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.

Follow and comment below

Michael

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

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

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
 3000mAh
3500mAh
 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

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

TRIMUI BRICK HAMMER

TRIMUI BRICK HAMMER

I
was trolling through Amazon, mainly because they were having a sale,
and I noticed this little thing and thought this looks rather smart,
the TrimUI Brick Hammer has an all metal chassis so I thought I would
treat myself, but which colour? Black, Space Grey, White, no let's
get something a little more colourful shall we, the other two colour
options are Wild Green and Rose Gold, I'm not a big fan of green, so
pink it is and why not, I don't possess a Rose Gold handheld.


The
box consists of the TrimUI Brick Hammer, USB-C cable (a rather short cable)
and for some reason two sets of replacement trigger buttons, no
instructions, no screen wipes, no screen protector but the handheld
does have a plastic film over the screen to take off.

My
thought with the TrimUI Brick Hammer is to do a little research and
see which machines emulate best on it, get some ROMS on to a microSD
card, insert and play. I have no intentions, at present, to tinker
with the OS, I have no intentions to mod, just plug and play and see
what the performance is like. Unlike the majority of my handhelds,
this runs Linux.

I
already have a TrimUI Smart Pro (November 2023) and a TrimUI Brick
(October 2024) but I didn't really spend much time with either of
them but from what I know the Smart Pro, the Brick and the Brick
Hammer are exactly the same machine, only the chassis has changed, I
wonder how long TrimUI can get away with rolling out the same innards
with a different coating. The TrimUI Brick Hammer is not a
particularly powerful handheld but it is a rather smart looking
thing.

I
understand the complexities of finding all the correct components,
there is no point in putting a 5.5” screen on a handheld that is
only powerful enough to emulate Game Boy, Game Boy Color and Game Boy
Advance and there is no point in putting a 3.2” screen on something
that is powerful enough to emulate PlayStation 2 and Switch, so the
question is has the TrimUI Brick Hammer got the specification balance
just right?

So,
the first time I switch on I have the TrimUI splash screen followed
by a loading screen which takes me to the games page showing zero
games, so let's do some set up, Wi-Fi first, well that's it, that
took no time at all. I now need a microSD card and some games. So I
now have a few steps to follow, switch off the TrimUI Brick, insert
the microSD card and switch back on, now use the SD card formatter
built into the firmware, once formatted move the microSD card over to my laptop.

The microSD card now has folders for multiple systems so I placed some ROMs onto the microSD card and re-inserted into the
TrimUI Brick and switched it on only for the games section to show,
absolutely nothing, no games, no systems. So what now? Well, there
are some custom firmwares available for the TrimUI series of
handhelds such as SpruceOS, NextUI, MinUI, muOS and KNULLI. I have
tried KNULLI.

I
had promised myself that I was going to use the stock OS and no real
tinkering but... While doing a bit of searching online I found RetroGame Corps set up guide for MinUI an operating system I hadn't looked
into before so thought it would be worth a go, nothing to lose. Apart
from losing a bit of time the end result seems really good,
minimalist, no box art, no game description, just white text on a
black background for the menus.

I
went for some early system that would play best on the 3.2” screen:
Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, NeoGeo Pocket, Nintendo
Entertainment System, Sega Game Gear, Sega Mega Drive, Sega Master
System, Sony PlayStation, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, PC
Engine and Nintendo Virtual Boy. I know these systems don't really
push the boat out with high end gaming but that wasn't the real plan
anyway, some nice gentle 8-bit and 16-bit gaming was the plan all
along.

Would
I recommend the TrimUI Brick Pro?
Yes.
At first glance it is quite diminutive, everything just seems to
blend well together, the quality is top notch with the all metal
chassis it has a very premium feel and the power of the processor
matches well with the screen size which is a good fit for the systems
that I would most want to run on this handheld. I couldn't get the
TrimUI OS to recognise the ROMs on the microSD card but that was
fixed by using MinUI.

Would
I Recommend MinUI?
Yes,
MinUI is a great accompaniment to the TrimUI Brick with its
minimalist look, no colourful box art, no long game descriptions, it
literally does exactly what it says on the tin, the game title in white text on a black background,
nothing more is needed.

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Michael

ANBERNIC CONSOLES

ANBERNIC CONSOLES

Anbernic was founded in 2017 and they started producing handheld consoles in September of 2020, their first console was the RG351P with a Cortex A35 CPU running at 1.5GHZ, not very powerful when compared to today’s processors when you consider the latest CPUs being used in Android devices is the SnapDragon Elite, but you must take into account the emulators available at the time the 1.5GHZ processor was more than enough.


Anbernic have a very large range of handhelds with varying CPU processing power, varying GPU speeds, varying stick/D-pad layouts (stick above D-pad or stick below D-pad), no sticks, varying triggers (some in-line and some stacked), vertical handhelds and horizontal handhelds, slide open configuration, overall size of handheld, clam shell and now clam shell with dual screens.

Anbernic are probably the worst culprit when it comes to flooding the market, releasing a handheld and then a month or so later releasing their next and then a couple of months down the line releasing another that is just a slight upgrade of the first (a repeating pattern). There are a few shown in the links page “Handheld Consoles”. I would list all their consoles here, however from September 2020 to date they have released a total of 35 different consoles released over a 69 month period which equates to just short of 1 every 2 months. Shall we just say they have been prolific in their releases.

From the selection of Anbernic consoles I own most have been extremely easy to set-up, however the Anbernic Win600 is a little more time consuming when setting up as Windows doesn't lend itself well to handheld consoles. Over the years many modding opportunities have become available, more so with the introduction of 3D printers, such as stick replacements, 3D printed cases, 3D printed grips, official cases and the many official and unofficial pieces of merchandise.

It would be nice to think that every incarnation of an Anbernic console would produce ever more powerful consoles, however this has not been the case and Anbernic keep revisiting the same processors which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Anbernic might not have the most powerful handheld out there but I would say they have some of the most successful. Shall we just say they know their market and how to price their consoles accordingly.

RG557 - One of Anbernics More powerful Consoles

If you were to purchase an Anbernic console there are many things you could do in helping your selection, most would look at the specifications to determine which best suits your needs and the following are things to keep in mind for your purchase: Battery size, Screen refresh rate, CPU, GPU, RAM, Onboard Storage, External Storage, Screen Size, Screen Resolution, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, OS Android/Linux/Windows, also keep in mind that there are also third party GUIs Knulli, GammaOS etc.

Anbernic are in quite a competitive market, which may account for the quantity of consoles they release, and Anbernic compete with many other makers of handhelds, Powkiddy, AYANEO, AYN, GPD and Switch (I know not an emulation handheld but a handheld non the less), etc. all of which seem to aim at different markets that require an Android, Linux, Windows or  the Nintendo Switch own operating system.

At the moment there are no Anbernic handhelds that use SnapDragon processors which seem to have become a necessity to run such emulators as those for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4 and Switch, but Anbernic seems to know its market and the Snapdragon doesn't seem to be part of their roadmap at present. The latest iteration of an Anbernic handheld is the RG Rotate but they have also recently released a dual screen console which seem to be very popular among all handheld producers at the moment and this dual screen handheld is at a price of under £100.

There are emulators for most handheld consoles of the 80s through to present day such as PlayStation 3 and Switch which is where most of Anbernics high end consoles top out.

There is always talk of consoles that can be emulated on modern handheld consoles but there are also many computers that can be emulated: Commodore 64, Commodore Amiga, Atari ST, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, PC (streamed) and many others and these don't seem to get as much coverage as retro consoles do.

Would I recommend an Anbernic device?
Most definitely, the is an Anbernic for everyone, RG DS for dual screen play, RG557 for high end gaming, Win600 for Windows gaming (including Stream) and RG35XX if you want something that looks a little retro (got that Game Boy look going on) and there is a wide variety to cater for all.

Do I like my collection of Anbernic devices?
I certainly do, my most powerful handheld isn't an Anbernic but when it comes to playing it's not all about the power, there is no point in having a powerful handheld with a SnapDragon Elite under the hood with a 3.5” screen that is only able to emulate Game Boy. Sometimes you want a handheld that looks like a Game Boy that can play Game Boy, Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance only and that is enough for some.

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Michael