Heh, the other weekend, I learned that the Pocket C.H.I.P. shipped with a pretty major hardware defect that makes its NAND memory gradually lose data over time. Apparently, some of these integrity checks that would normally be done at the low-level hardware controller level were instead only made at the OS kernel/software level. Unfortunately the OS itself is also on this storage. So my C.H.I.P. bricked itself while in storage when it wasn't actively in use. The only solution is to reflash.
The Pocket C.H.I.P. was itself a rather delayed crowdfunding project and Next Thing Co., the company that made it, went out of business shortly after fulfillment. It originally was billed a battery-powered portable handheld Linux device which could run a build of PICO-8 specifically tailored to it. The premise of having something small you could bring along with you and use to write code or play games seemed really cool, but the product that eventually arrived left a lot to be desired.
In particular, the keyboard was not ergonomic to use. They were these small rounded button pads, and had to press in pretty far into the center to click the button in. Within minutes of typing, I could feel calluses forming on my finger tips, and my persistence to keep typing on it anyway caused blisters. That was the deal-breaker for me, more than anything. If you need an external keyboard on a portable that quickly defeats its purpose. Then this NAND problem makes these effectively e-waste.
You can reflash or replace the defective storage or install DIY key covers, but for a general consumer hobbyist these are are all pretty awful aspects to not deliver on. The general look of the device still has its charm and the premise of a small form ready-made portable Linux PC with physical keyboard is something that is legitimately cool, so it's a shame its hardware design failed on such critical details.
@eggboycolor i really enjoy mine and self-adhesive rubber bumpers is all it took for the keyboard to be usable
not to mention even DS/3DS cartridges that use NAND can die over time if they're not powered with a certain frequency, if you have no power running through it you have no power running through it whether the eMMC controller has smarts in software or hardware
@mavica_again Hmm, so I don't think I'm doing a disservice to point out the problems with the device I purchased?
It is great that you can use yours, and I don't wish to diminish that! Those are very neat key covers on yours! I wish I could have a similar positive experience, but those factors made mine unusable. It's great that third-party keyboard mods exist and that there are ways to reflash the memory, but I think neither should have been required, IMHO.
@mavica_again It didn't live up to what I'd consider such a device needs, for my own requirements. Longevity should be a consideration for any physical hardware device, it doesn't seem they put enough attention to this. That particular NAND limitation is certainly not exclusive to Pocket CHIP, but it's the only portable computing device I own that exhibits this issue. With the exception of failing batteries/capacitors, these devices generally tend to last when stored safely.
@eggboycolor is it perfect? absolutely not but to say that it "fails in critical details" is a hell of a disservice
the one thing NTC did wrong was leave designers in charge of the business end of the model and selling them at a loss