An Amiga 500 in a matchbox? The Armiga pulls it off! ( Hardware Review )

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

http://www.indieretronews.com/2015/06/an-amiga-500-in-matchbox-armiga-pulls.html

[tonyvdb]

This looks interesting, "No support for AGA at this time" so does that mean a future firmware update would fix that?

[Rob]

This looks interesting, "No support for AGA at this time" so does that mean a future firmware update would fix that?

The article implies that they didn't want to add support for AGA but you may find that it gets added to an updated SD install by someone else if they don't do it themselve.

[weirdami]

This looks interesting, "No support for AGA at this time" so does that mean a future firmware update would fix that?

Didn't A500 not have AGA anyway?

[tonyvdb]

Didn't A500 not have AGA anyway?

Yes, but one can hope for the addition.

[Lurch]

It's the Armiga, a silly kickstarter project. It's a 120 to 170 euro. Is it worth that, not really.

It's a cheap ARM PC in a 3D printed box, the bigger version has a floppy drive with what they claim is their own floppy controller to allow reading Amiga disks.

Amigamaniac use to make floppy adapters for $10-$15. Miss that guy :-/

[ElPolloDiabl]

I still like the project. Some people may only want an A500 modern equivalent. Hopefully it is a step towards better systems, if people aren't happy with an emulator on PC.

[modrobert]

I still like the project. Some people may only want an A500 modern equivalent. Hopefully it is a step towards better systems, if people aren't happy with an emulator on PC.

It is running an emulator.

The Armiga uses a slightly customized build of UAE4All, which permits fast and accurate emulation even on a platform as dinky as the Cubieboard2.

[mt12345]

The Armiga uses a slightly customized build of UAE4All...

on top of linux or android?

[Linde]

on top of linux or android?

Android is Linux, so either way it runs Linux. I imagine that it's running the UAE4ALL emulator. The review mentions: "With the card present, the Armiga boots up a standard-looking Linux kernel which originates from the Linaro project.", but the website mentions that if you boot without an SD card it will load Android from its internal memory.

The hardware, if anyone is interested: http://cubieboard.org/2013/06/19/cubieboard2-is-here/

IMO it adds very little value to the cb2 in this format. They could at least have added a proper 9-pin joystick interface to it. The one with the floppy drive is a bit more interesting.

[psxphill]

I imagine that it's running the UAE4ALL emulator.

And preventing you access to AGA support is probably because the CPU isn't powerful enough for AGA and an 020. That seems to be the case with the Raspberry Pi as well.

The "matchbox" size case is much bigger than what I imagined. It seems bigger than even the largest box I've seen. Although matches do come in all shapes and sizes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CuMENlNFvoc

Using that match as a guide you could fit quite a few A500's in a box.

[curtis]

I've had one for a while and my observations are as follows:

1.  emulation seems pretty solid.
2.  You cannot save a game such as Faery Tale Adventure directly.  You have to do a savestate which is awkward at best.
3.  The positioning of the jacks is also extremely awkward.  Power switch is nestled between the HDMI jack and the power input.  I was told a new model was coming out and the proto-testers would get the revised version.  I ain't seen nothing yet!
4.  They're announced a Armiga Forum.  I signed up but as yet haven't gotten a confirmation email so can't log in.

In summary, not a bad idea, but honestly, WINUAE works a lot better and is cheaper.

[amyren]

Just noticed that this thread havent been updated for a while:
Armiga now is in version 0.9 and is now advertized with AGA (A500 and A1200 emulation)
Their forum is also up and running.
http://www.armigaproject.com/

[Iggy]

Looks better, but the argument in favor of PC emulation still seems valid.
Do I need yet another device that brings nothing new to the table?

[amyren]

Looks better, but the argument in favor of PC emulation still seems valid.
Do I need yet another device that brings nothing new to the table?

Thats a relevant question. I think it depends on who is the target customer.
For most experienced users winuae probably covers their needs more than the armiga will.

Retro gaming is very popular at the moment, and if this product was done right, it might find a place in that marked.
In that ascpect they have done some things right, by including licenced kickstart roms, and as stated in their FAQ they are trying to get in touch with the right people in order to include more games with it.
Next thing they have done right is that they have made a paakage out of it, by creating the casing and the software and put it togheter with powersupply, HDMI cable and microSD card.
What I think is missing to be able to sell it to retro fans is the rest of the periferals, like  joypads, mouse and perhaps a keyboard. This could be bundled together in a ready-to-go package with all included, and with some attractive software pack included.

Just look at what Nintendo is doing with their NES mini and SNES mini retro packages.
Emulation have been available for anybody for years, but the masses doesnt have the knowledge or want to have the trouble of setting that up. Thats why their retro editions have gotten so popular, because they are sold in a plug-and-play package with a bundle of popular games.