The HackberryPi CM5 handheld computer
28 comments
·September 8, 2025summermusic
monocasa
For real. For the kind of sound I'd expect out of this, the pwm channels on the rpi work just fine. If you want better sound, the rpi supports i2s.
andrewstuart
Lilygo has a number of devices based on the same keyboard but esp32 MCU.
Some with Lora.
int_19h
If you don't specifically want the Blackberry keyboard, there's also https://www.clockworkpi.com/home-uconsole
bullen
This also supports Radxa CM5 which is twice as powerful/watt as the Raspberry CM5.
Though you'll need USB hub for internet (WiFi/Eth adapter) and audio.
Also shipping takes a few months, which is kinda scary when you don't know the tariffs that far in advance.
jazzyjackson
An interesting alternative to the SQFMI Beepy / Beepberry [0][1] which is just a rpi zero but has a Sharp Memory Pixel display that I love. Both could use some work on adapting the UI to the little blackberry touchpad. Neither using a mouse cursor nor meta/ctrl modifier combos are very ergonomic on these little handhelds.
[1] https://blog.beeper.com/2023/05/16/beeper-x-sqmfi-beepberry/
jkingsman
That's adorable, but the censored/pixelated keyboard is a little offputting. Am I guessing right that they're using Blackberry overstock and censoring trademarks?
jazzyjackson
Oh LOL I didn't even notice that on the first link, yeah I guess they're just obscuring it for the logo. IRL it is a non pixelated keyboard xD
FWIW the project hit a wall and they didn't deliver the quantity they planned on, I ended up buying one on ebay for an extortionate cost (but buying rare electronics scratches an itch for me) - digging in the discords lead to discover an offshoot project that made some progress at a recent chaos comms congress, called Beepis
glitchc
Can I add a 4G/5G modem to this? If so, that would be perfect!
abawany
I got the Hackberry Pi Zero from Elecrow recently and it has been excellent for playing around. I really miss real keyboards on mobile devices and it has been fulfilling to use it.
elwebmaster
Same. The zero has only 512MB RAM so I started projects to rebuild the original BB OS for this while also adding Xpra to stream a browser running on a remote server (they all require 1GB+). Then priorities hit and I have not been back on this project since.
shrubble
It’s $168 plus the cost of a CM5; while it is cool, I would worry that the $200+ device would end up in a drawer…
tracker1
Yeah... for me, my vision is rather deteriorated, just looking at the size of things in the screenshots I can tell I'd have trouble using it. I can't even use the Steam Deck for that reason. At least my daughter and SO get use out of it.
For about 5 years before Android/IPhone, I used a nokia phone that opened with the screen in the middle of a split querty keyboard on the phone... that thing was perfect for notes/text. I really wouldn't mind something like that or even this device as long as the text could be set to something reasonable for my poor vision to use. I have to max out my accessibility/text settings on android and that's a stretch at times (also exposes so main UI failings).
roughly
I suspect an awful lot of us have a mausoleum of abandoned projects where this would feel right at home and is probably downright budget friendly compared to some of the other residents interred there.
RankingMember
The drawer that holds my Arduino, Raspberry Pi, and clones thereof is dangerously overpopulated as it is, but I think I've finally learned my lesson: Now I always have a cooling off period of hours after putting something in an online shopping cart before I click "buy" to see if my interest was just a passing one (usually the case).
darknavi
I was looking at $400 modded iPod Classics this morning and my better judgement avoided a new member of the "neat projects" drawer.
SmellTheGlove
Mausoleum sounds way more dignified than my junk drawers of half done projects!
If I had a 3D printer I’d build this one for sure. Or the 3D printer would sit in my junk corner. One or the other.
roughly
Hey, you gotta send these things off with some dignity - it’s not their fault I’ve got ADHD and poor impulse control.
Spastche
my Pocket C.H.I.P. wants a friend
neat product but what a garbage company that was
lawlessone
it's cheaper than the flipper zero. Something i have found i mostly don't use apart from keeping a copy of my apartment card.
neilv
You could let eBay be your junk drawer.
0xbadcafebee
Fwiw, for other projects you can look at other SoC brands than Raspberry, such as OrangePi, BananaPi, ClockworkPi, KickPi, Pine64, Rock64, Odroid, Libre Computer, Radxa, ArmSom, Onion, Udoo, NVIDIA Jetson, ASUS Tinker, Khadas. I was kinda blown away by how many there are. Ask ChatGPT for specific models and feature comparison.
neilv
In the HackberryPi CM5, does that pointing device (which IIUC is repurposed from Blackberry hardware) work like a joystick/TrackPoint?
Can you move smoothly at all angles with it, well enough to use the desktop GUI?
Mogzol
Yes. I tried to find a good video showing it, this one from the same creator shows it being used as a mouse and you can see it works pretty well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=568L-P2tBwc
walterbell
Is it possible to buy a standalone Blackberry USB keyboard? zitaotech store has been out of stock for months.
jurschreuder
There is a chip that can control keyboards with I2C interface, the ADP5587, handles all the delicacies of button pressing:
jazzyjackson
Nice. there's also a project [0] that uses the RP2040 to talk I2C and present it as USB HID, created in service of the beepberry [1]. Now that I think of it tho this could be made into a very miniature home theater PC remote, a la the Logitech DiNovo
[0] https://github.com/TheMediocritist/beepy_rp2040
[1] https://blog.beeper.com/2023/05/16/beeper-x-sqmfi-beepberry/
[2] https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/546865-REG/Logitech_9...
lawlessone
This is the future i wanted in the 90s.
I like it.
> There are dual speakers on board, it is needed to pair with the bluetooth audio module to make sound
This is cursed