The makers of the BOOK 8088, Pocket 386, and Hand 386 line of portable retro computers are back with a new model called the MSXBOOK. Like other products from 8086Yes!, the MSXBOOK is a compact computer with retro hardware that allows you to run software designed for decades-old computers without the need to rely on software emulators.
But this model has a bigger, higher resolution display, a backlit mechanical keyboard, and it’s compatible with the MSX2+ standard, which was a platform for standardized PC architecture developed in the 1980s. The MSXBOOK is currently out of stock, but you can sign up at Tindie to be notified if and when it becomes available for purchase.
According to the product description, the MSXBOOK is based on the One Chip MSX (OCM), which means that it doesn’t actually have a recently-discontinued Zilog Z80 microprocessor under the hood. Instead it has an FPGA configured to emulate the hardware in an MSX2+ PC.
As configured in the laptop, the processor can run at 5.37 MHz or in an 78.06 MHz turbo mode” and it’s paired with a 4GB SD card for storage and an expansion cartridge slot that should allow you to use cartridges designed for MSX2+ systems… assuming you can find any.
The display is a 9.7 inch, 1024 x 768 pixel IPS LCD screen that’s been removed from an iPad 2 and the laptop has stereo speakers and a 4,000 mAh battery that should provide around 4 hours of battery life.
There’s a mix of classic and retro-style ports on the back of the laptop including:
- 1 x USB Type-C (for charging)
- 2 x USB Type-A
- 1 x VGA/CVBS/S-Video output
- 1 x 3.5mm audio
- 2 x DB9 joystick ports
- 1 x PS/2 mouse port
While the MSXBOOK has all the hardware you should need to run classic software designed for the MSX2+ platform, it ships without any firmware. Users will have to source that on their own, although the product description says that the makers of the MSXBOOK say that “if a user has a firmware file, we can help them download it to the machine.”
via Hackster.io
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