Today I’m toying with
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Today I’m toying with tiny Game Boys.
From the makers of TinyTV: the $50 Thumby Color and $30 Thumby. Raspberry Pi Pico chips run at just in the low hundred MHz, displays are 0.85 or 0.4 inches respectively! But that’s enough for MicroPython games you can code in a web browser, or even real Doom on the OG Thumby (find installers here). More in my full story.
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Thumby Color micro-review: a delightfully tiny GBA clone that doesn’t play Nintendo
It’s always a risk betting on new video game hardware from a little-known company: what if game developers never show up? But the $50 Thumby Color, on sale this week, is an easier sell — the two-inch handheld is cute as a button, fits on your keychain, and lets aspiring programmers build and publish games right on the web, and I’m finding it so much easier to play than the tinier $30 original!
Here’s my video comparing the two and showing off playable takes on Tetris, Connect 4, Minesweeper, Doom, Bust-A-Move, 2048, and more, as well as a cool 3D-printed watch holder for the Thumby Color by 3DSage!
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I tested the Star Wars droid that carries things for you.
Oh, I had such high hopes for the Piaggio G1T4-M1N1 (“Gita Mini”). An officially licensed Star Wars bot that follows you around, dodging pedestrians while carrying 20 pounds of cargo and playing The Imperial March on its party speaker? Heck yes. But a single walk to the park showed me that this $2,875 bot doesn’t have enough smarts. (I couldn’t fit all its fails into one video!)
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Toying with the OneXSugar Sugar 1 transforming gaming handheld.
Remember when I told you about the Android handheld that’s kinda like a Nintendo Switch that transforms into a Nintendo DS? I got an exclusive early look at a Sugar 1 prototype, running some of my own dual-screen and single-screen Nintendo games on it!
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The first working portable dock for Nintendo Switch 2 doubles as a 100W laptop charger and triples as a video capture card.
The AverMedia GC313Pro ain’t cheap at $120-$130, but how many USB-C charging bricks have this many functions? (There’s also a $80-$90 model if you don’t need video capture.) Here’s hoping Nintendo doesn’t lock it out with future Switch 2 updates. Note: If you buy something from our links, we might get affiliate revenue.
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Can confirm: the Genki Moonbase is a stylish power strip.
Not saying I’d buy, as my fav feature went MIA, but I’d love it as a gift! The $129 Genki Moonbase has three mesmerizing AC outlets (US, EU, UK or AU) and four USB-C charge ports. Those top out at 140W, 100W, 30W and 30W, but you don’t lose too many watts with four gadgets plugged. My only disappointment is the light-up Moonlink cables no longer help you find ports in the dark. Genki says it removed that promise early on.
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Would you watch your shows on a TinyTV?
I backed the TinyTV 2 on Kickstarter back in 2022, and it’s a delight! When you change the “channel” with its tiny remote or working dials, it’ll realistically flick to the middle of your next video just as if you were watching it live. (It syncs timestamps!) Yeah, it’s $60… but a gift or treat, perhaps? They also sell the transparent one.
Note: If you buy something from these links, we might get affiliate revenue.
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“Game Boy worm lights have changed a lot since I was a kid.”
I didn’t even know USB-C endoscopes were a thing, but now I’ve got one plugged into my Nintendo Switch 2 and phone! And yes, it also works as a GameChat webcam when you’re not inspecting pipes and walls. Unfortunately, my $10 model is out of stock. Maybe you’ll find a less flimsy one?
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Today I’m tasting with the Nintendo Switch 2.
Nintendo made the original Switch’s game cards taste terrible, coating them in a bitter chemical called denatonium benzoate. So we had to know… do Nintendo Switch 2 cartridges taste better? Time for a taste test! And while we’re at it, why not add a button battery coated in the same stuff, a Nintendo DS cartridge, and a 3DS cartridge too? Don’t try this at home, kids.
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Today I’m touring Micro Center, Silicon Valley’s first big computer store in years.
BTW, you’ll see a special gold GPU in this video, signed by Nvidia’s CEO. It’s now up for charity, with bidding at $8,600.
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Working hoverboard, floating light bulb:
I tried the Bambu Lab $63 kit that lets you 3D print your own magnetic levitating toys complete with wireless power for their lights! It’s part of its Maker’s Supply initiative where it stocks electronic and mechanical components to design around.
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Today I’m toying with the magnet mouse.
The other day, I told you about the ESR MagMouse with its built-in magnets and charge cable, but my video wasn’t ready yet. Now it is! And because people have asked: this wallet-sized viewing card is what I’m using to see the magnetic fields. (Note: If you buy via that link, we might get affiliate revenue.) Should I do a video about it, too?
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This surprisingly competent laptop doubles as a gaming handheld
Photo by Sean Hollister / The Verge
Since Neuromancer took the sci-fi world by storm in 1984, computing nerds have pined for a “cyberdeck” — the ultimate in personal, portable PCs for surfing and hacking the world. Usually, they’re DIY affairs. But the 10-inch GPD Win Max 2 is the closest I’ve seen to an off-the-shelf cyberdeck worth buying.
It’s far from the best laptop or gaming handheld. It’s an ergonomic compromise in five ways, and the webcam is trash! It’s also a portable computing dream. It doubles as a gaming handheld, with joysticks and buttons smuggled away in hidden compartments. It optionally triples as a desktop gaming PC, with a rare Oculink port that lets you plug in a beefy eGPU. It has more full-size ports than most small laptops can dream of, twin SSD slots, and a minimum 32GB of RAM.
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Ever seen a battery-free smart lock that siphons power from your phone?
I wrote about this idea in 2022, it actually exists, and it’s super cool! Your credit card doesn’t need a battery for tap-to-pay, your ID badge doesn’t need a battery when you tap the door reader, and the same goes for these NFC locks — they all collect tiny amounts of wireless power.
Just let me know if you ever see one a little more… practical?
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Here are my five favorite USB-C cables, all with tricks up their sleeves.
Literally! Some have magnetic sleeves, some have power meters up the sleeves, and some have excellent charging and data speeds. But five different cables… can someone please make the one to rule them all?
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The Bambu H2D isn’t just a bigger 3D printer — it’s a laser cutter, pen plotter, and Cricut competitor too
Photo by Sean Hollister / The Verge
Last May, I told you how 3D printers still aren’t easy enough for the mass market, but Bambu Lab had built the easiest yet. Now, instead of making it easier, Bambu is building its biggest and most sophisticated model to date — a Swiss Army knife of 3D printers that can also cut, draw, and etch.
The new Bambu H2D, which starts at $1,899, has two 3D printing nozzles and a much bigger bed, but it also comes with a modular attachment system. Plug in a blade, and it dices through paper and vinyl. Plug in a pen, and it’ll draw logos or schematics in a flash. You can even engrave and burn laser images into all sorts of materials.
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My new favorite external battery is the one with *two* hideaway cables.
I bought my wife the $110 Anker A1695 “InstaCord” and experienced instant jealousy; and not just because of its retractable cord. It’s the second cable that blew my mind, hidden inside its strong carry handle, plus the fact both are bidirectional. Either can charge the battery, either can charge my laptop; I get passthrough power if I use both! My colleague Richard wasn’t as lucky, saying his battery seems to throttle prematurely, but my wife’s stays cool so far.
Note: If you buy something from the product link, we might get affiliate revenue.
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A Game Boy for pirates?
The $70 Anbernic RG 34XX is my favorite new way to play Game Boy — but the new RixelHK app lets people use the handheld’s built-in Wi-Fi to browse a huge catalog of games for free. It encourages you to download Nintendo, Sony, and Sega titles, and they appear to be the real deal but unauthorized.
Typically, would-be pirates would need to buy an SD card filled with pirated games or fill a card on a PC, but these Anbernics make downloading games as easy as downloading songs used to be.
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This exoskeleton was my secret weapon at CES this year.
Did they rebuild me better, stronger, faster? Not exactly! As I explain in my full story, the Hypershell Pro X made me feel like I had an extra energy tank, like the ones exosuit-wearing bounty hunter Samus Aran obtains in the Metroid games. Oh, and it works when you’re riding a bicycle, too!
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I wore a one-horsepower exoskeleton to the world’s biggest tech show
Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge
It was a cold Thursday afternoon in Las Vegas, and I was running late for my last appointment of the show. There was no telling how long an Uber might take, now that thousands upon thousands of CES 2025 attendees were leaving town and competing for space on the roads.
“No problem,” I told myself. “I’m wearing my exoskeleton.”
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Here’s Framework’s first touchscreen laptop.
Can Framework fix budget laptops next? That’s the goal, and Framework CEO Nirav Patel says he’ll be dogfooding it himself, making this 12-inch laptop his daily driver for the foreseeable future. He wouldn’t tell me just how budget it’ll go yet.
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Framework Desktop hands-on: a possible new direction for gaming desktops
Framework’s mission is to “fix consumer electronics, one category at a time” by making them modular, repairable, and upgradable. It’s the only laptop maker to ever truly succeed at that “upgradable” part. But desktop PCs are already modular, so why is Framework making one?
At first, I thought it saw a unique opportunity to make a cute yet badass tiny gaming PC with AMD’s unusual Strix Halo processor and decided to shoot its shot. As you’ll read below, I’m excited by the result. But I also have another idea I’ll share with you afterward.
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Pretty sure this is the most advanced selfie stick ever.
It’s the DJI Osmo Mobile 7 Pro. Personally, I prefer the Osmo Pocket 3’s dedicated camera instead of slapping my smartphone on a stick, but these hidden legs, arm, and snap-on eye are all pretty cool!
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Today I’m toying with double magnet rings.
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I plugged an Nvidia RTX 5090 into a gaming handheld
Two weeks ago, I showed you how the world’s fastest graphics card works in a small form factor PC. To my surprise, Nvidia’s RTX 5090 Founders Edition delivered the vast majority of its performance even in a 12.7-liter desktop with a five-year-old CPU.
It made me wonder: what if I plugged this card into a handheld gaming PC instead? So I did, and let me tell you: it’s a wonder to behold. It’s enough to make me believe in a rich future where handhelds get more powerful when you dock them at home.
