Waveshare has a new trick for your spare Raspberry Pi. The PocketTerm35 is a compact handheld enclosure that pairs a 67-key silicone QWERTY keyboard with a full set of gaming controls, including a D-pad, X/Y/A/B face buttons, L/R shoulder buttons, and Start/Select. It accepts either a Raspberry Pi 4 Model B or Raspberry Pi 5, and an onboard RP2040 microcontroller handles keyboard input, display brightness, and volume independently from the main SBC.
The 8.9 cm (3.5-inch) IPS display runs at 640 x 480 with 5-point capacitive touch behind a 6H hardness toughened glass panel. It is small, but usable for a terminal session or retro gaming. A built-in 8-ohm 2W stereo speaker and 3.5mm audio jack handle sound, while all of the Pi's I/O remains accessible: Gigabit Ethernet, two USB 3.0 ports, and two USB 2.0 ports. Power comes through USB-C, and an optional 5,000 mAh lithium battery slots in via a 2-pin header with UPS-style power management that supports simultaneous charging and operation. The whole package measures 168.5 x 93.5 x 37 mm (6.6 x 3.7 x 1.5 inches) and features a CNC-machined aluminum front cover with a PC/ABS plastic back.
The PocketTerm35 runs Raspberry Pi OS and requires a few config.txt overlay tweaks to get the display working. Waveshare has posted an assembly and configuration guide, with a pre-configured OS image expected to follow soon. Four configurations are available, ranging from a bare kit without a Pi, storage, or battery up to a complete system bundled with a Raspberry Pi 5, 64GB microSD card, and battery. Pricing runs from $88 (€81) for the minimal kit to $180 (€166) for the fully loaded Raspberry Pi 5 bundle.
