Questions about PocketCHIP
I noticed that the user chaosmonk was talking about using the PocketCHIP as a GPS device, which got me intrigued about learning more of what the PocketCHIP can and cannot do. Especially in light of the recent Pinephone hype.
One thing I noticed about about the Pinephone from a few youtube videos was the seemingly not great touch screen.
How does the PocketCHIP connect with GPS?
Unfortunately the company that made the PocketCHIP went out of business years ago. You can no longer buy them, unless someone is selling a used one. However, any portable device running GNU/Linux can be used similarly. Before I set up my PocketCHIP to use for navigation, I would set a laptop on the passenger's seat and just follow the voice commands. I b0rked my PocketCHIP about a few months ago, after which I replaced it with a small netbook that fits in my glove compartment.
> How does the PocketCHIP connect with GPS?
I use a BU353-S4 USB GPS reciever. There may be other models that work as well, but that's the kind I've tested. It should work with any GNU/Linux system that has a non-ancient kernel.
I think they're selling them here https://shop.pocketchip.co/collections/frontpage/products/pocket-c-h-i-p-new
If they are, or if I can get one used, is it easy to transfer files to and from my laptop to use the PocketCHIP as a portable music player?
> https://shop.pocketchip.co/collections/frontpage/products/pocket-c-h-i-p-new
This isn't the original company, but it looks like they have a supply of PocketCHIPs that they bought before NextThing went under.
If you buy one, note that the WiFi card requires non-free firmware.
> If they are, or if I can get one used, is it easy to transfer files to and from my laptop to use the PocketCHIP as a portable music player?
The CHIP itself does not have a lot of disk space. When I used it as a car navigation device I would also play podcasts from it, and I could only store about 15 episodes at a time before I would start to run out of space (that was with OpenStreetMap data for my state stored on the CHIP as well).
I had an idea to buy a USB splitter so that my PocketCHIP could use a flash drive and GPS at the same time, and to then load podcasts and OSM data onto a flash drive that I would attach to my keychain. Then I could just plug the USB drive into my PC, update my podcast feeds and maps, and plug the USB drive into the PocketCHIP when I got into my car. However, my PocketCHIP stopped working before I got around to setting this up.