Gift Card-Sized Gaming Console Created by ZX Spectrum Inventor’s Nephew: GamerCard Offers 4-Inch IPS Screen & Pre-Loaded Arcade Games

Sure thing! Let’s dive in.

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Okay, so, have you ever held a piece of tech and thought, “Why does this feel like a trip down memory lane?” Well, retro gaming is doing that, but in handbag size now. And hold on – here’s a wild idea from Grant Sinclair, who, by the way, is the nephew of Sir Clive Sinclair. Yeah, the guy who made that old ZX Spectrum, the computer that turned normal people into semi-crazed gamers overnight. Anyway – wait, where was I? Oh right, enter the GamerCard. It’s like the size of a retail gift card or something like that. Fits right into your pocket, probably next to your half-used Starbucks card.

So, this thing, the GamerCard, has a 4-inch screen. Crisp and nice, I think. Packs those pixels in – like, 254 PPI – whatever that means to you. Buttons below it, sort of like two circles, and they snap – snap-dome, they say. Like snapping your fingers, but not really. And it comes preloaded with some arcade games, so you just pick up and go. Simple, right?

And here’s something quirky – there’s this custom launcher with big icons, not just for games but for emulators too. Ever heard of Recalbox, RetroPie, or Lakka? Me neither, until now. And for coding nerds who’ve got C++ bouncing around in their heads, yeah, there’s space for that too.

Oh! Almost forgot. They’ve brought over two indie games, Bloo Kid 2 and AstroBlaze DX. These were just for the Nintendo Switch before. A platformer and a space shooter – very pixel-arty. They fit the square screen as if meant to be, or at least they say.

Visually, imagine the thinnest gadget you’ve seen – probably more like a novelty. Just 6.5 mm thick and light as a feather at 100 grams. Looks kind of cool hanging near the cash register too. Bet it would make a neat impulse buy. Instead of traditional cases, they stack the PCBs or something. You hold what you play, literally.

And yeah, Raspberry Pi Zero 2W powers it. That’s a fancy way to say it’s a little powerful, with a quad-core processor. 128GB of storage, 1600mAh battery. Hidden away is a Qwiic connector for hooking up some geeky peripherals. Tech vibes, right?

USB-C and HDMI ports allow it to moonlight as a PC almost. Plug in your keyboard and mouse – boom – productivity… sort of. But we won’t talk about the cost of turning it into a desktop.

Now, brace yourself. It costs £125, which is like $170 or something. Now, forgive me, but that sounds wild when there are cheaper options like the Retroid Pocket 4 Pro or the zillion Anbernic devices that do just as much for less. Call me a cynic, but when does creativity trump common sense? It’s almost a luxury toy. But hey, if retro and gift-card-sized wonders tickle your fancy, there you go. Nostalgia goggles, anyone?