Inventors build micro handheld in GameBoy Advance look

Following the success of their original micro-sized handheld console, the team at Tiny Circuits has come up with an improved version. The device now even comes with a color screen. Tiny Circuits

Small console, big success

Three years ago, the team at Tiny Circuits had a huge success with their tiny handheld called Thumby. The small console in the classic Game Boy look for on the go was only about the size of… well… a thumb. Now the developers have released the successor on Kickstarter announced.

The next stage of evolution

The Thumby Color has several upgrades compared to the original. Firstly, the device has the look of a Game Boy Advance. In addition, everything is a little bigger. As the name suggests, a 16-bit 128 x 128 pixel color screen is now installed.

Nevertheless, the console, measuring 51.6 x 30.0 x 11.6 millimeters, still fits as a keychain on any keychain, as can be clearly seen in the pictures. As with its predecessor, you can also connect two of the devices to each other using a USB-C cable and play together.

The Thumby Color has the following features:

• Raspberry Pi RP2350 processor, successor to the RP2040
• 128 x 128 16-bit IPS TFT color display
• Rumble motor and functioning shoulder buttons
• Internal speaker, 4-way D-pad, A/B buttons and a menu button
• More than 100 games, works straight out of the box
• Backwards compatible with games developed for the original Thumby
• Rechargeable and programmable via USB-C

Coming soon

Anyone who supports the project on Kickstarter with at least 45 euros will receive a copy of the Thumby Color this autumn. The Collector’s Edition is available for 206 euros. Everyone else will be able to order the handheld from the website of Tiny Circuits or buy it from Amazon. Other modding projects that recently impressed us were a small PS1 handheld where the original motherboard was “folded like a book” and a “Blackberry Pi” for rebuilding.