Maker Zane Maldonado is one step closer to making the CG Deck LattePanda IOTA-powered handheld a reality — moving from design and visualization renders to an engineering prototype.
“The CG Deck […] is a modular handheld x86 PC that is capable of running dual-boot operating systems including Windows & Linux distributions,” Maldonado explains of the gadget. “My goal was to create my own ‘dream device’ that was capable of adapting to whatever use case I needed. Whether I am playing Steam games, doing CAD work in Blender, coding, video editing, or whatever it is, I wanted to be able to simply be able to do it on the road or while traveling. I thought it would be ideal to have something that was portable enough to throw in a backpack or pants pocket, satellite/sim capable, and be used just as any other full scale desktop computer would. The entire device is modular and can be upgraded, repaired, or customized as you need.”
The CG Deck, formerly just a series of rendered images, is now real — as an engineering prototype, at least. (📷: Zane Maldonado)
The handheld form-factor, still common in industrial hardware today long after the “palmtop PC” faded into obscurity, is enjoying something of a renaissance in maker circles. While most are built around the Raspberry Pi family of single-board computers, Maldonado needed more power and full compatibility with mainstream proprietary software packages — so opted for the LattePanda IOTA, a compact board built around the Intel Processor N150 quad-core up-to-3.6GHz processor and a choice of 8GB or 16GB of memory.
The CG Deck — alternatively styled “cgdeck” and “cg deck” depending on where you’re looking — houses this board in a chunky handheld looking not entirely unlike a Clockwork uConsole. Where the uConsole’s keyboard is fixed in place below the screen, though, the CG Deck is designed to be modular: pop the keyboard out and replace it with a control surface for music, a gamepad for entertainment, a trackball, or modules yet to be announced. Maldonado had previously only shown computer-generated renders, but has now unveiled actual images of a working prototype.
Maldonado plans a series of input modules, from keyboards and gamepads to trackballs. (📷: Zane Maldonado)
“I am overall really happy with it so far, but it still needs some work,” the maker admits. “There are a few things I need to do to make the prototype less prototype-esque? and closer to it’s final state. I am still currently working on the 10 Key and Gamepad modules and they need just a bit more work before they are presentable, so only the trackball and keyboard modules were ready to share. The prototype currently weighs 590 grams [around 20.8oz] and is quite a bit chunkier than I would like, so the goal is to squish everything down, remove any excess bulk that is not absolutely needed. The end device will have an injection molded shell which will give everything that familiar quality feel.”
More information is available on the project website and in Maldonado’s Reddit post. “Once I start wrapping up the project,” the maker says, “I will be launching a Kickstarter [crowdfunding campaign] to help fund a full production run of the device for anyone interested in helping support the project and getting a CG Deck of their own.”
