The PocketTerm35 is the latest cyberdeck-like device we’ve seen in the past few months, and it looks like this one is ready for retail. More or less. Unlike Rabbit’s possibly ill-fated Project Cyberdeck and the completely home-made CyberPlug, you can buy one of these right now.
In theory, anyway. A website called WaveShare has these up for sale, but we’re unable to get one through to the checkout screen so shipping data becomes available. It might be a regional issue, or perhaps something else, but that hasn’t stopped us from wanting one.
Serving your PocketTerm35
There are two versions of the PocketTerm35. One uses the older Raspberry Pi 4 board, the other opts for the Pi 5. Of the two, the Pi 4 comes with slightly more RAM — 2GB over the 5’s 1GB allocation. Otherwise, both setups offer 64GB of storage, a 5,000mAh battery, and a 3.5in 640×480 touch display. There’s also the keyboard setup, a series of keys above that that could work for retro gaming, and a Linux operating system.
The 93.5mm x 168.5 x 37 chassis puts it in a similar range as your smartphone, only not as powerful. But that was never the point. It’s delightfully retro-futuristic, like the gadget Edward Furlong uses in Terminator 2. Granted, the Atari Portfolio was a real gadget back then. This is just a cheaper, more capable modern equivalent.
The PocketTerm35 includes a selection of full-sized hardware ports, courtesy of its Raspberry-flavoured board. There is a cluster of USB-A, an Ethernet port, a 3.5mm input, and an internal speaker, should you not have your wired headphones handy. Basically, it’s what you always promise you’ll build yourself when eying one of the Raspberry Pi boards for the seven hundredth time.
But, again, we’re not sure how you’d go about buying one. The Pi 5 version is listed at R2,500 ($150), with the Pi 4 edition sitting just below R3,000. Whether WaveShare will actually let you get through buying one is another story entirely.
