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The C64 Not-so-mini

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Howard_Casto:
I'm still waiting for the other shoe to drop.  All of these "classic" consoles seem really cool and then they are released and we find out there is something wrong with it that makes it horrible.  I really like the c64/vic 20 modes but I want to see it out in stores before I can make a decision. 

Grasshopper:
The one big unknown is the quality of the keyboard. That's the issue that will make or break this product for me.

The CAD mockups certainly look very nice. But the pictures of the pre-production prototypes suggest they might have cheaped out and gone with rubber dome switches and painted keycaps.

I really hope I'm wrong because if the keyboard is even half decent this could be an awesome product.

Howard_Casto:
For $120 it better use cherry switches.  I still don't get why these idgits keep making the price so high on these classic consoles.  Whenever they do they end up in the bargain bin like the psx classic. 

Grasshopper:
Well it looks like it has finally arrived.



I'm still waiting for more detailed reviews on the quality of the keyboard before I decide whether to pull the trigger. But it certainly looks nice.

One positive is that, from the teardown, it looks like it's going to be really easy to mod the hardware. The keyboard has its own separate controller which appears from the connector to be regular USB. There's also a separate board on the right hand side of the case that appears to be nothing more than an on/off switch and a USB hub. If that's the case, then it should be trivial to replace the stock (slightly underpowered) Allwinner SOC with a Pi4, a small PC motherboard, or even an FPGA board.

JDFan:

--- Quote from: Howard_Casto on June 30, 2019, 01:26:40 pm ---For $120 it better use cherry switches.  I still don't get why these idgits keep making the price so high on these classic consoles.  Whenever they do they end up in the bargain bin like the psx classic.

--- End quote ---

Seems for some companies that is the new business model -- release it a ridiculous price get the initial sales to those that have to have it - a few months later mark them down to half the MSRP to get those that have been able to pass on the purchase due to the high MSRP and have them think they got a great deal even though it was probably still higher than the MSRP should have been - then sell off the remaining units a bit above cost or even at a small loss because you made plenty off those that bought in the initial wave - Rinse and repeat with the next product.

ANd sad part is it most likely actually works out very well for the company making them - since they sell them in bulk to the retailer at a wholesale price based off of their MSRP and the retailers are the ones that take the slimer margins from the mark downs not the manufacturer. ( but evidentally there is enough being made off the products overall because the retailers keep stocking them. )

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