Dragonbox Pyra Pocket Linux PC Now Available

After a development of more than half a decade (7 years or more), the Dragonbox Pyra is finally ready and on track to be delivered, according to the project's lead developer, Michael Mrozek.

And is that Mrozek posted some updates on Twitter in October., saying the team is assembling the Pyra units and preparing to ship them within days to customers who have pre-ordered.

Even though this took a little more than a few days, but Mrozek announced in late December 2020 that the first units were ready to ship to customers who had placed the first pre-orders.

The first DragonBox Pyra computers have already been in the assembly process for several days and they have started to be sent to the first customers who pre-ordered. But it's unclear how long it will be before all the pre-orders are shipped and the team behind Pyra is ready to start shipping units to reordering customers.

About the Dragonbox Pyra

DragonBox Pyra It is a handheld with a 5-inch screen, TI OMAP 5 processor, 15GHz dual-core ARM Cortex-A1,5 processor, up to 4GB RAM, 32GB eMMC storage, QWERTY keyboard and integrated game controllers, It has a resistive touch screen of 720 pixels, and a microSDXC card reader.

As well supports 802.11n and Bluetooth 4.0 and it has stereo speakers, a headphone jack, a micro USB port, and an HDMI port. There is also a "Mobile Edition" version of the Pyra with a 3G / 4G modem.

The DragonBox Pyra is designed to be an open hardware device and another of the great features of this pocket PC is that it ships with Debian Linux installer by default, even though the device is fully compatible with other operating systems.

The device was designed as an easily modifiable open platform so it can be used as a general purpose computer even though it was initially intended as a portable gaming machine.

On the part of the specifications of this pocket computer:

• SoC - Texas Instruments OMAP 5432 SoC with 2x Arm Cortex-A15 @ 1.5 GHz with NEON SIMD, 2x ARM Cortex-M4, Imagination Technologies PowerVR SGX544-MP2 3D GPU and Vivante GC320 2D GPU
• System memory: 4GB RAM
• Storage: 32GB eMMC flash, 2 SDXC card slots, 1 internal micro SDXC card slot
• Display: 720p 5-inch LCD with resistive touchscreen
• Video output: Micro HDMI
• Audio I / O: high-quality speakers, digital volume control, headphone port, built-in microphone
• User input
• Game Controls: D-Pad, 4 Side Buttons, 6 Front Buttons, 2 Precise Digital Push Button Controls
• Backlit QWERTY keyboard
• Wi-Fi 802.11 b / g / n and dual band connectivity and Bluetooth 4.1.
• Optional GPS and LTE module
• USB: 2 USB 2.0 host ports (one usable as SATA with adapter), 1 micro USB 3.0 port
• OTG, 1 micro USB 2.0 port for debugging and charging.
• Sensors - Accelerometer; gyroscope; pressure and humidity sensor
• Miscellaneous: Fully configurable RGB LEDs for notifications, vibration motor
• Battery: 6000 mAh
• Dimensions: 139 x 87 x 32 mm

While on the computer hardware side it seems a bit outdated for a device that didn't arrive until early 2021, especially the Texas Instruments OMAP 5432 processor, which is a dual-core ARM Cortex-A15 chip with PowerVR SGX544 graphics. MP2 which was first released in 2013.

But also there are some configuration and pricing options for the Pyra, it is the only 4GB model that is available for pre-order for $ 626 (excluding tax).

It should also be noted that while the Pyra is available for purchase, is a device that is designed to be used by open hardware enthusiasts and may not be suitable for everyone.

And while the high price is likely to be an issue for some, the Pyra is a highly customized device, with interchangeable components.

Finally for those who are interested in acquiring this computer pocket, they could do it from the following link.