Solar-Powered Pocket Computing Finds New Life in the Orion PDA

Creator MVLab finished piecing together a device that feels pulled straight from an earlier era of portable gadgets. His Orion PDA slips into a pocket with ease yet packs enough capability to handle real tasks without pulling you into endless distractions. Anyone who remembers flipping open a small clamshell device will spot the resemblance right away, but this one adds modern touches like solar charging that keep it running longer outdoors.

The clamshell construction of the unit gives it a compact profile. When you open the device, the setup resembles classic pocket PCs, with the screen above and the keyboard below. The design is straightforward and does a good job of being useful, as it’s all about what fits in one hand while still feeling sturdy enough for frequent daily use.

Once open, the top half is taken up by a 3.16-inch Sharp memory LCD. The resolution is 536 by 336 pixels, and the color scheme is traditional black and white. It sounds so simple, but sunlight works wonders for it. The screen functions similarly to prior e ink displays, with the exception that it refreshes quickly enough to be smooth when browsing or viewing basic video in shades of grey. Direct sunshine makes letters stand out and does not drain battery power, so the more daylight you have, the more readable it is. It works OK indoors, but the screen really comes alive outside, while other devices with large bright screens struggle to keep up with glare.

A custom QWERTY keyboard appears beneath the screen, complete with the normal rubber domes and tactile buttons. The keys provide satisfying, substantial feedback, which is a welcome change after years of using glass-covered devices. Thumb typing comes effortlessly here, whether you’re jotting down a quick note or pounding out a lengthy entry. The top row has function keys that allow you to quickly access popular actions without having to navigate menus.

The Orion PDA is powered by a ST Micro STM32U575 microcontroller with a clock speed of up to 160 megahertz. This allows it to do everything from modify notes to play music without using a lot of energy. The storage is based on removable SD cards, making switching files and adding more capacity as simple as possible. When connected to a computer, the USB-C port allows for charging, data transfers, and even turning it into a mass-storage drive. There’s also an expansion interface just waiting for someone to make some cool add-ons, and Wi-Fi and LoRa modules are already in the works for anyone who wants to get that wireless thing going later on.

Audio is provided by a Cirrus Logic WM8904 DAC and a built-in speaker. There’s also a 3.5-millimeter jack to connect your own headphones or whatever else. The sound quality is surprisingly good, and it can even play clear music directly from albums stored on the SD card. A digital MEMS microphone under the keyboard allows you to swiftly record voice messages and save them directly to storage. Overall, this device becomes a fairly capable portable studio for writing down ideas on the go.

This device’s solar charging really sets it apart in terms of day-to-day use. There’s a panel on the rear that creates power from any light that strikes it, and an icon appears to let you know when it’s actively charging the battery. Combine that with a low-power display and what amounts to a low-power microcontroller, and you have a device that can stay working long after other electronics have died.

There’s no indication on price until the crowdfunding campaign opens, but given the DIY nature of this project, we expect it will be rather inexpensive. Anyone who prefers focused tools over trying to pack everything into their phone will understand the appeal right immediately.
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