I was wondering around FB group and found this Rehan guy posted something about the new PicoZero and new mainboard for uconsole that can support more powerful modules and I have checked elsewhere but didn’t find any information.
I don’t want to bother Alex with this, but if it is real, then I would be really interested as I didn’t get the PicoCalc because BASIC is too basic for me and I don’t have the time for it, but if a customized Linux, I can handle that.
Plus, I have already backed the CardputerZero because I want to use it for PicoClaw, but I might consider the PicoZero because of the keyboard and form factor.
PS: sorry for posting it here as it might not be 100% related to uConsole, but since this is the most active sub forum so I decide to just post it here.
rumours about a new official uconsole mainboard have been floating around for atleast a year now.
Clockwork has teased it a bit, but like with the picocalc we probably won’t see anything more than rumours until they actually release it unannounced
If like in the past, then there will have probably been posts on non-English sites that most of us will be unaware of or maybe don’t even have access to. In a few cases in the past, those ended up getting shared and translated, but sometimes they didn’t come to light until after the official announcement, and the dates on them put them in the past. I remember seeing at least one that looked like local hacker group stuff, where maybe they were getting feedback before finalizing stuff or something? The official announcement always seems to be from Hal on Twitter, and that’s usually right about the time the store adds the new device. Device specs and details are almost exclusively posted only on the website. Pretty sure there’s usually a post made here too, linking to the Twitter announcement, though that may have been by a community member who noticed it rather than an “official” announcement here.
There were rumors about the original uConsole before it became a thing, but I’m not sure anything specific had been identified until it was actually announced/relesed on the store. But it sounded like something was coming. The PicoCalc seemed to be more of a surprise. I don’t remember anything hinting it was on its way. Seems pretty safe to assume Clockwork is working on something right now, but whether it’s a revision of the uConsole or something compeltely different is anyone’s guess.
There’s a good and bad side to that though. The GameShell wasn’t produced long after the DevTerm appeared. And the DevTerm stopped being produced not long after the uConsole appeared. A06 and A04 boards were more muddled, but I’m guessing they actually kept some stock on hand and there was less demand for them so they lasted longer than usual. The current situation with PicoCalc and uConsole being produced simultaneously for so long is a new thing. Not sure what that means for the future, but if I had to bet on it then if the new device is a revision of the uConsole then the old uConsole will probably stop being produced, and if it’s something entirely new, then I wouldn’t be surprised if either the uConsole or PicoCalc stop being produced, maybe based on which still has the longest queues/demand? In the past, it seemed like anyone still in the queue with a paid for device got their device. But it might have been a little messy for folks who were last in line and there may have been a few refunds involved. It would be interesting (and a bit sad) if the folks choosing to buy uConsoles from third parties caused Clockwork to decide to stop producing them due to decreased demand as they moved on to something else. But really, all of this is guesswork.
The picocalc showed up at Shenzhen maker faire a few months before the launch, I think there’s a thread on here called something like clockworkpi what’s that?
I have the impression that ClockWork Pi wants to keep Console alive as long as it can by updating the mainboard and accessories.
Gameshell and DevTerm discontinued might have something to do with not being economical to continue producing. I guess uConsole is still profitable and would be for a while.
If this is the case, then it would be a good news!
A similar discussion happened back in the DevTerm days (pics nearer the top of the thread, but someone identified them as being from a Shenzhen tech expo):
I think demand just wasn’t there so they stopped producing them, the devterm was a lot more expensive than a uconsole, and that was a plastic body instead of metal, and the printer can’t have been that expensive to explain the cost difference
I guess I’ll be editing the hardware directory again… This isn’t quite relevant to it, but since the new mainboard would eventually go on there anyway I might as well start adding it now. Plus the thought of another revision is exciting.
Plenty of people (including myself in the above-quoted reply) have taken stabs at what the new mainboard might be like but there seems to be very little information about it so far.
