Tiny Gaming: The Thumby and Thumby Color Bring Retro Fun to Your Fingertips

Tiny Circuits, the creators behind the popular TinyTV, have unveiled their latest miniature marvels: the Thumby and Thumby Color handheld gaming devices. These devices, priced at $30 and $50 respectively, offer a surprisingly robust gaming experience despite their minuscule size. The original Thumby features a 0.4-inch display, while the Thumby Color boasts a larger 0.85-inch screen and improved D-pad, making gameplay significantly more comfortable. Both units are powered by Raspberry Pi Pico processors, with the Thumby Color utilizing the more powerful RP2350 chip, enabling potential SNES and Game Boy Color emulation. Users can enjoy a variety of pre-loaded games, including classics like Tetris, Connect 4, Minesweeper, and even a tiny version of Doom. The devices also support user-created games, which can be coded and uploaded directly through a web browser using MicroPython. While the storage is limited to a few megabytes and boot times can be slow, Tiny Circuits plans a summer update to address common criticisms. The devices charge via USB-C, offering a couple of hours of battery life per charge, suitable for quick gaming sessions rather than extended play.