Mecha Comet – Open Modular Linux Handheld Computer

[yjftsjthsd-h]

So... what's the OS situation? From a glance at https://github.com/mecha-org/linux -> https://github.com/mecha-org/linux/commits/imx/lf-6.12.20/ it looks like they're starting from a 6mo-old kernel (6.12.20 vs current LTS 6.12.67 and current stable 6.18.7). Is there any reason to expect upstreaming or even just consistent updates, or is this yet another device that will ship with an old-ish kernel and never get updated again?

[shoaibmerchant]

Creator here, thanks for highlighting this.

We are currently following the NXP IMX downstream kernel, that is why you can check the 'imx-' prefix on our branch, their releases follow 6 months after the LTS release. NXP IMX 6.18 will release roughly by end of March, when it does you will see us updating to 6.18 as well. By the time we ship, we mostly likely will be shipping 6.18.

Now we do intend to upstream, we've even got mainline u-boot to start working with the device albeit the display. We were waiting for the hardware configuration to be stabilized before we submit the device trees and start actively working on mainline support. It won't happen overnight but you will see our documentation clearly defining how far we are from the mainline. Also to add here, compared to other SOCs, NXP already has very good mainline support.

[Fnoord]

This is why I went with a Hackberry Pi CM5 [1]. I insert the CM5 I want to, and there's that.

It comes with a good, proven BB keyboard. No option for GPIO pins or gamepad module, but I don't need such anyway. Instead, what I have in it is a USB hub which fits nicely in the side.

Unfortunately, the RPi CM I had lying around were CM4 with eMMC or CM5 w/o WiFi/BT. So I bought a new CM5, with 16 GB RAM. That was end of last summer. I'm not sure I'd bother now, given the RAM prices which surely affected CM5 prices. Actually, I should probably sell those for profit, since they're not doing anything.

[1] https://github.com/ZitaoTech/HackberryPiCM5

[backscratches]

For what its worth the kickstarter page states: > Our software support will be officially available till 7 years, our SOC is supported till 2036. Community support could last even longer.

[lloydatkinson]

You’re probably right. Seems these appear every couple of years with much hype and then the business behind them conveniently goes out of business.

I learned my lesson with this niche market after CHIP: https://www.linux-magazine.com/Online/Features/Exploring-the...

These clowns didn’t even tell anyone they went out of business, it took someone going to their listed address in person who found the office had been completely gutted to get ready for the next tenant.

[solomonb]

Stumbled across this thing a while back and thought it looked really cool but I have never been able to come up with an idea for how I would use it so I haven't pledged.

I want to want it but I fear it would just sit on my desk. Does anyone have cool ideas for uses?

[Layogtima]

Added this y'day to make it easier to understand use-cases,

https://mecha.so/comet#use-cases

I'll add pictures/videos of the examples we've internally tested in a bit!

[Fnoord]

On the bottom of the website, several use cases are mentioned. It is a fairly robust list of examples.

Anything with USB-A is neat with this type of device. For example, a LimeSDR USB would work (even a uSDR for M.2, though I'd wait for the successor).

For Kali, I sport a GPD Pocket 2, and that works well, but I'm in the process of switching that to my Hackberry Pi CM5.

Still, I bought that end of last summer. I honestly would not buy any computer right now. The RAM prices are simply insane.

[jibbers]

I’d love to see a click wheel attachment for input, then it could become a neo-iPod.

[bsimpson]

Same.

Looks rad, but I have a Legion Go which I can play any game I want and tinker on. This seems like it would be a worse version of that, but also not a useful phone replacement.

[c0wb0yc0d3r]

It’s not exactly cool but mobile media server and tool box. Knowing I have tools I can trust in my pocket is nice. Being able to travel and watch my shows without setting up a vpn is double nice.

[mikestorrent]

I made a really cool cyberdeck. It sits on my desk.

[metalman]

looks like it would be great for making calls, texting, and emails, taking pictures, and looking at web sites, listening to music, and watching video, when not creating the software for a lunar lander.

[pkphilip]

I kinda wish it could be used like a smart phone with a GSM module.

[deadbabe]

Small gimmicky computers seem to attract so much attention and people who can’t help themselves but buy it, play with it for a while, then toss it into a drawer and never use it again.

[theothertimcook]

I feel personally attacked!...

You are right though, ive loved tinkering especially some if the cool linux based handhelds but i always come back to mobile/tablet because my limiting resource is time and android/ios kinda just works.

[AdeptusAquinas]

Too late backed it at maximum tier all extensions....

No idea what I'm going to use it for, possibly as a mobile Kali setup or something

[t-3]

A powerful-enough pocket computer that can run a "real" OS with good input is the holy grail. Specialized types (gaming platforms mostly) seem to be converging on a few specific designs, but full general-purpose computers with keyboards etc still haven't really produced a "good enough" model. I used my GPD Win 2 daily when I was traveling often and frequently found myself in situations where it wasn't convenient to carry or use a full laptop due to weight/size, and even that thumb keyboard is 10000x better than a touchscreen keyboard in termux etc. There's definitely a niche to be served by either a better design or reimagining of the interface.

[bdcravens]

Any screenshots or videos of it running? All I'm seeing are renders. As someone who has been burned by crowdfunded "engineering" (where something seems good on paper, and then there's a year or two of posts about all the challenges that were "unforeseen" before a heartfelt postmortem) I feel like that's a requirement.

[shoaibmerchant]

Creator here,

There are a bunch of them added to the Kickstarter page, check them out!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mecha-systems/mecha-com...

We are updating them on Kickstarter

[codybontecou]

They showcased it at CES 2025 and it looks like here's a hands on review of it at that state - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oQ0l2ghmcc

[Layogtima]

Added a bunch to Overview and Use Cases;

https://mecha.so/comet#hardware

https://mecha.so/comet#use-cases

Bunch more are incoming as do more tests, will add them in soon

[matricaria]

This reminds me of Phonebloks from 13 years ago.

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phonebloks

[jayd16]

Or Project Ara

Or Moto Z

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moto_Z

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Ara

[Fnoord]

Jolla's TOH (The Other Half) which is back in their latest reincarnation [1].

I have to say though: I like the communication of the Mecha Comet team here (and the UI). I wish them the best.

[1] https://forum.sailfishos.org/t/the-other-half-returns-commun...

[Nursie]

I remember that!

Reminds me also of Motorola's attempt to have a hardware-expansible phone a few years ago, the Moto Z range and Moto Mods.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/gadgets-computers-software/25...

Obviously this is much more open than the proprietary moto-z stuff.

[stevefan1999]

I wish we can have the low power Intel or AMD chip rather than ARM :( the distro fragmentation in ARM and my distaste for uboot makes me hard to press the buy button.

[rgun]

Can you please elaborate on what kind of problems you have faced with uboot?

[bsimpson]

Website's a bit weird. The app icons highlight when you hover over them, but don't seem to do anything.

They've got a grab-bag of unrelated Linux etc. org icons - Nix, Debian, postmarketOS, Node, Kubernetes… You could argue that someone _could_ run Nix or Node on it, but Debian is just nerdbait. It's not relevant to the product they're selling, unless you're gonna wipe the disk and support it yourself.

[Layogtima]

Ah, sorry, that's on me; some of the links are still not active. (It's been a mad week!)

Could you tell me which section it was? I'll fix it

[backscratches]

The OS for it was entirely based on Debian stable. They recently switched to a fedora build. I think the whole idea is you can put any OS on it you want!

[WillAdams]

This project is currently seeking funds (and is funded) on Kickstarter:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mecha-systems/mecha-com...

(and the super early bird rewards are all gone)

I might be interested if I weren't still waiting on the Soulcircuit Pilet to ship....

[Realman78]

I’m planning to build something like this over the next few months. Think Nintendo 3DS-sized, but as a tiny laptop. The goal is extreme portability while still being able to program on it reasonably well.

I travel a lot and manage servers, so I’ve been wanting a dedicated “SSH machine” that I can always carry with me. With how good AI tooling has gotten, doing real work on a tiny device is suddenly very viable. The other day I SSH’d into a box from my phone while I was at the gym and just told Claude Code to fix a Kubernetes manifest issue. It was fixed and deployed in under two minutes.

I mentioned this idea at work and a few coworkers immediately said they’d buy one if it existed. Curious what others think.

[IgorPartola]

My first and last Android phone was the Motorola Atrix, which at the time was supposed to be quite good. One of its benefits was the idea that you could pop it into a laptop type dock and have it act as a terminal of sorts.

You can also slap a keyboard onto an existing phone. I have tried vibe coding via ssh from my iPhone and honestly it’s not terrible at all. Instead of doom scrolling I can build things.

[tpah8]

I’ve been looking at some tiny laptops. The GPD Micro PC2 is one of my favorites so you can take inspiration from it.

[dpoloncsak]

I've been wanting to build something similar, but can't shake the feeling I'd just stick with the SSH client on my phone.

Any reason really to have a separate device for this?

[watusername]

Buyers beware: 4-core A53 is genuinely unusable (original Pinebook/PinePhone specs), A55 is better but I still wouldn’t recommend buying. You may expect performance similar to 15+ years old desktops.

[shoaibmerchant]

Creator here,

For the IMX8MP - The pinephone was 1.2 GHz, this is 1.8 GHz on all four cores. As far as geekbench goes it hits between the Pi 3 and Pi 4, faster EMMC and LPDDR4 gives it a bigger boost compared to the Pi 3. The PCIe 3.0 is also there. Yes it is not equivalent to a desktop use, but for a phone sized usecases, the processor has not been a bottle neck. The advantage you get is a battery life that goes 7 hours on idle with the display on, and on sleep it can go upto 8D and wake up instantly.

The IMX95 is 6x A55 at 1.8GHz but you can check the geekbench below, it matches the single core performance of Pi 4 and beats it at multi-core performance while offering LPDDR5. But at the same time, is only 15% more power hungry than the 8MP.

So the way we see it -

Pi 3 < Comet 8MP < Pi 4 < Comet 95 < Pi 5

Ref: https://browser.geekbench.com/v6/cpu/compare/15259040?baseli...

Edit: The IMX95 is 6-cores A55 and not 4-cores

[fsflover]

User of Librem 5 phone with this CPU here. It works fine as a daily driver. Firefox with Noscript works fine in desktop mode. See also: https://puri.sm/posts/the-danger-of-focusing-on-specs/

[jagged-chisel]

And what’s wrong with a 15+yo desktop? Light OS, get stuff done. Are we trying to run a Switch emulator on this thing?

[aeve890]

First time I heard about this project what's wrong with the CPU? I mean what makes it unusable?

[losthobbies]

I backed this on Kickstarter and have been following for a while. I am after a gadget to tinker with but still on the fence a little bit. It's about 300€ all in so I will see.

[sureglymop]

It's really cool but I just wish the display had a touchscreen.

[d--b]

I'll buy it when I see it working as a phone. Looks like phone support is an option here, but after I bought the pinePhone, I am wary it's not going to work.

[Schlagbohrer]

Strange to have this posted on Kickstarter and not on Crowdsupply or another open source hardware crowdfunding platform. But I suppose Kickstarter does have more reach.

[rudderdev]

Open Hardware + Open Software is good enough for me to hit the buy button. Seems like a good toy, I hope I don't lose interest within a month of buying.

[tcherasaro]

I am planning to build something similar as a hobby project except my idea is that Claude Code runs everything on the device for you.

[CrimsonCape]

Dude it would be so great to have a little device and you text it SMS messages as prompts. Then it just sits there and thinks away probably getting really hot lol.

[andsoitis]

will it have a screen?

[999900000999]

If this thing had a 5G modem it would be the perfect device .

A phone where I can install applications without asking Google for permission.

[RegW]

I'm a bit confused about if it does calls. It doesn't mention it for most of the page, but then says:

> DIY Phone

> Use the Comet and the Linux stack for calling*, messaging and mobile data as an alternate to your walled and closed smartphone. Contribute to the Linux ecosystem for mobiles.

So I guess this means it can, but it's not supported and you need to contribute the software. So perhaps it has the hardware, and perhaps it might work.

[dmos62]

This makes me feel good. Aching for a portable computing future where daily driver needs can be fully met via open tech.

[schromp]

so i see a nix logo on the website...

interesting would be if i can put nixos onto it but keep using their launcher...

[pipeline_peak]

So it’s a Raspberry Pi except now I can type Unix commands with my thumbs on a blackberry keyboard……ouch.

[tcherasaro]

LOL exactly! That's why I want to build something like this: https://x.com/TroyCherasaro/status/2016767340457980403