After sharing here about my calculator wall and while waiting for my Flipper Zero, I want to introduce you to the M5Stack Cardputer, in case you’re not familiar with it. This remarkable little device can be purchased for under $30 (here).
The Cardputer is a compact, card-sized portable computer (dimensions: 84 x 54 x 17 mm, weight: 92.8 g) designed specifically for engineers and developers. At its core is the M5StampS3, a mini development board built around the ESP32-S3 chip, featuring a dual-core processor and Wi-Fi connectivity (8M-FLASH). The device also includes a range of integrated peripherals and sensors, making it ideal for applications such as rapid prototyping, industrial automation, and home automation systems.
It comes with a surprisingly OK 56-key keyboard and a 1.14″ TFT color screen with 240 x 135 pixels resolution, allowing for easy input and output. Additional features include a digital MEMS microphone and a built-in speaker that enable voice operations, such as recording and audio playback. An infrared emitter allows you to control external devices like TVs and air conditioners, while the HY2.0-4P port supports I2C sensor expansion, including temperature, light, and pressure sensors. There is also a Micro SD card slot for additional code, data, and media storage.
Power is supplied by two internal lithium batteries (120 mAh and 1400 mAh in the base), complete with built-in charging and regulation circuits for convenience and safety. The magnetic base allows the device to attach to metal surfaces, and its Lego-compatible design enhances customization possibilities. These features make the Cardputer a versatile tool for IoT projects, embedded system learning, sensor monitoring, and wireless communication development.
Upon booting the device, you will find sample demo applications available. Since Python is becoming the new BASIC, I was particularly interested in the REPL demo. It runs PikaPython, an ultra-lightweight Python interpreter with only 4KB of RAM and zero dependencies. Unfortunately, I found it to be completely unusable. Nonetheless, the Cardputer has been quite successful, with a large user and developer community and a substantial software base covering many fields. Lastly, you can use the Arduino IDE to program the Cardputer. Overall, this is a compact, powerful, and affordable pocket computer.
Thanks for the great article! I always enjoy the cool stuff you find.
I haven’t played with it yet, but someone has made a Forth for it:
https://github.com/ryu10/M5CardForth
It’s wonderful to hear from you, RCS. I’m happy to see that there is a FORTH available for the Cardputer. After all, if there’s a Doom, there should be a FORTH as well. I will try it out as soon as possible. Thank you again for sharing this information!
I was surprised to see real tactile switches underneath the keyboard. I was expecting some kind of conductive rubber thing like in a cheap calculator.
Hi Duncan, it’s great to hear from you! I was pleasantly surprised by the decent quality of the keyboard. While I wouldn’t use it for writing long code, the screen is quite impressive. However, it’s adequate for simple data entry or to trigger attached functions.