SpecFive Strike is a Raspberry Pi-powered handheld with a QWERTY keyboard and LoRa mesh networking

The SpecFive Strike is a handheld computer with a 4.3 inch touchscreen display, a QWERTY keyboard for thumb typing, and a Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 for brains.

What makes it unusual is that while it supports WiFi and Bluetooth and is designed for on-the-go usage, there's no support for connecting to 4G or 5G networks. Instead it has a SX1262 915 MHz LoRa module that lets you use the device with decentralized mesh networks.

It's the latest in a line of devices from SpecFive that are meant for off-grid usage, allowing you to use the Meshstatic protocol for communicating when you're out of range of normal cellular services thanks to the low-power, long-range LoRa module.

While SpecFive's earlier products have been powered by ESP32 microcontrollers and simple software, the SpecFive Strike is a full-fledged Linux computer thanks to a Raspberry Pi CM4 compute module inside, with a 1.5 GHz Broadcom BCM2711 quad-core ARM Cortex-A72 processor and support for Linux-based operating systems.

SpecFive says the Strike pairs that compute module with a custom circuit board and a custom case that measures 120 x 150 x 25mm (4.72″ x 5.91″ x 0.98″). The handheld weighs 390 grams (13.8 ounces) and features a 5000 mAh battery that's said to be good for 3 to 6 hours of continuous run time which is… not great by smartphone standards, but I get the sense that this isn't a device that's meant to be kept powered on all the time. Instead it's something that you can pull out of your bag and power up when you need it.

Other features include a USB 2.0 data port, a USB charging port, and a 3.5mm audio jack plus a microSD card slot for storage.

Prices start at $380 for a base model or $410 for a version that comes with a 32GB microSD card with Raspberry Pi OS and Meshstatic software pre-installed.

via LinuxGizmos

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