The TrimUI Brick Takes Inspiration From The Analogue Pocket
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It won't play physical carts, though

The TrimUI Brick Takes Inspiration From The Analogue Pocket

TrimUI has recently announced the release of their new device, the TrimUI Brick, which features a design heavily influenced by that of the popular Analogue Pocket. With its wide range of FPGA cores and software emulation capabilities, the Analogue Pocket continues to draw interest from fans.

The announcement of the TrimUI Brick highlights an ongoing trend in the market—companies copying successful design elements of established products like the Analogue Pocket to create their own versions.

While the TrimUI Brick may not support physical game cartridges, it boasts an Allwinner A133 Plus chipset, providing a 3.2 inch 1024×768 IPS display, and offering the Analogue style for enthusiasts on a lower budget.

One unique feature set apart from its inspiration is the inclusion of an RGB light at the top of the device. While it shares some similarities like a stepped back design (lacking a cartridge slot) and three function buttons on the front, the overall functionality isn’t as directly emulated due to the device’s reliance on software emulation.

Would you consider purchasing the TrimUI Brick based on its design and features in comparison to the Analogue Pocket, or do you prefer physical console releases that support original game cartridges for authentic retro gaming experiences?

  • apfelwoiSchoppen@lemmy.worldEnglish
    112·
    1 month ago

    The overall design is very similar, and you’ve even got the ‘stepped’ back (minus a cartridge slot, as this runs entirely on software emulation)

    The author of this article doesn’t realize that FPGA hardware emulation doesn’t need a cartridge slot. Software emulation doesn’t preclude it either. Either way, the big difference here is that Analogue is FPGA hardware emulation and this new device is all software emulation. It is a nice looking device though!

    • Someone64@lemmy.worldEnglish
      71·
      1 month ago

      The second article seems actually reasonable. It even links to the first article. What it’s saying is that a Chinese company is butchering the already extremely limited number of working Sega Saturns in existence to resell them for use exclusively with their own brand of flash cart. So they basically remove the CD drive and hook up the cart directly or something.

      • stormesp@lemm.eeEnglish
        32·
        1 month ago

        I know, i did read them, it just seems absurd to keep a review up that tells people to buy them, and also at the same time do an article that talks about how those consoles are hurting the retro scene and you shouldnt buy them

        • Someone64@lemmy.worldEnglish
          81·
          1 month ago

          Well to be more specific, you don’t have to fuck up the console to use the cart itself, which doesn’t seem to be the issue. You can wholly approve of the cart while disapproving of how a certain company is making bad use of them.

          • stormesp@lemm.eeEnglish
            11·
            1 month ago

            fair enough i guess, i still dont like that websites approach to the matter at the end of the day.

  • Fonzie!@ttrpg.networkEnglish
    3·
    1 month ago

    I still don’t see how this can beat an R36S? Is it far more powerful? Or is it for people who want to get into emulation consoles and haven’t heard of the R36S, yet?

    • mesamune@lemmy.worldEnglish
      2·
      1 month ago

      I personally like the Miyoo Mini Plus (with onion). It’s such a good time to get into retro games with these consoles.

    • AstridWipenaugh@lemmy.worldEnglish
      2·
      1 month ago

      Is there a “real” or primary manufacturer? I looked it up and it looks cool, but it’s an endless sea of knockoffs with very different prices.

      • Fonzie!@ttrpg.networkEnglish
        3·
        1 month ago

        It’s an “open source” design, so there’s no brand but anyone can make one, so many manufacturers do. Perhaps it’s one of the factors that drives the price down.

        • The Snark Urge@lemmy.worldEnglish
          3·
          1 month ago

          I mean that I’ve never owned or used a handheld emulator, but if I did it’s gonna be the one you mentioned.

          • Fonzie!@ttrpg.networkEnglish
            3·
            1 month ago

            Happy to read it, I can really recommend it!

            Depending on what SD card it came with, I could recommend you to replace the SD card cause it can sometimes come with a faulty SD card so the manufacturer saves costs. Samsung EVO Plus/Pro of 64GB or more should do and can be bought for around €15 (in NL), so I don’t think that’s much of an issue