Clockwork Pi Launches "Highly Experimental" RISC-V Variant of Its Compact DevTerm Portable PC

Clockwork Pi has launched a new variant of its DevTerm vintage-themed portable, claiming the crown of the "world's first 64-bit RISC-V portable terminal": The DevTerm R-01.

Launched in November 2020, though not arriving to customers until late July 2021, the DevTerm is a compact portable PC designed to the same overall layout as classic notepad-style microcomputers like the Kyocera Kyotronic 85 and its spin-off the TRS-80 Model 100. Featuring an ultrawide display, compact keyboard, and integrated thermal printer, it's an impressive creation which falls just short of greatness thanks to some software issues.

Now, it's also available in a new flavor: RISC-V. Billed by Clockwork Pi as "the world's first 64-bit RISC-V portable terminal for every free dev," the bulk of the hardware is identical to previous DevTerm releases. The difference: a new system-on-module, which Clockwork Pi terms the "R-01 Core," built atop the Allwinner D1 system-on-chip.

The D1, which also powers the Nezha development board and various third-party alternatives, packs a single 1GHz 64-bit processor core implementing the RV64IMAFDCVU subset of the free and open-source RISC-V instruction set architecture. There's no graphics processor, though video output is possible via software rendering, and 1GB of DDR3 memory.

For those who haven't already got a DevTerm, Clockwork Pi is selling a full R-01 DevTerm kit at $239 — making it the cheapest model in the range since stock shortages saw the delisting of the variant designed around the now hard-to-source Raspberry Pi Compute Module 3. For those with any other model of DevTerm, the R-01 Core is available on its own for $29 as a drop-in alternative.

The company is clear, however: The new variant isn't for the faint of heart. "DevTerm R-01 is a highly experimental model and requires some experience with Linux system & FOSS," Clockwork Pi warns. "We strongly recommend all beginners to choose other models."

Those who are undeterred by the warning can order the DevTerm R-01 Kit or the R-01 Core on the Clockwork Pi store now.