FunKey Zero: Difference between revisions

The '''FunKey Zero''' was a prototype keychain emulator console created by the FunKey Team in 2018. Designed and built to test the components that would later be used in the [[Special:MyLanguage/FunKey S|FunKey S]], the FunKey Zero had a horizontal form factor akin to the original [[w:Game Boy Advance|Game Boy Advance]], rather than the [[w:Game Boy Advance SP|GBA SP]] inspired clamshell designs of the team's prior and subsequent systems. While the FunKey Zero was only ever designed to be a non-commercial prototype, the FunKey Team, as with their prior [[Special:MyLanguage/Keymu|Keymu]] system, released the FunKey Zero schematics so that others could recreate it with the same components.

Following the popularity of their June 2017 [[Special:MyLanguage/Keymu|Keymu]] showcase video and the subsequent requests to make the device available for purchase, the FunKey Team decided to design an improved version of the system that would have improved components, be more compact, and be mass-producible. To do this, Vicent and Michel brought the third member onto the team, David, whose previous experience with watches would help them make the device more compact. In designing an improved model of the Keymu, however, the team decided to first create the FunKey Zero, an intermediate prototype device that would allow the FunKey Team to test and adjust electronic components before designing a final clamshell system in which to house them.

Due to its integration of the screen and controls into the same shell rather than two as with the Keymu and FunKey S, the FunKey Zero is both wider and thinner than the other FunKey Team systems. Due to the 2017 discontinuation of the [[w:Intel Edison|Intel Edison]], the [[w:computer-on-module|computer-on-module]] that the Keymu had used, an [[w:ARM Cortex-A7|ARM Cortex-A7]] with 64 MB of RAM was used instead. To replace the Intel Edison's built-in eMMC storage, a microSD card reader was integrated into the FunKey Zero, allowing a maximum storage capacity of 128 GB. While the screen used in the FunKey Zero had similar dimensions to that of its predecessor at 1.54 inches (39.1 mm) and still only refreshed at a rate of 20 FPS, its use of LCD IPS technology instead of OLED, in addition to a 240x240 rather than 128x128 resolution, made it substantially different. As the system was a prototype for the later [[Special:MyLanguage/FunKey S|FunKey S]] much of the hardware is the same between the two, however, differences include the FunKey Zero's inclusion of a headphone jack and its lack of a battery, Menu button, and the later improvements that allowed the FunKey S to attain a significantly higher refresh rate of 50 FPS.