Hi Russ, thanks for diving this deep into our product! We are so sorry for the speaker😟, yours definitely has an issue because it isn't supposed to crackle even at full volume. Thanks especially for taking the time to show the ecosystem around the FunKey S (documentation, wiki, github, discord), and even going as far as trying out the homebrews/emulators made by the community, and showing how to use the instant action, transfer games, change buttons... 🙏! Appart from the speaker issue that is really unfortunate we understand what you liked less. Our product aims to compete with the really tiny handhelds like the pocketsprite or GameGear micros and be sturdy and pocketable enough to be worn on an actual Keychain. To achieve this size we've had to make some sacrifices, like the audio jack, micro usb instead of USB-C, controls as wide as possible thanks to this clamshell shape but still less big than a standard size console. These are still very good points we hear loud and clear and we already have plans to release wider versions for the future. Hopefully soon ☺️.
Hi thanks for the feedback! I purposefully avoided other reviews when making my video, so I didn't realize that the speaker wasn't supposed to sound like that :) You've done an admirable job with this little device! It's completely understandable that concessions had to be made in order to make a device this small.
I would pay a lot of money if you made something in the same form factor but larger to the point where it is actually usable as a handheld. The V90 needs some competition and your company could easily make a larger version of the FUNKEY S (FUNKEY L? L for large) and profit. Maybe even do the anbernic thing and release metal variants for more money. This GBA SP form factor is a huge untapped market among the Chinese handhelds.
Just hopping in here to say the build quality, interface and open-ness are very attractive and I have spoken to multiple folks in the community who would be interested to see a larger model without those concessions, myself included. Keep up the great work
I personally don't have an interest in a tiny device like this, the RG280V is small enough, but the level of quality in terms of presentation, ease of use, open source, and documentation that FunKey brings to the table are qualities sorely lacking in the retro handheld space. If FunKey ever has plans to do a more normal sized handheld in the future, I'd be more than happy to support such a device.
I'm a backer and I agree a lot with what you're saying. It's really cute and fun but I wouldn't recommend sitting down and playing it for multiple hours in a row. I personally like to use mine in short 5-10 minutes bursts when I'm at work and need a quick distraction.
If these kinda devices had a proper sleep mode without exiting out of games so you can pop back into a game instantly, they'd be fantastic. Unfortunately the lack of that feature kills the usefulness in my experience with the pocket go anyways :/
@@wdcegtjdh that’s what it listed on google but I’m too lazy to look deeper. Either way, like everything else it’s actually probably manufactured in Shenzhen, even if designed elsewhere.
I can't justify the price. It's a cool showpiece and conversation starter just wish they could have gotten the price a bit lower. Also not being able to play with game sounds without getting an ear bleed from that speaker sucks. Would love to see this company make a more traditionally sized handheld in the future. With all the documentation they provided and it being open source I think FunKey and the community could make something special.
I think your speaker is simply broken. My FunkeyS has no crackling at all. There is like a highpitch sound, while charging and some distortion at most with some games. But that crackling sounds broken.
I think the buttons are great! Try rotating your thumb instead of moving it. I can even play PS1 games on it pretty well. I love mine, great for waiting in lines. I can keep it in my pocket, and I used it while I was waiting for Comcast to run Fiber in our office. My Sony Vita and RG351MP are my primary emulation devices.
After hearing Mario's voice in the recording of the Super Mario 64 OPK, I'm almost certain that the audio issue is a defect with the speaker. In the case of my device, the speaker only crackles in rare instances at 90% or 100% volume in games with tracks that have high frequencies.
Thanks yeah I think it is defective. I hadn't watched any other review videos before making mine, so I didn't realize that others were having nice audio. I guess that's the price I pay for wanting to do my reviews without any outside influence!
The funkey S has L2 and R2 buttons: you have to press FN key then L1 for L2 function and R1 for R2 fuction, yes weird combo but it does have it, ive confirmed it on mine :) also you can choose to power it down with the top middle button as well as turn it on, so far these are only things ive found, but will update if i find more
I’m mainly getting this to play all the old Pokemon games so i think I can live with the smaller form-factor, I’m just really hoping that the audio isn’t defective like your one.
I love this little device. I have a bunch of different emulation devices, but this one is the most fun to show to my friends. It always gets a reaction. And its design is just prefect
I've seen other videos of the audio not being an issue for some people. I think the one he got was defective. Too bad about the button gameplay though. Still might get one though for the nostalgia and portability. I feel like my friends would love to see it.
these types of reviews are great because it's more honest and talks about more of the bad parts as well as good parts, unlike IGN which probably gets paid by the game to rate them. that's why there's so much 9/10 because they don't want people to be suspicious
I like this little console. It's certainly not meant for serious gaming, but it's well made and has good performance, so I like to play for a few minutes in between. It's also great that the FunKey shuts down and saves by simply folding it up. Thus very discreet to use in critical situations ;) Such a function would be desirable for the Powkiddy V90.
That is really a useful function. If I had this thing when I was in school, I would've been so happy. Bored during a pointless class? Just pull this baby out and grind a little bit of Pokémon.
I'd definitely be interested in a follow up to this device. give it a proper 4:3 screen even if it's still 240p, a teeny bit more performance and a headphone jack then you have me sold
I feel like your speaker might be messed up. Mine and others I see online don't have crackle on any games I've seen. Maybe when you changed the buttons out something went wrong?
I want to get one for my stress relief bag. I think it's perfect for someone who struggles in public and needs something to distract from all the lights and sounds while on a packed train ride home. You can literally take it anywhere even if you don't have pockets. Pro tip: it fits in an apple air pod sized case so if you do take it around on a keychain put it in one to be safe.
They really dropped the ball when placing only one speaker mono in this device and to then hear that it sounds like it has a blown woofer, and then no stereo headphone jack, bummer. SMH! Otherwise, it looks excellent for its size. I am grateful you mentioned how the buttons are too close to play games well, hence I'm skipping this item for now. Great video!
@@ungratefulmango The gray one with the SNES style layout button is gonna be awesome! Also, I already bought a leather (apple airpods) casing for mine. Anyway, a lot of people in this channel seem to be put off by this device but for me, this thing is incredible! :)
@@marvinflores8796 Yeah a lot of negative opinions here, which isn't surprising. If you just want ergonomics, this device obviously isn't for you. I also got a little case designed for Airpods and it works pretty well. Very protective
@@ungratefulmango Yeah. Also, the speaker in Russ' unit might be defective don't you think? It's the first time I've heard those cracklings and I've watched every video of this device on CZcams since early this year.
Placed it on my must-buy list. Had to check this video, just to make sure. Seven minutes into the video and BAM! "Bad speaker". No problem, I told myself, as I always play this kind of device with in-ear headphones. ...Then came the fatal blow: "no audio jack". Yep! Crossed this one out of my list. LE: can you test a micro USB to Jack?
The Micro-USB port is only configured for data transfers and charging, though as others in the comments have pointed out, his speaker likely has a defect, as my FunKey S doesn't make those crackling sounds.
A bit of a tangent, but IMO assuming they can get past any legal and technical hurdles, the next desirable step for these retro handheld systems is to develop their own unified online market like Steam, PSN, Nintendo Eshop, Play Store, App store etc. specifically for retrogame systems (I know some of them can run Android and access the Play Store but not all of them and the games wouldn't be made from the ground up for these retrogame systems) wherein developers can release their games for free or for a fee. I'm speaking purely from a consumer's perspective so feel free to educate me if this idea is implausible at the moment.
Received my FunKey S today and didn't experience any issues with the speaker crackling. I hope the FunKey Project people eventually fixed your issues. After a few hours of playing around with it I'm impressed. Sure, its size makes it unfit for extremely twitchy action games, but playing slower paced retro games like strategy titles, puzzle titles or RPG's is a blast. I even booted up my favourite version of Tetris (Tetris DX on the GBC) and was racking up points very easily. It won't replace my RG351v anytime soon, but I'll be having this handy little thing with me everywhere I go, so I can always grab a quick 15 minutes of fun wherever I am. Oh, and I'm definitely trying to develop a simple game for this thing. I love the open-ness of it.
Ah I wish I knew about the audio more before I bought mine but that’s alright I got this while I sit at the doctors office since I’m disabled I’m constantly seeing doctors and I’m waiting for quite some time but I’m not able to carry something much larger than this so this fits that niche really really well.
I think there might actually be something wrong with that speaker. Most of the reviews I've seen the sound was weak but legible with no major crackling and you could clearly hear it over person talking. None of them sounded anything close like that, and I'm pretty sure a few of them showed the volume range. Micro devices like this and the Game Gear Micro are interesting. They are a novelty, but you also expect a level of functionality as well. They kind of feel like collectable Jordans - and they need to be well made and function as shoes, but you never intend on actually wearing them.
Yeah your sentiment is true to an extent. I usually play on something else, but every now and then, I pull this thing out. It's just perfect for GBC emulation and it is *so* *damn* *compact*
Paper/cardboard is much better for carbon emissions and ocean health than plastic. You should be happy that the device is small and therefore uses less plastic
Seeing that the exterior shipping label lists it as coming from France and not China, I think it's like that due to it being a review unit. My backer device was shipped with the device packaging box in just one exterior box wrapped in a plastic sleeve, which helps to protect it during shipping.
I don’t want to bash on it, it’s a relatively good device but for that price range I actually am more inclined towards my RG351P. Great video as always nonetheless 👍🏼
Thank you for sharing your experience. This device was well thought out, I see this with the manual and all. Yes, the company should make one that is big hands friendly, bigger screen, Bluetooth headphones, heck, iId buy one instead of some other console I have seen.
In a few years this will be around 20-30$ not including if you can somehow find a deal to have this on a set of key with your car is just a nostalgic flex or even at the same price 75-80$ with better materials for the screen and speaker, and possibly more games.
I'm looking forward to playing RPGs on this when I get mine. Tony Hawk, Aladdin - I wouldn't expect something really action oriented to be very playable on this size
I have yet too see a real gaming phone with the physical buttons, thumbsticks and touchscreen with the front facing camera and pocketable size that can turn all the way like the duo.
Does the S stand for small? If so, does that mean this portable will be available in different sizes like FunKey M, FunKey L, and FunKey XL? I'd love to have one with at least a 3 inch screen and a resolution of at least 320x240. The FunKey S looks awesome, but it's too small for my hands.
Yeah, that's absolutely a broken speaker. Have you played other handhelds that actually sound that bad or something? Personally, I prefer to travel light with only what I can carry in my pockets and my keychain. My pockets are already taken up, so that leaves my keychain, and this is the best device that fits on my keychain. I found a good use for it.
The TrimUI had similarly bad sound, but not as bad as this. I suspected it was defective but hadn't watched any other videos because I didn't want to be influenced by others. As soon as I watched a couple other videos I was like, "what the heck?!".
The shining features of this device is the overall user experience and hardware quality. This company is doing it right with software usage experience, documentation and open source OS. If they can scale their processes and experience to other devices, they will go far! Though I will say that speaker is trash. Seems like a defect maybe? Seems like a perfect pokemon player.
If they ever release a Funkey S 2: ::Bezel-filling 4:3 60hz screen ::HDMI out ::Built in Bluetooth/WiFi for controller pairing, firmware updates/artwork scraping
*Would you say...* this is good for simple Atari/NES games for 5-10mins? I think the screen is not good enough for SNES or PS1. Why not do 320x240? They had space...
I love mine for GB and GBC games. Wish either they'd make a larger version with the same software - or that someone could make an RG351 device work like the Funkey S does. The simplicity is simply king. Firmware update? Just mount it as a USB drive and put the firmware file on the root directory of the USB drive. After unmounting, the Funkey S installs the update. Similarly, you can simply switch through the scaling/stretching options available with a hotkey - no need to configure anything by hand.
Now at the end of your video, I have to reiterate: Yes, I truly hope they'll make a version 2 about the size of the Powkiddy V90, which I also have. If the Powkiddy V90 had the software setup of the Funkey S plus the auto-save/turnoff/restart functionality, it'd be a near perfect GB/GBC/GBA machine.
Thanks for the very honest review. Lots of gushing reviews of this out there, with people breezing over the godawful sound and waving off how quickly your hands get crampy playing it with 'you aren't meant to play it for a long time'. This thing would be a gimmie at the toy price of $30-40, but $75 is getting into some real money. The tiny form factor is a novelty, but not one that really pays for itself because something like the PowKiddy or the Anbernic fit into a pocket just as easily and will actually be more fun to play in the line at the grocery store or while waiting for the dentist. The only thing I'll give this guy is that the autosleep when closing the clamshell is neat af, but really these days lots of devices offer a sleep function.
If only the V90 had a sleep mode. If Anbernic, with their hardware quality which features a true sleep mode, did something in the GBA SP form factor, I'd gladly pay 100$ for it.
As much as I would love to get this little sucker, I probably would struggle in recognizing the screen activity correct, as I am quite farsighted, due to my older age. And not having a headphone jack is also a negative for me. Maybe, somewhere in the future, they will do an updated model, a little bit bigger and with a headphone jack, - maybe a funkey m ;) - then I would order one.
I feel that this device really isn't worth that price at all, even as a collectors item. The few negatives are really big issues that I feel hindered this device. Neet idea though.
There are things that are so small I'm worried I'll loose if I put them down. But this is not nearly as big as those things. I'm afraid I'll loose this somewhere in my palm if I look away.
Another great review I agree with everything you said. It's an amazing piece of kit, but the v90 is the smallest size I can use. It's just too small. Just a shame isn't v90 gba sp sized and I'd snap it up. The v90, is horrible at snes emulation but is a great gba sp emulation device.
I've watched a few other reviews of the device and their speakers sound considerably better than yours. I believe you may have gotten a defective speaker or may have a loose wire or something.
I would think this would be a great gift for a small child. $75 to me does not sound high for how well developed it is. $75 is like two and a half new vinyl records.
Cheers Russ. $75 ? No I can't see it ... no really I can't, it's around here somewhere, side of the sofa? dog bed? Who knows. Seriously though, lots of good as you highlight but when a 5 year old says it's too small ... well, enough said. Nice colour though. :)
I'm disappointed in no headphones as well as the audio is too quiet, but I dont get crackling issues like yours even at full volume, I wonder if your unit was defective maybe? Fair review I will say in my experience I found it comfortable enough to play and do reach for it quite a bit, even if just to play for 20 or 30mins at a time... It never got too frustrating but my expectations were never high either, I found playing the zelda, Mario, and sonic games all a lot of fun even if I died a bit more often cause of control (but you do get used to it) I would never play any fighting games or for speed running purposes or even to expect the same "nostalgic" feeling of playing these games as by original means...
Hi Russ, thanks for diving this deep into our product!
We are so sorry for the speaker😟, yours definitely has an issue because it isn't supposed to crackle even at full volume.
Thanks especially for taking the time to show the ecosystem around the FunKey S (documentation, wiki, github, discord), and even going as far as trying out the homebrews/emulators made by the community, and showing how to use the instant action, transfer games, change buttons... 🙏!
Appart from the speaker issue that is really unfortunate we understand what you liked less. Our product aims to compete with the really tiny handhelds like the pocketsprite or GameGear micros and be sturdy and pocketable enough to be worn on an actual Keychain. To achieve this size we've had to make some sacrifices, like the audio jack, micro usb instead of USB-C, controls as wide as possible thanks to this clamshell shape but still less big than a standard size console.
These are still very good points we hear loud and clear and we already have plans to release wider versions for the future. Hopefully soon ☺️.
Hi thanks for the feedback! I purposefully avoided other reviews when making my video, so I didn't realize that the speaker wasn't supposed to sound like that :)
You've done an admirable job with this little device! It's completely understandable that concessions had to be made in order to make a device this small.
I would pay a lot of money if you made something in the same form factor but larger to the point where it is actually usable as a handheld. The V90 needs some competition and your company could easily make a larger version of the FUNKEY S (FUNKEY L? L for large) and profit. Maybe even do the anbernic thing and release metal variants for more money. This GBA SP form factor is a huge untapped market among the Chinese handhelds.
Just hopping in here to say the build quality, interface and open-ness are very attractive and I have spoken to multiple folks in the community who would be interested to see a larger model without those concessions, myself included. Keep up the great work
I too would pay for a larger version of this clamshell cutie.
hey guys are there ever any sales? on your device? where is the best place to get one? Im on limited funds due to the pandemic
I personally don't have an interest in a tiny device like this, the RG280V is small enough, but the level of quality in terms of presentation, ease of use, open source, and documentation that FunKey brings to the table are qualities sorely lacking in the retro handheld space.
If FunKey ever has plans to do a more normal sized handheld in the future, I'd be more than happy to support such a device.
Buy a gameboy advance sp lmao
I'm a backer and I agree a lot with what you're saying. It's really cute and fun but I wouldn't recommend sitting down and playing it for multiple hours in a row. I personally like to use mine in short 5-10 minutes bursts when I'm at work and need a quick distraction.
If these kinda devices had a proper sleep mode without exiting out of games so you can pop back into a game instantly, they'd be fantastic. Unfortunately the lack of that feature kills the usefulness in my experience with the pocket go anyways :/
@@derpcon4212 the funkey has that
Thanks for the extended video incl. teardown.
Interesting handheld if you ask me 🤔
Hello
Package from 𝙲̶𝚑̶𝚒̶𝚗̶𝚊̶ France!
For me, it's not. It's a false good idea ( une fausse bonne idée )
@@wordsmith451 it's a french console ?
@@wdcegtjdh that’s what it listed on google but I’m too lazy to look deeper. Either way, like everything else it’s actually probably manufactured in Shenzhen, even if designed elsewhere.
Literally want a regular sized one but with this mobo and the biggest battery they can fit it would be perfect
I can't justify the price. It's a cool showpiece and conversation starter just wish they could have gotten the price a bit lower. Also not being able to play with game sounds without getting an ear bleed from that speaker sucks. Would love to see this company make a more traditionally sized handheld in the future. With all the documentation they provided and it being open source I think FunKey and the community could make something special.
I agree it's more of a novelty, doesn't look very useful for enjoying games.
The speaker of his device is broken. My device didn't have this crackling.
@@adventureFAN I was just going by the size... pretty sure my fingers are a lot bigger too. lol
I think your speaker is simply broken. My FunkeyS has no crackling at all. There is like a highpitch sound, while charging and some distortion at most with some games. But that crackling sounds broken.
I also think that something is wrong with his speaker. My sound doesn't have that crackling.
Mine also does not have this distinct crackling sound.. Just the high pitched noise...
@@LarsZondervan Have you updated to the latest firmware version? V2.0.1 removes the high pitched noise.
@@cooliecoolster9594 yes I did. It removes the high pitched sound in the menu for me (unless your scrolling) and did not remove the sound in-game...
Ditto my funkey speaker does not sound like tbis
I think the buttons are great! Try rotating your thumb instead of moving it. I can even play PS1 games on it pretty well. I love mine, great for waiting in lines. I can keep it in my pocket, and I used it while I was waiting for Comcast to run Fiber in our office. My Sony Vita and RG351MP are my primary emulation devices.
After hearing Mario's voice in the recording of the Super Mario 64 OPK, I'm almost certain that the audio issue is a defect with the speaker. In the case of my device, the speaker only crackles in rare instances at 90% or 100% volume in games with tracks that have high frequencies.
Thanks yeah I think it is defective. I hadn't watched any other review videos before making mine, so I didn't realize that others were having nice audio. I guess that's the price I pay for wanting to do my reviews without any outside influence!
I am not gonna lie, having Atomic Purple as a color option was a HUUUUUUGE selling point for me.
If they made a normal sized GBA SP I’d buy it in a heartbeat! The SP is my favorite handheld ever, it’s perfect for me.
I'd love one that's like a little smaller. Somewhere between original SP and the Funkey
i like how this is almost like a cross between a gba sp and gba micro
There is one, made by kiddypow 👌
Powkiddy V90
@@Streetsupra88 Miyoo just revealed a parent so uh. Might as well wait
Looking at the cpu spec and thinking this tiny device runs at 1.2 ghz and my first big pc was a 486 33 mhz...
Wow.. technology is crazy...
The funkey S has L2 and R2 buttons: you have to press FN key then L1 for L2 function and R1 for R2 fuction, yes weird combo but it does have it, ive confirmed it on mine :) also you can choose to power it down with the top middle button as well as turn it on, so far these are only things ive found, but will update if i find more
I’m mainly getting this to play all the old Pokemon games so i think I can live with the smaller form-factor, I’m just really hoping that the audio isn’t defective like your one.
v90 is much recommended in my opinion, it's larger but foldable too.
No it not
It's not
I love this little device. I have a bunch of different emulation devices, but this one is the most fun to show to my friends. It always gets a reaction. And its design is just prefect
Bought the retro gray Funkey s today. I'm working on my bucket list of games to beat, and this will help.
I like mine. Exactly fit my usecase with really nice sw.
Sound issue is fixed 99%.
Nice and honest review. Very informative! Keep up the good work
Thanks, will do!
My Original purple just arrived and I can definitely verify, this thing is bloody tiny. Fun as heck but omg tiny. Thanks for the content lad.
I got mine purely for the novelty. Have a RG351P also coming in as my main emulation handheld though
I've seen other videos of the audio not being an issue for some people. I think the one he got was defective. Too bad about the button gameplay though. Still might get one though for the nostalgia and portability. I feel like my friends would love to see it.
Bro I need this so bad, I collect small gaming consoles and this will look so good.
Can’t wait for a V2 that increases size a little to make it more usable.
hope to have this great stuff as soon as possible .... once again, the best reviews of retro game corps ...
Definitely a novelty, conversation piece. I can already feel my hands cramping up during long gameplay. Great review as always.
Yeah but that’s kind of the whole point it’s supposed to be an extremely small device that is actually good and can actually play games
these types of reviews are great because it's more honest and talks about more of the bad parts as well as good parts, unlike IGN which probably gets paid by the game to rate them. that's why there's so much 9/10 because they don't want people to be suspicious
One of the best reviewers. Another great video!
Wow, thanks!
I was hoping for you will do review on this device!
Happy days!
I like this little console. It's certainly not meant for serious gaming, but it's well made and has good performance, so I like to play for a few minutes in between.
It's also great that the FunKey shuts down and saves by simply folding it up. Thus very discreet to use in critical situations ;) Such a function would be desirable for the Powkiddy V90.
That is really a useful function. If I had this thing when I was in school, I would've been so happy.
Bored during a pointless class? Just pull this baby out and grind a little bit of Pokémon.
Russ you've been heaven sent for retro handheld gamers all over the world!
BRILLIANT REVIEW.
Thank you.
Just the size makes this awesome. Lol...great video as always
I'd definitely be interested in a follow up to this device. give it a proper 4:3 screen even if it's still 240p, a teeny bit more performance and a headphone jack then you have me sold
I feel like your speaker might be messed up. Mine and others I see online don't have crackle on any games I've seen.
Maybe when you changed the buttons out something went wrong?
Impossible
Yeah can confirm that. My device didn't have sound issues.
My Funkey S just landed today, and i really love it
I want to get one for my stress relief bag. I think it's perfect for someone who struggles in public and needs something to distract from all the lights and sounds while on a packed train ride home. You can literally take it anywhere even if you don't have pockets.
Pro tip: it fits in an apple air pod sized case so if you do take it around on a keychain put it in one to be safe.
Still waiting for mine 😂 great video buddy
Hopefully yours comes soon!
They really dropped the ball when placing only one speaker mono in this device and to then hear that it sounds like it has a blown woofer, and then no stereo headphone jack, bummer. SMH! Otherwise, it looks excellent for its size. I am grateful you mentioned how the buttons are too close to play games well, hence I'm skipping this item for now. Great video!
I have just got mine landed after a very long time and quit happy with it
Yey, Russ's intro music is gonna be stuck in my head again! So excited for mine, should be arriving next week. I got the Retrogaming Gray one! :)
I went for the purple (Gamecube style) one and I kinda wish I chose the grey.
@@ungratefulmango The gray one with the SNES style layout button is gonna be awesome! Also, I already bought a leather (apple airpods) casing for mine. Anyway, a lot of people in this channel seem to be put off by this device but for me, this thing is incredible! :)
@@marvinflores8796 Yeah a lot of negative opinions here, which isn't surprising. If you just want ergonomics, this device obviously isn't for you.
I also got a little case designed for Airpods and it works pretty well. Very protective
@@ungratefulmango Yeah. Also, the speaker in Russ' unit might be defective don't you think? It's the first time I've heard those cracklings and I've watched every video of this device on CZcams since early this year.
@@marvinflores8796 Yeah my unit has no issues at all with audio. Initially, there was a high pitched sound, but it got fixed in an update.
I still want this.
Placed it on my must-buy list. Had to check this video, just to make sure. Seven minutes into the video and BAM! "Bad speaker". No problem, I told myself, as I always play this kind of device with in-ear headphones. ...Then came the fatal blow: "no audio jack". Yep! Crossed this one out of my list.
LE: can you test a micro USB to Jack?
The Micro-USB port is only configured for data transfers and charging, though as others in the comments have pointed out, his speaker likely has a defect, as my FunKey S doesn't make those crackling sounds.
A bit of a tangent, but IMO assuming they can get past any legal and technical hurdles, the next desirable step for these retro handheld systems is to develop their own unified online market like Steam, PSN, Nintendo Eshop, Play Store, App store etc. specifically for retrogame systems (I know some of them can run Android and access the Play Store but not all of them and the games wouldn't be made from the ground up for these retrogame systems) wherein developers can release their games for free or for a fee. I'm speaking purely from a consumer's perspective so feel free to educate me if this idea is implausible at the moment.
Received my FunKey S today and didn't experience any issues with the speaker crackling. I hope the FunKey Project people eventually fixed your issues.
After a few hours of playing around with it I'm impressed. Sure, its size makes it unfit for extremely twitchy action games, but playing slower paced retro games like strategy titles, puzzle titles or RPG's is a blast. I even booted up my favourite version of Tetris (Tetris DX on the GBC) and was racking up points very easily.
It won't replace my RG351v anytime soon, but I'll be having this handy little thing with me everywhere I go, so I can always grab a quick 15 minutes of fun wherever I am.
Oh, and I'm definitely trying to develop a simple game for this thing. I love the open-ness of it.
I get the novelty, but I am not gaming on a sub 2inch screen personally but I get some people like that.
Ah I wish I knew about the audio more before I bought mine but that’s alright I got this while I sit at the doctors office since I’m disabled I’m constantly seeing doctors and I’m waiting for quite some time but I’m not able to carry something much larger than this so this fits that niche really really well.
Mine had a blown speaker, I got a second unit and the audio was fine, so you should be okay!
@@RetroGameCorps Ohh! I'm glad it got resolved then and Yay! :D Mine comes in May so I'm excited!
I think there might actually be something wrong with that speaker. Most of the reviews I've seen the sound was weak but legible with no major crackling and you could clearly hear it over person talking. None of them sounded anything close like that, and I'm pretty sure a few of them showed the volume range.
Micro devices like this and the Game Gear Micro are interesting. They are a novelty, but you also expect a level of functionality as well. They kind of feel like collectable Jordans - and they need to be well made and function as shoes, but you never intend on actually wearing them.
Yeah your sentiment is true to an extent. I usually play on something else, but every now and then, I pull this thing out. It's just perfect for GBC emulation and it is *so* *damn* *compact*
Change the speaker for one of those used in Cybershot type cameras! They're tiny and sound pretty good for their size!
Gosh darn cute. Sold.
I’m not an eco-warrior or anything, but that box in a box in a box is like a middle finger to trees.
Paper/cardboard is much better for carbon emissions and ocean health than plastic. You should be happy that the device is small and therefore uses less plastic
Seeing that the exterior shipping label lists it as coming from France and not China, I think it's like that due to it being a review unit. My backer device was shipped with the device packaging box in just one exterior box wrapped in a plastic sleeve, which helps to protect it during shipping.
@@cooliecoolster9594 yeah mine was just the box inside Bubble wrap packaging
I don’t want to bash on it, it’s a relatively good device but for that price range I actually am more inclined towards my RG351P. Great video as always nonetheless 👍🏼
Thank you for sharing your experience.
This device was well thought out, I see this with the manual and all. Yes, the company should make one that is big hands friendly, bigger screen, Bluetooth headphones, heck, iId buy one instead of some other console I have seen.
Oh my God ! How lovely )))
I’d be interested in a larger version of this handheld.
I was waiting for this one thanks huge.
In a few years this will be around 20-30$ not including if you can somehow find a deal to have this on a set of key with your car is just a nostalgic flex or even at the same price 75-80$ with better materials for the screen and speaker, and possibly more games.
Ah, it's such a shame the sound is so poor and that it didn't have a headphone socket otherwise I'd have perhaps got one, thanks for the review!
so small it's essentially unusable
terrible speakers
micro usb
$75
SUCH a good review!! Thanks!!!!!!!
You can never have too much purple!
Yall need this as much as you need a box of donuts.
I'm looking forward to playing RPGs on this when I get mine. Tony Hawk, Aladdin - I wouldn't expect something really action oriented to be very playable on this size
I think you may have some problem with your speaker, because in some other videos it sounds pretty decent, definitely not broken as yours do!
Yeah, I think mine's defective. I wasn't sure at the time because I purposefully didn't watch any other reviews, and then I noticed it afterwards!
I have yet too see a real gaming phone with the physical buttons, thumbsticks and touchscreen with the front facing camera and pocketable size that can turn all the way like the duo.
Does the S stand for small? If so, does that mean this portable will be available in different sizes like FunKey M, FunKey L, and FunKey XL? I'd love to have one with at least a 3 inch screen and a resolution of at least 320x240. The FunKey S looks awesome, but it's too small for my hands.
Yeah, that's absolutely a broken speaker. Have you played other handhelds that actually sound that bad or something?
Personally, I prefer to travel light with only what I can carry in my pockets and my keychain. My pockets are already taken up, so that leaves my keychain, and this is the best device that fits on my keychain. I found a good use for it.
The TrimUI had similarly bad sound, but not as bad as this. I suspected it was defective but hadn't watched any other videos because I didn't want to be influenced by others. As soon as I watched a couple other videos I was like, "what the heck?!".
@@RetroGameCorps I see, that's an admirable goal. Thanks for the response!
They need the funkey xl. I'd buy that version lol
If they do FunKeyS XXL its was great ... but yes its a nice and quality nini handheld.
Haha, an XXL would be pretty funny.
I've seen a few other reviews and they def didn't have that audio issue... Looks like you've maybe got a faulty speaker unfortunately.
The shining features of this device is the overall user experience and hardware quality. This company is doing it right with software usage experience, documentation and open source OS. If they can scale their processes and experience to other devices, they will go far! Though I will say that speaker is trash. Seems like a defect maybe?
Seems like a perfect pokemon player.
Yeah I think my speaker is defective.
@@RetroGameCorps Maybe that's an excuse to get another and give this one to the kids haha
this man ruthless to his kids lmao 17:08
If they ever release a Funkey S 2:
::Bezel-filling 4:3 60hz screen
::HDMI out
::Built in Bluetooth/WiFi for controller pairing, firmware updates/artwork scraping
I’d say USB-C (including video out) instead of HDMI, no need for a dedicated port for video, plus you could use USC-C headphones or an adapter.
*Would you say...* this is good for simple Atari/NES games for 5-10mins? I think the screen is not good enough for SNES or PS1. Why not do 320x240? They had space...
Imagine if they would have had use a USB and bordless screen with bigger resolution? Crazy
I love mine for GB and GBC games. Wish either they'd make a larger version with the same software - or that someone could make an RG351 device work like the Funkey S does. The simplicity is simply king. Firmware update? Just mount it as a USB drive and put the firmware file on the root directory of the USB drive. After unmounting, the Funkey S installs the update. Similarly, you can simply switch through the scaling/stretching options available with a hotkey - no need to configure anything by hand.
Now at the end of your video, I have to reiterate: Yes, I truly hope they'll make a version 2 about the size of the Powkiddy V90, which I also have. If the Powkiddy V90 had the software setup of the Funkey S plus the auto-save/turnoff/restart functionality, it'd be a near perfect GB/GBC/GBA machine.
Thanks for the very honest review. Lots of gushing reviews of this out there, with people breezing over the godawful sound and waving off how quickly your hands get crampy playing it with 'you aren't meant to play it for a long time'. This thing would be a gimmie at the toy price of $30-40, but $75 is getting into some real money. The tiny form factor is a novelty, but not one that really pays for itself because something like the PowKiddy or the Anbernic fit into a pocket just as easily and will actually be more fun to play in the line at the grocery store or while waiting for the dentist. The only thing I'll give this guy is that the autosleep when closing the clamshell is neat af, but really these days lots of devices offer a sleep function.
Thanks for the feedback, Allen. I agree the sleep/clamshell mechanism is brilliant. I’d love to see this company make a normal-sized device :)
I prefer the Powkiddy v90 because Is small,confortable and start with a lot of emulation and games, and the price is the half of this
If only the V90 had a sleep mode. If Anbernic, with their hardware quality which features a true sleep mode, did something in the GBA SP form factor, I'd gladly pay 100$ for it.
Nice overview of the device. Where would I be able to get a battery replacement after the battery degrades?
As much as I would love to get this little sucker, I probably would struggle in recognizing the screen activity correct, as I am quite farsighted, due to my older age. And not having a headphone jack is also a negative for me. Maybe, somewhere in the future, they will do an updated model, a little bit bigger and with a headphone jack, - maybe a funkey m ;) - then I would order one.
Separate button dpad :(
I hope I get this for Christmas
Imo looks like a mini gba sp
and i love the look
🤔...Soooooo intriguing...💯✔
I feel that this device really isn't worth that price at all, even as a collectors item. The few negatives are really big issues that I feel hindered this device. Neet idea though.
Yeah, too tiny and too weak, gettint closer to ideal though. I love those clamshell designs.
that speaker is unacceptable and from another decade
There are things that are so small I'm worried I'll loose if I put them down. But this is not nearly as big as those things. I'm afraid I'll loose this somewhere in my palm if I look away.
It is very tiny! Charming and uncomfortable :)
Another great review I agree with everything you said. It's an amazing piece of kit, but the v90 is the smallest size I can use. It's just too small. Just a shame isn't v90 gba sp sized and I'd snap it up. The v90, is horrible at snes emulation but is a great gba sp emulation device.
I've watched a few other reviews of the device and their speakers sound considerably better than yours. I believe you may have gotten a defective speaker or may have a loose wire or something.
Maybe wait for the metal shell version right? 😂😉
Seriously though, defo one for the collector.
But excellent video as usual 👍
Wicked shared this video... awesome handheld ;)
Honestly that speaker sounds broken, especially since I don’t think any other reviews had that problem
Yeah I think mine is defective. I didn't realize it at the time of filming, but now that I've watched other peoples' reviews I'm definitely seeing it!
My go-to emulation device is a hacked PSP Go.
I would think this would be a great gift for a small child.
$75 to me does not sound high for how well developed it is. $75 is like two and a half new vinyl records.
Did you ever make/get dig working on any of your android hand-held?
Cheers Russ. $75 ? No I can't see it ... no really I can't, it's around here somewhere, side of the sofa? dog bed? Who knows. Seriously though, lots of good as you highlight but when a 5 year old says it's too small ... well, enough said. Nice colour though. :)
If they had an input jack for Audio I’d buy it ... Epic fail
Buttons would drive me crazy but cool concept device
Before getting this myself, is it possible to download Final Fantasy Tactics Advance for this? That’s the main game I’d want to play
Yep, just tested it and it works fine.
Ouh I don't have this sound issues
I'm disappointed in no headphones as well as the audio is too quiet, but I dont get crackling issues like yours even at full volume, I wonder if your unit was defective maybe? Fair review I will say in my experience I found it comfortable enough to play and do reach for it quite a bit, even if just to play for 20 or 30mins at a time... It never got too frustrating but my expectations were never high either, I found playing the zelda, Mario, and sonic games all a lot of fun even if I died a bit more often cause of control (but you do get used to it) I would never play any fighting games or for speed running purposes or even to expect the same "nostalgic" feeling of playing these games as by original means...
I gladly would buy one if there was a model with a 2'4" screen at least, something between this and the v90