This Raspberry Pi handheld wants to be every gadget in the world

Chances are, you've already got a versatile computer in your pocket -- smartphones play music, record video, play games and more -- but what if it was smaller, open source and completely hackable? Then you'd have something like the Poco "supercomputer," a portable media device with the footprint of a credit card and the heart of a Raspberry Pi.

Okay, maybe a Raspberry Pi-powered Indigogo project is overselling itself with the word "supercomputer," but you have to admit that the design is compelling -- the little device has three microUSB ports, micoHDMI-out, MicroSD expansion, two joysticks and a handful of touch surfaces that can be configured as needed. Poco's team is billing the handheld media device as sort of an every-gadget. According to the crowdfunding page it can be used as an action camera, a gaming console, a hi-res music player, a fitness tracker, a phone and more.

Technically, Poco's makers aren't wrong: as an open-sourced device with a ton of sensors, it has a lot of potential, assuming you're willing to put in some effort. Poco's designers are at least trying to make it easy, and say the portable media device will come with a creative instruction manual to help users tune the device to their needs. That said, the Poco isn't necessarily cheap -- or available -- the device's Indiegogo campaign is seeking to raise $300,000 to finish development, and backers will need to shell out at least $380 to get an early unit. Still, if it sounds like the Pi of your dreams, check out the crowdfunding page at the source link below.