Back in 2018 HardKernel released the Odroid-Go as a celebration of their 10th year as a company. Now, two years later Hardkernel are back with the Odroid-Go Advance.
Aside from also coming in kit form, the Odroid-Go Advance shares few similarities with their first device. HardKernel have ramped up the power with a RockChip RK3326, a SoC with four 1.3GHz cores and 1GB of RAM. They’ve also added a couple of shoulder buttons and an analog stick, as well as six buttons underneath the LCD. The Odroid-Go Advance promises much better emulator performance, and their recent video on YouTube even shows some PSP emulation. (2:16 onwards).
The device runs Ubuntu 18.04 with kernel version 4.4.189 and the EmulationStation front end. The 10pin GPIO is present just as it was on the original Odroid-Go, and there’s also a UART port on the right hand side. It looks as though you’ll need to solder your own connector if you want to use it though.
The screen is a 3.5″ 320×480 TFT panel, which is slightly disappointing. Not all TFT panels are made equal though, so hopefully they’ve chosen a good one for this.
It would also have been nice to see 4 shoulder buttons and another analog stick, but for me it’s still a great looking handheld. The RK3326 should offer better performance than the latest round of Chinese handhelds, and with PSP emulation already on the list the mind boggles at what else might be possible. Dreamcast, perhaps?
The most suprising thing about the release of the Odroid-Go Advance is the price. At just $55 before shipping it sits comfortably within the accepted price for a device of its type.
The Advance is DIY kit just like its older brother, but that shouldn’t put anybody off. Putting together the original Odroid-Go was child’s play and looking at the parts list this thing looks just as easy.
The Odroid-Go Advance will be available next month from the HardKernel shop. You better believe I’ll be first in line to get one!
The post HardKernel Are Back With The Odroid-Go Advance appeared first on Obscure Handhelds.