PICPAK

PICPAK

Well
Kickstarter is the website that just keeps on giving, my PicPak
arrived today, actually 2 of them, 1 blue and 1 red and very nicely
packaged they are too, no bells or whistles but that is because they
are not needed. Simple black packaging with a stylised image of the
PicPak on the top of the packaging, on opening the box it contains
the PicPak, a user manual and a USB-C lead.


The
build quality if very good with a nice textured plastic, giving it a
nice tactile feel, which means it doesn't get finger prints all over
it, a single button in the bottom left to change the image displayed
and also used for pairing to the smartphone app. There are a couple
of brilliant inclusion on the back also, a horizontal magnet across
the top and a vertical magnet down the centre and also a kick stand
(genius idea).


To
start with, I did something which is most unusual, I read the user
manual.

Step 1: The “Introduction” which is a welcome message
followed by a brief description of what the PicPak does.

Step 2: “What's Inside the Box”  are images of the three things in the
box which is the PicPak, the USB-C cable and the user manual.

Step
3: Where it starts to get interesting “Quick Start Guide” and
to start with I need to download the PicPak app on my mobile phone,
once downloaded I register and, as with most new technology, there is
a firmware update so let's start there by downloading and installing. Once the update is done, in a matter of a couple of minutes and no noticeable
difference, but I'm sure there are improvements under the hood.

Just
need to pair the PikPak with the app on my phone, this is also
straightforward, this is going great. This is, so far, the easiest
piece of technology I've ever had to set up. Now over to the app and
adding some images to the gallery and this is as simple as a couple
of button presses, the app also gives some basic functions for
rotating and cropping the image before uploading to the PicPak.

As
colour e-ink is still in its infancy there are a couple of drawbacks,
the transition between images takes a few seconds and it flickers
quite a bit during the transition but once the image is on screen it
is quite clear but the colours aren't very vibrant.

There
are still features to be added that are to be implemented in future
firmware updates such as displaying a news summary or displaying
health data generated by a smart watch all of which would be
transferred via Wi-Fi, keep in mind that these features are not
available out of the box at the moment.

Would
I recommend?
Yes,
the e-ink technology within the PicPak may still be young but it is
still a yes from me if only for the novelty of it, I will keep one at
home and take the other to work, a bit of decoration for my work desk.

Can
it be Improved?
Not
sure that it can be improved but I think variants of the PicPak would
be a good idea.
A
portrait version would be a good addition to the family.
Use
a different aspect ration, more 16:9 than 4:3.
Newer
colour e-ink technology.
Possibly
introduce a mono version at a lower price point.
A PikPak wearable such as a badge or luggage tag.

I know this isn't a long post as it does exactly what it says on the tin. This is new technology that has legs and will flourish.

Follow and comment below

Michael

ANBERNIC WIN600

ANBERNIC WIN600

Well
I got myself a nice piece of kit today, Anbernics only Windows handheld, the Anbernic Win600, well I say nice I haven't opened the box yet. I have
watched quite a few videos, mainly reviews which is probably what swayed me
into the purchase.


I
loved some of the modifications some people had done with their Win600s,
such as upgrading the SSD from 256GB to 1TB and the RAM from 8GB to
16GB but thankfully I don't need to do either of these, I had the
forethought to purchase the 1TB SSD and 16GB version.

As you can see from the below, with the three Windows handhelds I have the Anbernic Win600 is the least powerful, has the least memory, oldest operating system in fact it seems to lose out on all aspects of the hardware. So why purchase it? For many OI would think is because it was once of the first Windows handhelds to come to the market and it's from a reputable company. My first thought, though, was just to add it to my collection.

 Anbernic Win600 
 AYANEO 2 
 AOKZOE A1 Pro 
 CPU
 3050e 
 Ryzen 7 6800U 
 Ryzen 7 7840U 
 GPU
 Radeon RX Vega 3
 Radeon RX 680M 
 Radeon 780M
 Screen
 5.94" LCD
 7.02" IPS
 8" IPS 
 Resolution
 1920x720
 1920x1200
 1920x1200
 Aspect Ratio 
 16:9
 16:10
 16:10
 RAM 
 16GB DDR4
 32GB LPDDR5
 64GB LPDDR5X
 Storage 
 1TB m.2 SSD
 2TB NVMe SSD
 512GB
 Ex Storage
 microSD
 microSD
 microSD
 OS
 Windows 11 Hone
 Windows 11
 Windows 11
 Wi-Fi
 5
 6
 6E
 Bluetooth
 4.2
 5.2
 5.2
 Battery 
 4500mAh
 50.25 Wh
 65 Wh
 Connectivity
 USB-C, USB-A
 USB-C
 USB-C

Also a major draw to the Win600 is the various operating systems that are available for it, it can run Windows 10 (upgradable to Windows 11), SteamOS and Linux (Batocera) all of which appeal but I knew where I wanted to start, install and try out the Steam client, possibly a little easier than installing SteamOS.

I unboxed it, turned it on and it starts with something really familiar, the setup of a Windows laptop, having to select my language, select my location, select wi-fi network, use email address to login in, accept this and accept that, set up a login password and much, much more and yes there were updates. From turning it on to getting in to the Windows desktop took 20 minutes only to tell me it couldn't install and lock so I couldn't press the button that says “Continue to desktop” so I just turned it off or so I thought it actually just went to sleep so I pressed the power button again and it came back on and allowed me to press “Continue to desktop”.

I am now into Windows, nope I'm not, it is still doing some set up stuff telling me “This might take a few moments” famous last words. Another 5 minutes and I'm finally into Windows. That took a hell of a lot longer than any Android device I have and on first glance it has the steam client installed so I'm going to start there.

Double tapping on the Steam icon and it opens up, seemed to be a slight delay and of course there is more setting up to do, language, time zone, wi-fi, log in and this is where I hit a problem, I couldn't get in, I got to a place where it asked me to download the Steam Mobile Authenticator app, well that should have been easier. Thank god I had my mobile phone to hand so that I could use the camera to magnify the Win600 screen to see what text was on screen. Finally into Steam and there is my gaming library.

So to play a game, I selected one of my favourite games, as I've mentioned before, “Quantum Break” I clicked on install and waited, and waited and yes waited, it got to 33% and seemed to have stopped so I decided to just put it down and leave it for a while and watch a bit of TV, well 10 minutes later and it's reached 36%, at least I know it hasn't frozen so I'll leave it a little longer. So from turning on the Win600 for the first time to actually being able to play a Steam game it is taking some time, I'm talking hours and it's still not there.

Finally there and ready to play. So how does it play which is the main thing, well it plays rather well, not quite as smooth as the Ayaneo S but then again it isn't quite as powerful so I had already prepared myself for it to be a little sluggish but to be honest it isn't that bad. Just had a quick go with Uncharted 4 and talk about sluggish, I would even go so as to say unplayable so it looks like it will be a mixed bag.

I tried a few other games, Dead Island: Definitive Edition (playable), Outlast (playable), Dead or Alive 5 (playable), Beneath a Steel Sky (playable) and Killer Instinct (not playable) so not too bad it would seem to be some of the big hitters that are the ones to disappoint. One of the bonuses of the Win600 over the Ayaneo S is the weight, the Ayaneo S weighs 659g and the Win600 is only 506g which is quite a significant difference especially over long periods of gameplay.

That brings me to another major question, am I going to get long periods of gameplay? It has been reported that battery time isn't quite what it could be and with a 4500mAh battery the reports are fair, for the type of gaming I was expecting to play with a battery more the size of the Ayn Odin 3 which is 8000mAh especially taking into consideration that Windows handhelds have greater overheads than Android handhelds.

Keep in mind that the above are tests using the Steam client and not SteamOS, so maybe SteamOS could solve some of the speed issues and stuttering, those tests are for another day.

What if I try playing games from my Xbox library and I'll start with a big one “Rise of the Tomb Raider” which I think may take a while to install if the Steam games are anything to go by, so I'll set it going (7:35pm) and sit back and wait until 8:46pm, yes 1 hour and 11 minutes. Patience is key but was the wait worth it? I would say yes it's worth it, there is a bit of stutter in some of the more action packed scenes but still playable.

Would I recommend the Anbernic Win600?
As a collector, for me it was a no brainer but for many other people the first thought, I would think, is probably pricing. Keep in mind that it is greatly underpowered when compared to other Windows handhelds but it is a little cheaper than some other Windows handhelds. It probably is, as that old adage would say, you get what you pay for.

One of the biggest takeaways from this is you must be very patient if you intend installing Steam games or Xbox games. The screen size is a bit small for most high end games.

There is still Batocera to try, and I do have a low profile flash drive so I will probably come back to that at a later date with a separate post.

Follow and comment below

Michael

AYANEO 2

AYANEO 2

Most
of the handheld consoles I have purchased and spoken about here have been Android based but
I knew a whole new world would be opened up to me with a Windows
handheld so after doing a bit of research I decided to back the
Ayaneo 2 on Indiegogo on Sunday 22nd January 2023 and from previous
crowdfunding I knew that the ship/delivery dates shown on the site
can be quite optimistic at best.


I
received an email on Friday 10th March from Ayaneo saying they were
sorry to keep everyone waiting and there had been delays due to the
Chinese New Year, but they did state that by the end of the month
they will have produced enough handhelds to fulfil all outstanding
orders, so hopefully not long now (my thoughts from March 2023).

Once
it finally arrived on my doorstep my first thoughts after unboxing it
were that it was quite a heavy beast compared to equivalent sized
Android devices. I found it cumbersome and heavy to hold which may
get tiresome over time but my thoughts turned quickly to what can it
do that an Android device can't and then proceeded to put it on a
shelf and leave it there.

Now,
a couple of years down the line and I lift it off the shelf thinking
the Ayaneo 2 is a high end device even though it's 3 years old, the version I got has the 6800U
processor, 2TB hard drive and 32GB Ram running Windows 11 Home, so
I'd like to do some high end stuff with it. PlayStation 3
(emulation), PlayStation 4 (streaming), Xbox (streaming via Game
Pass), Steam gaming, GOG and more. Quite the list of things I want to
give a go. At present I have no interest in installing SteamOS but I
will give the Steam client a go.

A
comparison of specifications, trying to match like for like
considering there are variants of the Steam Deck not an easy task, also there is no 2TB model of the Steam Deck.

 
 AYANEO 2 
 STEAM DECK OLED 
 CPU 
 AMD Ryzen 7 6800U 
 Custom AMD Quad-Core Zen 2 
 GPU
 Intrated Radeon 680M 
 RDNA 2
 RAM 
 32GB
 16GB LPDDR5
 OS
 Windows 11 Home
 SteamOS 3.0
 Screen
 7.02" IPS
 7.4" (OLED Model)
 Resolution 
 1920 x 1200
 1280 x 800
 Refresh Rate 
 165Hz
 up to 90Hz & HDR Support
 Aspect Ratio 
 16:10
 
 Int Storage
 2TB NVMe SSD
 1TB NVMe SSD
 Ext Storage
 MicroSD
 MicroSD
 Wi-Fi 
 Standard Wi-Fi
 6E
 Features




 USB-C
 Hall Joysticks
 Hall Triggers
 Dual Gyroscope
 HD Linear Motors 
 Twin Track Pads
 USB
 HDMI 
 Display Port 
 3.5mm Jack
 Battery
 50.25Whr
 50Whr

The
big question is where to start, I have a few Steam games now so I'll
install the Steam client and give that a go. I have one of my
favourite titles available in my Steam library “Quantum Break” so
let's give that a go. Well Quantum Break plays really smoothly and at
a good pace, and overall a very pleasant experience so I'll carry on for a couple more hours.


Eventually trying some of my other Steam games and I get a very similar experience. Thankfully
the controls work perfectly out of the box, no key mapping to worry
about which in itself is a god send. I can honestly say I have
nothing negative to say about Steam on the Ayaneo 2 apart from one
gripe, battery life.

So
let's try Playstation 3 emulation. For the testing I'll use RPCS3 which is an open source Playstation 3 emulator for Windows, Linux, MacOS and FreeBSD,
there is a fork of it for Android called RPCS3-Android. I was thoroughly enjoying this as I played Uncharted and I
played for a good couple of hours, thankfully the controls worked
straight out of the box, there was only the slightest slowdown in
some shooting scenes. The only real issues I found were the same as the issues I found on the Android version so no gripes with this emulation.


Next
is some PlayStation Portable emulation with PPSSPP, I didn't spend as
long on this as I did with PlayStation 3 emulation but the time I did
spend playing it I found it played exactly the same as the Android
version. PPSSPP, whether it is on Android or Windows plays smoothly,
the controls worked perfectly and it felt as though I was playing on
original hardware. I can quite honestly see all PlayStation Portable games working with no problems.


Next
is the Xbox Series X, I first tried playing some of my Xbox library,
using the Xbox app and all my library played and played smoothly. I
started having issues when trying to use Game Pass, the lag was
making the experience unbearable, I would press “A” to jump and
the character would leap after I'd let go of the button, not good. I
went back to doing some gaming using my library.


I can see many hours being lost with this handheld and there is still plenty I didn't get round to trying, but I will at some point.

Would
I Recommend?
Yes,
if you wish to have one handheld and it has to be a Windows handheld
then it is quite capable of fulfilling most needs and some of the
higher end systems fair a little better on Windows than they do on Android. If you try to
compare the Ayaneo 2 to an Android machine, such as some of the more powerful Android machines like the Ayn Odin 3 then no, I have found that Android machines are easier to
set up, have longer battery lives and lighter. There is also a much wider variety of Androif machines.

Would
I Use This Purely as a Steam Machine?
Yes,
if I wanted one handheld that I purely wanted to play Steam games on
then I have found the Ayaneo, I would imagine the Steam Deck would be
the ideal but Ayaneo 2 does a great job. I don't have a Steam Deck to do a true comparison (anyone got a spare?)

Follow and comment below

Michael