eSIM Studios
Last summer, LilyGo introduced a compact mobile communication device, the T-Deck Plus, resembling a mobile phone but functioning primarily as a development kit. It features a 2.8-inch IPS LCD display, a BlackBerry-style keyboard, and integrated WiFi, Bluetooth, and LoRa wireless capabilities; however, cellular network support is absent.
The recently released LilyGo T-Deck Pro, another mobile development kit with a comparable design and the same ESP32 dual-core processor, presents several key distinctions. Notably, it incorporates a monochrome e-paper display instead of a color screen and offers an optional 4G LTE module. While not strictly a mobile phone, it certainly occupies a closely related niche.
Launching soon at \$82, this development kit is approximately \$11 more expensive than the T-Deck Plus and lacks its color screen and trackball. However, the slightly larger 3.1-inch, 320 x 240-pixel grayscale display may be considered an improvement by some users, and the integrated cellular modem significantly expands its potential applications. It also incorporates the same SX1262 LoRa transceiver as the Plus model.
The absence of the trackball, previously located above the keyboard, is noted. However, it features an attractive transparent enclosure.
It is important to emphasize that this device is intended as a development board with integrated display and peripherals, not a fully functional consumer product. Its target audience is developers and hobbyists, not the general public. Its hardware specifications are basic, including a 240 MHz ESP32 dual-core microprocessor, 8MB of PSRAM, and 16MB of flash memory. It does not utilize a full-fledged smartphone operating system such as Android. Nevertheless, it supports common development environments like Arduino and ESP-IDF.
Additional features include WiFi, Bluetooth LE, and GPS support, along with a 1400 mAh battery, USB-C port, microphone, speaker, and microSD card reader.
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