So, strangely, TRIMUI got in touch with me and asked if I'd like to review their older handheld, the Brick Hammer. This one released six months or so, but the claim to fame for it is being made (almost) entirely out of machined metal. It sure gives it a premium feel.
I feel like I'm a little lucky with the reviews, not doing this full time or anything means I get to be picky on what I let these companies send me. I'm not obligated to review everything ASAP, since the site I share these on doesn't even have ads. For the most part, I just say yes to the interesting or different handhelds.
tldr:
- Beautifully made, truly feels premium
- To me it really feels like a modern take on the Game Boy Pocket
- Can play up to PSP, DS, N64 and so on, but those are more of a risky and not entirely 100% successful event. It shines most with PlayStation, GBA, SNES and so on. Being 3:2 means its perfect for the older-older systems
I feel like saying one of these 'retro handhelds' is perfect is just...hyperbole. But in this case, that might be the case. It's so slim and sleek, and the metal makes me so damned happy to hold.
ANYWAY.
You can find the following link here to read my review, if you're at all interested. Inside my article, I also reached out to the developer of NextUI to ask him about how it is to create an alternative OS for the TRIMUI Brick Hammer (kinda like a mini interview), and chatted to a creator of 3D printed triggers which were designed to showcase the nice RGB lighting on this one:
https://gardinerbryant.com/hands-on-with-the-trimui-brick-hammer-metal-perfection/
Or, as always, you can just ask me about it here if you'd prefer :)
Thank you for your reply, it helps a ton!
I plan to complement my SteamDeck with a tiny portable emulator, but would love to use it at home in the same way as the SteamDeck, which is in part stationary.
I'm aware that the SteamDeck could do the emulator part well, but taking it with you and whipping it out for a short gamining session is not one the SteamDeck's strong suites.
Totally, 100% doable!
It is an easy one to do, just choosing the right retro handheld for you...that's the difficult part! My aforementioned Odin 3 for example plays anything from the oldest consoles, PS2 upscaled to 4K all the way to literal PC games via GameHub Lite.
And I'd recommend you check RetroDECK (the option to emulate on Steam Deck) out one day, I love it so much, it's by far my fav emulation and retro gaming suite on Steam Deck!
Oh and please do let me know what retro handheld you do get, in the end. Now I'm curious!
I've ordered a TRIMUI Brick Hammer a few hours ago, because I figured that I value durability of a portable device higher than video output; at home I can use my Steam Deck comfortably.
Your review made it look like a good piece of hard-/software for the money. At that price point I'm fairly sure I won't have regrets.
Great choice!
You've got plenty of firmware options if you're not loving the stock one (which is honestly fine!), the community around this device is so enthusiastic and do such amazing things. In fact, tenlevels showed off his new one which is coming soon, too. Called Bloom, its the first to manage to bring retroachievements to the device!
Can't wait to hear how you like it, once it arrives. If portability is key to choosing one, then you certainly get that with it. So sleek, so slim and nice to take along for the ride!
Today I received the device and at first glance and grasp it's a beauty!
I'm currently reading https://www.trimuistore.com/de/blogs/news/nextui-setup-guide-for-trimui-handheld-consoles to find out how to put NextUI on the Brick Hammer without bricking it ;)
I'll keep you posted as soon as I have managed to install NextUI and tried gaming with it, or playing music - whatever comes first.
That's wonderful!!!!!!
They really are an aesthetic dream, right?! Dont worry about mistakes, these are next to impossible to actually brick (hah, pun!) so you're very safe
You can always ask me for help too, if you need it! I'm so glad you're happy and didn't feel like I steered you wrong :P
I realized that running NextUI doesn't really replace any of the files on the device itself as it runs from the SD card, although it shows "Installing..." at first start.
I've had some trouble with Portmaster but most likely due to me being impatient. I installed Portmaster and Songo#5. When I started Songo#5 the first time it looked like it was frozen and eventually I powered the Brick Hammer off.
After trying to install Songo#5 by putting the zip file to /Emus/tg5040/PORTS.pak/PortMaster/autoinstall/ (to no avail) I installed Portmaster anew, Songo#5 anew, started Songo#5 and just waited patiently.
...and finally it started! Wonderful!
Now I just have to find out how to comfortably enter a 63 character WiFi password (for installing Portmaster and Songo#5 I paired the Brick Hammer with my mobile phone, which has a way less complex password), configure Syncthing (I want access to my local network, hence the need for entering an overly complex password) and put some music there.
I'm gonna have a lot of fun with this nice piece of hardware and software.
Thank you for your review, which brought it to my attention! :)