The Chonky Palmtop is one of the cutest DIY Pi machines yet
If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s to never doubt the ingenuity of a Raspberry Pi owner. These credit card-sized computers were designed to do all kinds of of things, whether it’s a retro baller gaming machine or a screaming PC gaming handheld.
But if you want something a little weirder to serve with your Pi, maybe take a look at this adorable laptop-like machine.
Daniel Norris (Going through Liliputing) is the fool behind the Chonky Palm, a small PC with a fold-out split keyboard included. This chunky little beast has a retro 3D-printed gray box, which opens to reveal the 7-inch touchscreen and keyboard layout.
The keyboard can then be swiveled out for ease of use. You can see the machine in action in the video above, which even includes the Raspberry Pi 4 booting up inside. It also shows all the little features like USB and Ethernet ports. It’s pretty cool to see how it all comes together.
The keyboard, which is packed into the bottom half of the device along with the battery, really gives this little unit an iconic, almost retro futuristic look. It is based on the Split Keyboard Horn Keyboard design and programmed with ergonomic typing Miryoku layoutt which are both available as open source projects on github. This allows the cursor to be controlled via the keyboard so you don’t need an extra mouse or have to touch the screen when it’s inconvenient.
Fortunately, Norris has continued in the spirit of open source design by also uploading all the information necessary to do it yourself. This includes files for the 3d printed enclosure, a list of materials, and links to other github projects used.
Norris notes that while there are currently some issues with gfx acceleration in FireFox, but for general browsing and console use, Unity has served its purpose well. While this might not be a build for the faint of heart, if you’re looking to turn your Raspberry Pi into something functional, cute, and above all very, very chonky, this looks like a great bet.