I’ve got 3 on my list.
- BT-PAN Access Point - Kinda ridiculous, but I’d like to have one. I’ve also found a few BT-PAN-enabled dial-up modems, but I’d have no way to connect those up. Some of those could even be connected to USB printers for wireless printing. Not particularly useful anymore, I just find those devices interesting.
- Dot matrix printer - This one isn’t even as ridiculous. I really love that sound and how the text they print looks. Sadly, if I am looking for new ones, a basic 9-pin Epson dot matrix is around €200. But the ribbons are cheap as chips. In fact, often even cheaper. Just imagine casually handing out a document printed on dot matrix to someone nowdays.
- Nano pocket drone - Something like FQ777-124. Maybe a toy like that is a bit childish, but it still can be fun. In fact I already tried to order this one. From 4 different sellers, twice on AliExpress, twice on Amazon. I never got it :(
A mini pc for emulation. I’ve been following the emulation scene for years, particularly for Android over the last 5-6 years. I ride the bus to and from work, so it’s always been nice to have them. For home, I have a Rasobery Pi 3B. It’s nice. But it is a little outdated, and would like a boost in power. Thought about getting the RP5 if it ever comes out.
However, some companies are now starting to really go all in on mini PCs. For more modern PC gaming, it’s not gonna get you the greatest experience. And I have a gaming PC right now. But I find that I prefer to run my emulators sitting on the couch. And now a lot of these minis are able to emulate up to PS3 and 360. Or at least as well as the emulators can work. However, for a model running the specs I want, I’m currently looking at anywhere from $700-900. So it might be a bit longer till I can afford one. Maybe with tax money if nothing else comes up.
Steam Deck + Dock! Definitely consider it!
That was one direction I considered going. On one hand, i have pretty much pretty much everything up to the PS2 and GameCube that can run on my phone, but it would be awesome to have the option for some PS3 games. However, it is a bit of a mixed bag. Some games it can handle perfectly fine. Some of them I would absolutely love to have mobile. But there’s also a few others that it’s not quite there for. I want to say someone tried on the ROG Ally, and it did test a little bit better, so that would be an option as well.
But I also just don’t know how often I would use it. Like I got a Switch when it came out, and I feel like I mostly use it docked at home. It’s big, it’s awkward trying to get it out of its case and get comfortable while on the bus. On the other hand it’s a lot easier to just have a smaller controller I can slap on my phone.
But I haven’t written it off yet. Because like I said, some games would be awesome to have. And a lot of the ports I would like to take with my that they put on the Switch tend to be downgraded visually, so it would look better on a portable PC instead.