dived in and hoped for the best. Apart from the battery, my stupidity, the process went well.

Follow and comment below

Michael

Sunday, 26 July 2026

ROG XBOX ALLY

ROG XBOX ALLY

I have come to the conclusion that I now have to purchase technology, specifically handheld consoles, second hand, a very conscious decision, and a decision that has been forced upon me due to present state of, firstly, RAM prices and now storage prices affecting the excessive prices of new handheld consoles, for example below, just for comparison past and present of the Steam Deck pricing:


  Release Date  Price 
 Steam Deck OLED 512GB  16/11/2023 £479
 Steam Deck OLED 1TB  16/11/2023 £569
 Steam Deck OLED 512GB 25/07/2026 £649
 Steam Deck OLED 1TB 25/07/2026 £779

So, just the other week while passing Cash Converters I stopped to have a nosey in the window, as I do every time I pass Cash Converters which is then usually followed by saying “let's just have a quick look inside”, on this occasion they had an Asus ROG Xbox Ally and I couldn't resist. So the money is handed over and I take my new toy home.


Well you would think I would rip the packaging open and setup and play for hours, not the case. I opened it, did all the setup that was needed and then put it back in its box and put it away, that was weeks ago. Today I thought I'd pick it up again to see why I originally bought it and this time I played a couple of my favourites games for a while, Quantum Break and Alien Isolation both of which I could play for hours on end but the battery won't allow.

I thought I'd do a quick specification check and comparison with two other Windows handhelds I have:


 Asus Anbernic  Ayaneo 
 Model  ROG XBox Ally Win600 Ayaneo 2
 Release October 2025 July 2022 December 2022
 OS Windows 11 Windows 10 Windows 11/Linux 
 CPU  Ryzen Z2  Athlon Silver 3050e  Ryzen 6800U
 GPU Radeon Radeon RX Vega 3 Radeon 680M
 RAM 16GB LPDDR5 16GB DDR4 16GB
 Storage 512GB NVMe 1TB M.2 2242  1TB PCIe 4.0 
 Display 7" 5.94" 7.02”
 Resolution  1920x1080 16:9  1280x720 16:9
 1920x1200 16:10 
 SD Slot 1 microSD x 1 microSD
 Wi-Fi Wi-Fi 6E Wi-Fi 5 Wi-Fi 6
 Bluetooth 5.4 4.2 5.2
 Battery 60 Wh 9000 mAh 50.25 Wh

As you can see the ROG XBox Ally stacks up quite well between the three of them, however it does fall behind on storage space compared to the other two but this is fixable if you have a little money, time and patience. The Asus ROG XBox Ally is also a little heavier than the other two, at 670g compared to Ayaneo 2 being 647g and the Anbernic Win600 being 493g.

Once all the setup is complete and I'm actually using the Xbox dashboard I can say I am very impressed and it is very easy to navigate and you will never need to see Windows ever again on the ROG Xbox Ally. Not having to use Windows makes this feel a lot more like a dedicated handheld console, almost, I would think, very Steam Deck like.

I won't lie to you, not all PC/XBox games are compatible due to not necessarily being optimized for handhelds but there is a built in compatibility program that notifies you if a game is compatible before you install and there are also performance indicators to state "This game should play well" (≈30 FPS) or "This game should play great" (≈60 FPS). So I now have a handheld that is compatible with most Windows 11 PC games and Xbox console games.

Playing games is just as smooth as playing games on an Xbox, if you were to cut an Xbox controller in half and fit in a screen between the two halves with controls that are as enjoyable to use as any official Xbox controller.

There is also the ability for game streaming using a Game Pass subscription, this gives you access to hundreds of games without having to install any. Should you wish emulation is also a possibility, something I haven't tried and probably won't, using EmuDeck which gives you access to dozens of retro games machine and thousands of games.

It is unusual to find a handheld that can be upgraded and I will definitely be upgrading the storage as I think 512GB, in this day and age, for a Windows handheld is a little shocking and I do have a 2TB NVMe drive available an Acer FA200 PCle M.2 SSD, I have even bought myself a set of screwdrivers with prying tools STREBITO Mini Electric Screwdriver Set, 67 in 1 Electric Precision Screwdriver. I'm not certain if the RAM can be upgraded but as it comes with 16GB of RAM which is the same as an Xbox Series X I don't think there is a need.

I can think of one thing I would like and that would have been a full size USB port, such as the one on the Anbernic Win600, this may sound mad but there are low profile USB flash drives that would aid in increasing storage space if you don't fancy opening up a handheld.

Would I recommend the Asus ROG Xbox Ally?
That's a yes but a rather rocky yes as I think the 512GB NVMe drive is a big let down, although this is fixable and I will be upgrading the hardware which is a bit of an expense, especially in this day and age with the ever growing price of RAM and storage. What I would say if you want to get hold of one is to shop around a lot.

Is it the best Windows handheld?
Probably not, however it is probably the best Windows handheld I own. Gaming sessions may be a little shorter due to the weight of the console. On doing a quick search you may find on many sites that the ROG Xbox Ally is listed as one of the top five, not necessarily the best but damn close.

Follow and comment below

Michael

Sunday, 12 July 2026

MIYOO MINI+

MIYOO MINI+

The Miyoo Mini+ is only my second Miyoo product but as a product the specs are 3 years old at this stage so I get to have a play and tell you all if the hardware is still as good today, of course I'm not going to compare it to Windows handhelds or the likes of the Ayn Odin 3. I have to admit that I have come to realise that vertical handhelds are probably not really my thing but I'm always willing to give one a go.

What's in the box?
The Miyoo Mini+
Instruction Manual
Flat USB to USB-C Lead
Tempered Screen Protector
Wet/Dry Wipes
MicroSD Card
USB MicroSD Card Reader
A Hard Shell Case


In the hand it has a very plastic feel and very toy like which I would imagine is part of its appeal for some. Miyoo definitely know their market and aim squarely at that. It's a very diddy handheld and the 3.5” screen takes up more than half the height of the Miyoo Mini+


 Miyoo Anbernic  Retroid 
 Model  Mini+ RG353M Pocket Mini
 Release 20/02/23 01/01/23 14/05/24
 OS Linux Android 11  Android 13/Linux 
 CPU  SigmaStar SSD202D  RK3566 SD865
 GPU x Mali G52 Adreno 650
 RAM 128MB 2GB 6GB
 Storage x 32GB 128GB
 Display 3.5" 3.5" 3.7"
 Resolution  640 x 480 640 x 480 1280 x 960
 SD Slot Yes Yes Yes
 Wi-Fi Yes Wi-Fi 5 Wi-Fi 6
 Bluetooth N/A 4.2 5.1
 Battery 3000mAh3500mAh 4000mAh
First thing to do is get the Wi-Fi switched on and get this online to see if there are any updates, and surprisingly there are no updates, very strange for new technology. Let's have a look at the themes included, thinking I'd change it to make it more me, there are 25 themes to choose from and after tyring every single one I end up back at the “Default” theme, there 2 minutes of my life I'm not getting back.

Into the “Apps” folder and that only contains two items, a file explorer and RetroArch, neither are of any interest to me at present so I exit out of that folder and there is a RetroArch folder which when opening has 27 icons across 3 pages to choose from, representing different platforms.

Going back to the main menu and there is a “Game” folder and in there are 8 platform folders listed over 2 pages: Arcade (which contain other folders as well as games), FC, FFPlay (empty), GB (which contain folders for GB and GBC), GBA, Mame (which contain other folders and games), MD, NEOGEO (containing folders and games) NGP, OpenBOR (empty), PCE, PS1, SFC, SMS, Shoot (appears to be shoot 'em ups) and WSC. I never understood why the games in these folders are numbered rather than just left in alphabetical order, if anyone knows please tell me.

Let's give gaming a go and I'll try one of my favourite retro handheld consoles, Game Boy Advance, there are 908 ROMS to choose from so I'll have a quick scroll and see what there is, I see the usual suspects like numerous Pokemon games and plenty of Donkey Kong games but also a couple of Lego games and one of my all time greats Broken Sword-The Shadow of the Templars. Lego Star Wars 2 it is, let's play a bit and see how it handles.

Well the screen flickers so bad I can't play it so I tried a couple of the other Game Boy Advance games and they all suffer with the same flickering. I thought I'd try and fix this, not knowing what I'm doing, so went into the options and saw “On-Screen Overlay” so I turned this off and guess what, the flickering stopped, however coming out of the game and going back in and the on screen overlay is back and the flickering is back along with it. This fix is on an in game basis so would have to be done for each game and every time each game is run, there may be an overriding fix but I'm not sure what or where it is.

I'll try a different platform, PlayStation 1 with 53 games, I'll choose Tekken 3 and see how that handles and playing for a couple of minutes I can say I'm pleasantly surprised, the graphics are sharp, and it is smooth to play no stuttering. Need for Speed III played just as smooth and with a real feeling of speed when driving, I can safely say PlayStation 1 emulation is excellent and a very big surprise.

Most of the systems work without any issue: Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Mega Drive, NeoGeo Pocket, PC Engine, Super Nintendo, Sega Master System, WonderSwan Colour, however I am unable to get any of the arcade emulators working: MAME and NEOGEO they appear to load but just take you back to the main menu and then as mentioned earlier the issue with Game Boy Advance.

A bit of a downfall if you want to play vertical shoot 'em ups, the screen is just too small, so no Galaga for me on this. You just have to face the fact that logistically some games and platforms are just not playable due to screen size.

Would I recommend the Miyoo Mini+?
Most definitely, as long as you keep in mind it's not a high end gaming platform and see it for what it is, a toy that can play up to PlayStation 1 games and play them well.

Are tweaks needed?
I would say, yes. The flickering when playing Game Boy Advance games was a very big disappointment but I there are custom firmwares that could prevent this, options are OnionOS, MinUI, DotUI and AlliumOS, one of these may be worth giving a go to improove the experience.

I now just need to spend a little time sorting out which ROMS I want and for which platforms and get a MicroSD set up.
Follow and comment below

Michael


Monday, 6 July 2026

AMIGAOS 3.X - AMIGAOS 4.X - AROS - MORPHOS

AMIGAOS 3.X - AMIGAOS 4.X - AROS - MORPHOS

Well where to begin? The battle of all battles for the Amiga community. All Amigans seem to have a preference of which operating system to use and for which hardware, such as classic, next generation, Apple hardware, Apollo Standalone V4+ or emulation, the choices are pretty much endless. Over the years I have tried all variants of operating system and pretty much all variants of hardware (not necessarily all types of accelerator that are available). This may disappoint, but I have no favourite as I think they all have pros and cons.

The holy grail for me is and always has been an Amiga/Amiga like laptop which can be achieved, with varying success, using MorphOS, AROS or Amiga Forever (Emulation). I have used MorphOS on Apple Powerbooks and always had a most enjoyable experience, I've tried AROS on Netbooks and laptops which wasn't quite as enjoyable as MorphOS, I found AROS quite the struggle to set up and I have used emulation to create E.M.M.A. running AmigaOS 4.1 with much more success.

AmigaOS 3.5

AmigaOS 4.x

Amiga Forever (Can Be Made to Look Like 4.x)

MorphOS

AROS

The choice you make may depend heavily on what you want to use your Amiga for, such as applications, games, web browsing or a bit of everything, including something that has been the bane of Amigans everywhere, watching YouTube in a browser at full speed. I guess for me at the moment it would be nice to do my blog on an Amiga which means I would need a graphics program, a notepad type of program and be able to get onto the Blogger website.

I believe the main reason there isn't a unified Amiga operating system stems way back to 1994 when a certain company went bankrupt, the buyouts, the lawsuits causing the fracturing of the community, hardware and software. Recently there has been a truce between Hyperion and Amiga Inc. which could lead to potentially good things or, has often been the case, the bickering we have seen so many times due to who owns what intellectual property and who has what licenses. It would be nice if it could lead to good things, even if they just resurrect the Alice laptop, the hardware exists, the software exists, just do it.

I have a Sam440ep and a Sam460... I could list the collection of hardware I own, but let's just say I am able to run AmigaOS (OS1.0 through to OS4.1) natively, I am able to run AROS natively and I am able to run MorphOS natively on a Powerbook.

PROS AND CONS OF HARDWARE

 Sam440ep  PowerBook G4  Netbooks 
 Release  2008 November 2002 Various
 OS 4.1 MorphOS  AROS 
 Cost X X  X
 Availability  Out of Production  Second Hand  Second Hand 
 Wi-Fi Yes Yes Some
 Bluetooth X Yes Some
 Memory 1GB 1GB Varied
 USB 4 (USB2) & 1 (USB1)  2 (USB1.1) Varied
 Ethernet 2 Ports 1 Port Varied
 Sata 4 Installed HD Installed HD
 Resolution Depending on GPU 1280x854 Varied
 Sound X X Varied
 GPU Various ATI Radeon 9000  Varied

Which would I recommend?
All options are very good and indeed worth a try but my preference, considering what is available at the moment, would be a laptop emulating an Amiga running AmigaOS 4.1 which I achieved with E.M.M.A. although the PowerBook G4 running MorphOS is a very close second.

Hypothetically what would be my ideal Amiga?
Unfortunately my ideal doesn't exist, not at the moment, I would like AmigaOS 4.1 running natively on X86/ARM architecture with all the bells and whistles of a modern day operating system, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, modern browser including running YouTube at full speed is needed.

Follow and comment below

Michael