What are your favourite handhelds?


Yes rechargeable battery’s wherent unknown for me at the time , but I also wanted backlight

If I think about it today , a GBA SP where a better solution for this task..
 
After I preeordered the Pandora, I bought some used GBA Sp, a blue one in quite poor shape , a NES Edition, and in 2020 a IPS GBA SP ..

And no, even if I’m now able to play GB Games on a nice Handheld so it means my first task I wanted the Pandora ditnt mean I will sell the Pyra now..
 
After I preeordered the Pandora, I bought some used GBA Sp, a blue one in quite poor shape , a NES Edition, and in 2020 a IPS GBA SP ..

And no, even if I’m now able to play GB Games on a nice Handheld so it means my first task I wanted the Pandora ditnt mean I will sell the Pyra now..
Sorry but I have to ask, because you mentioned it before... You had a "shitty driver's job", do you have another job now, and hopefully it's less shitty? Sorry don't mean to intrude, just need that narrative to have a conclusion somehow haha. How do you like your Pyra btw? Cheers
 
Well when EvilDragon had to offer these „Premium Upgrade“ for the Pandora, (pay more and get your Pandora Tomorow) because Craig had startet this, I begun whit a Job In the Beeceeper Supply Store im Still in, so I don’t have shitty jobs anymore

After shool, I begun a trainie as a Baker, but canceled it after one year, then I was in a job preparation Course and then I had a 3 Years Training for a Office Communications Salesman (I don’t even know today way it was called this way) , so I can make anything Office Based ..

Then I was unemployed a long time, maybe because I don’t had enough experience ?
As I had a good finance base i thought it would be a good idea to make a Licence for Semi Trucks and Busses, so I could also get some Jobs on this Business ..
but all I got was this shitty Driver Job for the German Postal Service where I had to deliever Mail to the Post Stations whit a Big Van, which I lost because I was to slow, and I also had a exident whit a too heavy transport cart falling of my Ramp, ..
some year after I got a Driver Job whit Shool Children which I lost also …
And then my Dad took me to this new Beekeeper Suply Store, I asked for a practice , and now after 10 years I’m still there ..

And I preeordered the Pyra because I enjoyed the Pandora a lot .. ^^
 
I started with these (cheap) fixed game handhelds, like game&watch clones. A friend had the Gameboy (with a Mario and a Wario game) but I had a Watara Supervision, which I still have but I lost most games during moving houses.
From there I got into PDA's, I had the Compaq C-series with color and one monochrome (had something todo with those supporting batteries instead of brand-battery). I liked the HP ones also, but those were more pricey. I also had a Toshiba Libretto laptop.
Compaq_2000C_with_dock.jpgtoshiba-libretto.png
I got into handhelds and got a GP32 (BLU) and from there I got into the Pandora. Weirdly enough the Pandora had more of the laptop function for me then gaming, while I also did that.
For gaming I mostly used the Nintendo DS Lite, later added the Sony PSP. The PSP I eventually replaced with a Vita.
Currently I still use the Pandora as my pocket laptop and for gaming mostly my dedicated PC/consoles (since covid I travel a bit less) and during travel the Nintendo Switch and probably now the Steam Deck.

family.jpg
 
Lovely "family photo" :) Myself I used to collect handhelds like a madman in the early 2010s, it was a good time for that, all was used and cheap and loose games even from JPN were in the single digits...I wanted to get and play all systems that I missed during the 1980ies and 1990ies. Real and great IMO discoveries were the Atari Lynx, Neo Geo Pocket Color and Wonderswan Crystal. But I really spent most time with the Pandora. Its screen is now relatively scratchy and its case looks "used" but works great still, after over 700 charge cycles, battery still charges 91% of a full charge.
Initially I had found the Pandora board because I was getting interested in "Chinese" gadgets like Dingoo that could emulate even more obscure handhelds.
 
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Im actually glad the thread asked for more than one handheld instead of picking just one.
Because that would be a massive problem for me lol
I enjoy the generational jumps between devices soo

Tiger Electronics and similar games [learned a lot about how LCDs worked in this sense, as a kid this was fascinating]

Gameboy DMG [i tried figuring out how the device was doing any of what it was doing, i didn't have much of a grasp in tech as i was still a child that could just barely read english]

Gameboy Color [I still liked it but i was much more a Super Gameboy fan at this point]

Gameboy Advance [SNES in your pocket, that was the meme at the time... eh it was right mostly, the early gba games were a bit of a mess though but you can notice the improvements pretty quickly compared to other handhelds and even consoles]
Nintendo DS [The first system was great, didn't care much for the lite, the DSi was a worthy upgrade]

3DS [One of the biggest jumps imo, lots of tech that honestly wasn't really available to the general public that is suddenly right there in front of you, ARG-like elements with streetpass functionality I think this entire series was pretty great save for not being able to play GBA games. If a version of pokemon go came out for this, no one in their right mind would ever release a handheld device again. pokemon is the new crack]

PSVita [Biggest issue I had with the original PSP was that it only had one analog stick, i mean it worked for what it was but there could have been more going on with it. The Vita was what the original psp should have been. I haven't met many people who liked the Vita]

Pandora/Pyra [Wonderful learning experience, figuring out how things work and how to get stuff working on it is a rewarding experience, i mean its definitely not for everyone but for the people who stick around its like a valhalla, despite having other devices that can also play retro games, this device will be the DEFACTO way of playing older retro games. It was never about how much power you can fit in a handheld, its about efficiency and the battery life and device design points mark this as law. It'll be a while before another group makes a device that can reach similar battery life and portability without dumbing down the experience for advanced users ]

SteamDeck [just recently got this not long enough to make a formal review of the device but i really enjoy it so far. This is a major deal in several aspects, it can play stuff that i know the architecture for like the back of my hand that dictates no possible way to run it on AMD chipsets. SunsetOverdrive for those wondering btw was built in such a way that for a while the PC version would only run on intel hardware. It was an insane surprise. Personally, from the few days ive had mine, i wouldn't really recommend it for the general user namely those unwilling to tinker with their devices, there is a lot more going on in this device besides the ability to play steam games and the maker space/hacker community has been having a field day with this. ]
 
Well i think i will post an Unboxing and some Videos from Steamdeck Gameplay ^^ (Pyra Video Style, i wonder if this thing fits on the Kickstand for the 3DS from Kid Icarus Uprising..).. but therefore i need this thing to shipped...
 
Currently rocking Pandora, PiBoy DMG, GPD Win 2 (latest gen), OG 3DS and a Steam Deck Q3 512GB.

Aside from size (it's HUGE) the deck knocks them all for six. Emulation Station-DE with EmuDeck is the dog's danglies. Handheld, large screen, GBA is beautiful as are all the other emulators. This thing is incredible and the only one of my handhelds that has controls that even approach those as good as my CC Pandora.
 
I started with these (cheap) fixed game handhelds, like game&watch clones. A friend had the Gameboy (with a Mario and a Wario game) but I had a Watara Supervision, which I still have but I lost most games during moving houses.
From there I got into PDA's, I had the Compaq C-series with color and one monochrome (had something todo with those supporting batteries instead of brand-battery). I liked the HP ones also, but those were more pricey. I also had a Toshiba Libretto laptop.
View attachment 38103View attachment 38104
I got into handhelds and got a GP32 (BLU) and from there I got into the Pandora. Weirdly enough the Pandora had more of the laptop function for me then gaming, while I also did that.
For gaming I mostly used the Nintendo DS Lite, later added the Sony PSP. The PSP I eventually replaced with a Vita.
Currently I still use the Pandora as my pocket laptop and for gaming mostly my dedicated PC/consoles (since covid I travel a bit less) and during travel the Nintendo Switch and probably now the Steam Deck.

View attachment 38102
A Gizmondo and a Wonderswan, hey? Still on my wishlist.
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Im actually glad the thread asked for more than one handheld instead of picking just one.
Because that would be a massive problem for me lol
I enjoy the generational jumps between devices soo

Tiger Electronics and similar games [learned a lot about how LCDs worked in this sense, as a kid this was fascinating]

Gameboy DMG [i tried figuring out how the device was doing any of what it was doing, i didn't have much of a grasp in tech as i was still a child that could just barely read english]

Gameboy Color [I still liked it but i was much more a Super Gameboy fan at this point]

Gameboy Advance [SNES in your pocket, that was the meme at the time... eh it was right mostly, the early gba games were a bit of a mess though but you can notice the improvements pretty quickly compared to other handhelds and even consoles]
Nintendo DS [The first system was great, didn't care much for the lite, the DSi was a worthy upgrade]

3DS [One of the biggest jumps imo, lots of tech that honestly wasn't really available to the general public that is suddenly right there in front of you, ARG-like elements with streetpass functionality I think this entire series was pretty great save for not being able to play GBA games. If a version of pokemon go came out for this, no one in their right mind would ever release a handheld device again. pokemon is the new crack]

PSVita [Biggest issue I had with the original PSP was that it only had one analog stick, i mean it worked for what it was but there could have been more going on with it. The Vita was what the original psp should have been. I haven't met many people who liked the Vita]

Pandora/Pyra [Wonderful learning experience, figuring out how things work and how to get stuff working on it is a rewarding experience, i mean its definitely not for everyone but for the people who stick around its like a valhalla, despite having other devices that can also play retro games, this device will be the DEFACTO way of playing older retro games. It was never about how much power you can fit in a handheld, its about efficiency and the battery life and device design points mark this as law. It'll be a while before another group makes a device that can reach similar battery life and portability without dumbing down the experience for advanced users ]

SteamDeck [just recently got this not long enough to make a formal review of the device but i really enjoy it so far. This is a major deal in several aspects, it can play stuff that i know the architecture for like the back of my hand that dictates no possible way to run it on AMD chipsets. SunsetOverdrive for those wondering btw was built in such a way that for a while the PC version would only run on intel hardware. It was an insane surprise. Personally, from the few days ive had mine, i wouldn't really recommend it for the general user namely those unwilling to tinker with their devices, there is a lot more going on in this device besides the ability to play steam games and the maker space/hacker community has been having a field day with this. ]
I grew up in poverty and Tiger Electronics games were like 10 cents at yard sales and thrift shops. I loved them and recently bought a few Vrt-X versions to restart the collection.

The Pandora was awesome! I used it all the time and must reacquire one.
 
A Gizmondo and a Wonderswan
The Wonderswan (I have the one with Color) was easy to get in Japan, only the one with the nice color screen (SwanCrystal) was much more expensive.
My problem was that I couldn't read Japanese text well enough to handle dialog driven games. But there enough games that don't use much text that can be enjoyed.

The Gizmondo I got early on, but now the coated plastic is dissolving causing it be sticky. I enjoyed playing Carmageddon on it and Sticky Balls, there are more nice games but I remember I played these most.
I got the GPS working only once, standing on a hill for 20min. It really needs the antenna update.
I also used the text-feature, sending texts to phones. And the camera was poor, but storing stuff on the SD-card was easy and with the small filesizes you could put lots of images there. And it played music too, which was handy during traveling.
 
Update an Ranking for 2024
10: A cheap LCD Handhelds whit lots of Brick Graphic Games.. and an Sega Megadrive Licensed Multi Game Handheld,..
9: Anbernic Win 600 (Was meant to be an Steamdeck Alternative, but unfortunally much to slow, allthough nice for 8 - 16 Bit stuff.., was the reason why i bought the Win Mini then
8: The Steamdeck (Until i got the Win Mini it was my way to go PC Handheld, was nice but a quite heavy brick, and whitouth an Keyboard it was a bit unpractical for Simulator Games..
7: PSVITA/PSP (Lots of cool Games, sadly the Handheld Part of Sony was not that Succesfull)
6: Nintendo 3DS/DS Range
5: Nintendo Switch (There are a lot of good games for this one, but sadly i ditnt came to play lately)
4: Analoque Pocket (its cool that it can Play actuall GB GBC and GBA Cardridges
3: GPD Win Mini ( some sort of a smaller Steamdeck Alternative, plays even Soul Calibur 6, its Emulator Capabilitys are awesome (from ATARI VCS up to PS2 and Gamecube in my Usecase, other are even emulating Switch)
2: Pandora
1: Pyra (What else?)
 
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