Mobile By Lee Mathews Apr. 25, 2014 2:45 pm
So you want to build your own cell phone, but maybe you’re not keen on making one out of cardboard. Why not build one with a Raspberry Pi instead?
It’s actually a bit cheaper to make, which is pretty amazing when you consider that the PiPhone has a touchscreen. Creator David Hunt’s total bill of materials came in at $158 — that includes the Raspberry Pi, PiTFT display, 2500mAh lithium-polymer battery, GSM/GPRS radio module and antenna, DC-DC voltage convertor, and all the other bits required to make it work. Even the awesome black toggle switch that turns the Pi Phone on and off.
Sure, it’s a bit chunky and Hunt freely admits that “it gets a bit hot.” He actually says that it’s probably not the best idea to put the Pi Phone in any sort of any enclosure without first integrating some kind of a heatsink. And no, the 320 x 240 resolution of the screen isn’t great.
Still, this is a smartphone that you can build yourself for $158 — possibly even less if you source a 5V battery and drop the convertor. It’s also probably the only smartphone you’re ever going to see that has an Ethernet jack, RCA output, and a full-sized HDMI port.
Hunt hasn’t posted the code for his project yet, but he’s willing to share. If requests come in — and you can be sure that they will — he’s promised to upload it to GitHub. He notes that the code’s a little messy, but that seems just fine when you’re working with an unenclosed device that’s partially held together with zip ties.
It certainly doesn’t make the PiPhone any less awesome. It’s yet another amazing Raspberry Pi hack, proudly joining greats like the pool table that accepts Bitcoin payments and that crazy, playable GameBoy cosplay.
More...
It’s actually a bit cheaper to make, which is pretty amazing when you consider that the PiPhone has a touchscreen. Creator David Hunt’s total bill of materials came in at $158 — that includes the Raspberry Pi, PiTFT display, 2500mAh lithium-polymer battery, GSM/GPRS radio module and antenna, DC-DC voltage convertor, and all the other bits required to make it work. Even the awesome black toggle switch that turns the Pi Phone on and off.
Sure, it’s a bit chunky and Hunt freely admits that “it gets a bit hot.” He actually says that it’s probably not the best idea to put the Pi Phone in any sort of any enclosure without first integrating some kind of a heatsink. And no, the 320 x 240 resolution of the screen isn’t great.
Still, this is a smartphone that you can build yourself for $158 — possibly even less if you source a 5V battery and drop the convertor. It’s also probably the only smartphone you’re ever going to see that has an Ethernet jack, RCA output, and a full-sized HDMI port.
Hunt hasn’t posted the code for his project yet, but he’s willing to share. If requests come in — and you can be sure that they will — he’s promised to upload it to GitHub. He notes that the code’s a little messy, but that seems just fine when you’re working with an unenclosed device that’s partially held together with zip ties.
It certainly doesn’t make the PiPhone any less awesome. It’s yet another amazing Raspberry Pi hack, proudly joining greats like the pool table that accepts Bitcoin payments and that crazy, playable GameBoy cosplay.
More...
