The last time that I purchased an electronic device called Lyra, it was an MP3 player with something like 128 megs of onboard storage. There’s a new Lyra coming that is going to be so much cooler.
This Lyra is a handheld gaming system that’s being crowdfunded by London-based Creoqode. As you can tell from the image up top, it does indeed run DOOM… but it’s not built exclusively for playing games.
While it might look a bit like a PSP, the Lyra is a full-on Linux-based computer packed into a portable package. Tucked inside its unassuming black exterior is a Raspberry Pi Compute Module 3 Lite. That particular version packs a 1.4 GHz quad-core ARM Cortex-A53 processor and 1GB of RAM.
The Lyra has a 5″, 800 x 480 pixel LCD and a 3000 mAh lithium polymer battery for mobile play. When you want to kick back and play on a larger display you can plug in to a full-sized HDMI port.
As Liliputing’s Brad Linder notes it’s a little surprising that Creoqode didn’t wait for the Raspberry Pi team to release an updated version of the Compute Module before launching the Kickstarter. The new Pi offers dramatically improved performance thanks to its 1.5GHz quad-core 64-bit ARM Cortex-A72 processor.
Theoretically, though, it’ll be easy enough to perform the swap on your own. If you back the Kickstarter and receive a Lyra you ought to be able to pop out the CM3L and replace it with the CM4L (or whatever they end up calling it).
Because the Lyra is Linux-based you can run just about any emulator you want on it. It’s kind of like a pocketable PiCade. You can run regular desktop apps, too. Hook up a monitor, keyboard, and mouse, and the Lyra goes from a portable console to a portable desktop!
The GPIO pads are easily accessible, too, so you can hack the Lyra just like you would a regular Raspberry Pi.
To secure one of the first units Creoqode produces you’ll need to pledge £179, which is roughly $225 at today’s exchange. They’re expecting to retail the Lyra for about $100 more once the crowdfunding campaign is finished.
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