The Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum just got official clamshell handhelds

HyperMegaTech has announced two new clamshell handhelds based on the Commodore 64 and the ZX Spectrum. It's prnounced ZX, not ZX. Anyways, Tlthe company behind the Evercade ecosystem is taking a detour into 8-bit microcomputers, packing 25 built-in games and a MicroSD slot into each device.

I have a soft spot for these old microcomputers, but setting them up on a modern desk is a chore. You need the keyboard wedge, a modern power supply, and some kind of display scaler. These handhelds solve the space problem by shrinking the hardware into a pocketable form factor. Both units share the same core specifications: a 4.3-inch 840x480 IPS display, a quad-core 1.2GHz processor, and 256MB of DDR RAM. A 2000mAh battery provides about three hours of playtime, and they charge via USB-C. The clamshell design is a smart choice. It protects the screen in your bag and loosely resembles early 1990s palmtop PCs like the Atari Portfolio.

Rubber keys and mappable buttons

The physical design choices are what caught my attention. Both handhelds use a standard D-pad and four face buttons, but they also include four mappable function keys. HyperMegaTech customized these keys for each system. The C64 version uses tactile plastic keys. The Spectrum model uses rubber keys. It is a small detail, but anyone who typed on an original Sinclair keyboard knows exactly how that rubber feels.

You can plug an external keyboard into the USB-A port on the back. This is practically a requirement for text adventures or games that rely heavily on keyboard inputs. There is also a 3.5mm headphone jack for audio.

Playing the whole library

The included 25 games are a mix of old classics and modern homebrew. The C64 unit includes titles like Boulder Dash, Speedball 2: Brutal Deluxe, and Sam's Journey. That last one is a massive modern platformer that pushes the Commodore hardware to its absolute limits. The Spectrum handheld comes with Manic Miner, Skool Daze, and The Great Escape.

The real draw is the MicroSD slot. You can load your own files. The C64 handheld supports multiple formats, including standard C64 PAL and NTSC, C64C, C64SX, PET64, and the C64 Games System. The Spectrum side is equally thorough. It handles 16K, 48K, 128K, +2, and +3 formats, and it even allows for CPU underclocking and overclocking. That overclocking option is incredibly useful for 3D games like Driller that ran at single-digit framerates on original hardware.

2000 units for the collector tier

The standard editions cost £109.99. There are also Collector's Editions priced at £129.99. The premium tier is limited to 2000 units per console.

The Collector's Edition includes an EVA hard shell travel case and a dedicated magazine. The C64 version comes with a Zzap!64 magazine, while the Spectrum version includes a Crash magazine. I appreciate that they revived the actual magazine brands that covered these computers in the 1980s. The UK playground rivalry between Commodore and Sinclair kids was fierce, and these magazines were the battlegrounds.

We have seen plenty of mini consoles that plug into a TV. Putting these specific microcomputers into a clamshell shell is a different approach entirely. I am curious to see how text-heavy games translate to a 4.3-inch screen.