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The HackberryPi CM5 handheld computer

(github.com)

112 points

by kristianpaul2 days ago |
35 comments
upvoteby summermusic2 hours ago|
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> There are dual speakers on board, it is needed to pair with the bluetooth audio module to make sound

This is cursed

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upvoteby monocasa2 hours ago|
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For real. For the kind of sound I'd expect out of this, the pwm channels on the rpi work just fine. If you want better sound, the rpi supports i2s.
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upvoteby bangaladore1 minutes ago|
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> As we know, it's always been somehow difficult or tricky to add sound for RaspberryPi. Some use gpio to generate pwm to make sound for speakers, some use I2S audio module to generate sound for speakers. But they all have some shortcomings. PWM generated from gpios on raspberryPi have much noise that make the speakers nealy usable, and I2S audio module will occupy the very precious gpio resoureces(usually take 3 gpio pins). And in some operating system there is no driver for these pwm or I2S audio module. Due to the reasons above this is how I solve the sound problem. [1]

[1] https://github.com/ZitaoTech/HackberryPiCM5/tree/main/Speake...

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upvoteby OhMeadhbh2 minutes ago|
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The design artifacts are released with a liberal license, it shouldn't be TOO hard to fix that. Though I've never worked with SPI or I2S sound chips before.
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upvoteby int_19h1 hours ago|
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If you don't specifically want the Blackberry keyboard, there's also https://www.clockworkpi.com/home-uconsole
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upvoteby bullen1 hours ago|
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This also supports Radxa CM5 which is twice as powerful/watt as the Raspberry CM5.

Though you'll need USB hub for internet (WiFi/Eth adapter) and audio.

Also shipping takes a few months, which is kinda scary when you don't know the tariffs that far in advance.

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upvoteby zekrioca33 minutes ago|
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Would ge possible to install a small Clipper LTE 4G Breakout (SP/CE) into this design? For instance, there is this one which seem small enough to fit in the case (if adaptions): https://shop.pimoroni.com/products/clipper-breakout?variant=...
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upvoteby andrewstuart53 minutes ago|
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Lilygo has a number of devices based on the same keyboard but esp32 MCU.

Some with Lora.

https://lilygo.cc/collections/lora-or-gps

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upvoteby jazzyjackson1 hours ago|
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An interesting alternative to the SQFMI Beepy / Beepberry [0][1] which is just a rpi zero but has a Sharp Memory Pixel display that I love. Both could use some work on adapting the UI to the little blackberry touchpad. Neither using a mouse cursor nor meta/ctrl modifier combos are very ergonomic on these little handhelds.

[0] https://beepy.sqfmi.com/

[1] https://blog.beeper.com/2023/05/16/beeper-x-sqmfi-beepberry/

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upvoteby jkingsman1 hours ago|
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That's adorable, but the censored/pixelated keyboard is a little offputting. Am I guessing right that they're using Blackberry overstock and censoring trademarks?
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upvoteby jsheard9 minutes ago|
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Yeah, it was also rebranded from "Beepberry" to "Beepy" because RIMs lawyers had nothing better to do than rush to the defence of a long-dead brand apparently.
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upvoteby 11 minutes ago|
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deleted
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upvoteby jazzyjackson1 hours ago|
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Oh LOL I didn't even notice that on the first link, yeah I guess they're just obscuring it for the logo. IRL it is a non pixelated keyboard xD

FWIW the project hit a wall and they didn't deliver the quantity they planned on, I ended up buying one on ebay for an extortionate cost (but buying rare electronics scratches an itch for me) - digging in the discords lead to discover an offshoot project that made some progress at a recent chaos comms congress, called Beepis

https://bbkb-community.github.io/computers/beepis/

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upvoteby abawany3 hours ago|
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I got the Hackberry Pi Zero from Elecrow recently and it has been excellent for playing around. I really miss real keyboards on mobile devices and it has been fulfilling to use it.
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upvoteby elwebmaster1 hours ago|
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Same. The zero has only 512MB RAM so I started projects to rebuild the original BB OS for this while also adding Xpra to stream a browser running on a remote server (they all require 1GB+). Then priorities hit and I have not been back on this project since.
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upvoteby glitchc58 minutes ago|
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Can I add a 4G/5G modem to this? If so, that would be perfect!
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upvoteby shrubble3 hours ago|
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It’s $168 plus the cost of a CM5; while it is cool, I would worry that the $200+ device would end up in a drawer…
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upvoteby DannyBee4 minutes ago|
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The CM5 also doesn't have hardware video decoding, making it weird for a handheld device.

I would shove any other cm5 compatible device into this than the actual cm5.

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upvoteby tracker143 minutes ago|
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Yeah... for me, my vision is rather deteriorated, just looking at the size of things in the screenshots I can tell I'd have trouble using it. I can't even use the Steam Deck for that reason. At least my daughter and SO get use out of it.

For about 5 years before Android/IPhone, I used a nokia phone that opened with the screen in the middle of a split querty keyboard on the phone... that thing was perfect for notes/text. I really wouldn't mind something like that or even this device as long as the text could be set to something reasonable for my poor vision to use. I have to max out my accessibility/text settings on android and that's a stretch at times (also exposes so main UI failings).

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upvoteby roughly2 hours ago|
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I suspect an awful lot of us have a mausoleum of abandoned projects where this would feel right at home and is probably downright budget friendly compared to some of the other residents interred there.
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upvoteby RankingMember2 hours ago|
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The drawer that holds my Arduino, Raspberry Pi, and clones thereof is dangerously overpopulated as it is, but I think I've finally learned my lesson: Now I always have a cooling off period of hours after putting something in an online shopping cart before I click "buy" to see if my interest was just a passing one (usually the case).
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upvoteby bluGill28 minutes ago|
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What do you mean - I will get back to that project some year. It hasn't been touched in 15, but I'm still going to get back to it - sometimes around my 2700th birthday most likely (I'm trusting someone else will advance medicine such that I live that long)
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upvoteby darknavi2 hours ago|
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I was looking at $400 modded iPod Classics this morning and my better judgement avoided a new member of the "neat projects" drawer.
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upvoteby SmellTheGlove2 hours ago|
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Mausoleum sounds way more dignified than my junk drawers of half done projects!

If I had a 3D printer I’d build this one for sure. Or the 3D printer would sit in my junk corner. One or the other.

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upvoteby roughly2 hours ago|
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Hey, you gotta send these things off with some dignity - it’s not their fault I’ve got ADHD and poor impulse control.
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upvoteby Spastche2 hours ago|
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my Pocket C.H.I.P. wants a friend

neat product but what a garbage company that was

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upvoteby lawlessone1 hours ago|
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it's cheaper than the flipper zero. Something i have found i mostly don't use apart from keeping a copy of my apartment card.
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upvoteby neilv3 hours ago|
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You could let eBay be your junk drawer.
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upvoteby 0xbadcafebee1 hours ago|
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Fwiw, for other projects you can look at other SoC brands than Raspberry, such as OrangePi, BananaPi, ClockworkPi, KickPi, Pine64, Rock64, Odroid, Libre Computer, Radxa, ArmSom, Onion, Udoo, NVIDIA Jetson, ASUS Tinker, Khadas. I was kinda blown away by how many there are. Ask ChatGPT for specific models and feature comparison.
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upvoteby neilv3 hours ago|
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In the HackberryPi CM5, does that pointing device (which IIUC is repurposed from Blackberry hardware) work like a joystick/TrackPoint?

Can you move smoothly at all angles with it, well enough to use the desktop GUI?

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upvoteby Mogzol2 hours ago|
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Yes. I tried to find a good video showing it, this one from the same creator shows it being used as a mouse and you can see it works pretty well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=568L-P2tBwc
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upvoteby neilv28 minutes ago|
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Thanks for finding that. Nice. Starting at 14s in the video, looks like it's doing both coarse and fine movement. I don't know whether it would have to calibrated for best balance on the tiny display, but looks like it will probably work pretty well.
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upvoteby lawlessone3 hours ago|
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This is the future i wanted in the 90s.

I like it.

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upvoteby walterbell2 hours ago|
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Is it possible to buy a standalone Blackberry USB keyboard? zitaotech store has been out of stock for months.
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upvoteby jurschreuder1 hours ago|
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There is a chip that can control keyboards with I2C interface, the ADP5587, handles all the delicacies of button pressing:

https://www.analog.com/en/products/adp5587.html

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upvoteby jazzyjackson1 hours ago|
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Nice. there's also a project [0] that uses the RP2040 to talk I2C and present it as USB HID, created in service of the beepberry [1]. Now that I think of it tho this could be made into a very miniature home theater PC remote, a la the Logitech DiNovo

[0] https://github.com/TheMediocritist/beepy_rp2040

[1] https://blog.beeper.com/2023/05/16/beeper-x-sqmfi-beepberry/

[2] https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/546865-REG/Logitech_9...

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