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For the past few years, Chinese retro PC maker 8086YES! has been building and selling odd little computers that pack decades-old processors and other classic components into modern bodies designed for mobile computing.
We’ve seen handhelds and mini laptops with Intel 8088 chips and a couple of other models with 386 SX compatible processors and even FPGAs configured to work like Zilog Z80 chips. The latest entry is the Pocket8086 mini-laptop which is compatible with 8086, 8088, NEC V20, or NEC V30 chips. It’s available from Tindie for $145 or from AliExpress for $217 and up.
The Pocket 8086 launched in late 2024, but somehow I missed it until CNX Software recently published an article about the little retro machine.
While 8086YES! says the system is compatible with four different chips, it seems like it actually ships with an NEC V30 processor, which is a 4.77 MHz – 10 MHz, XT-class 16-bit processor that’s pin-to-pin compatible with Intel’s 8086 processor. But if you’d prefer to use one of the other supported processors, you can remove the NEC V30 and replace it with a V20 or an Intel 8086/8088 processor.
The mini laptop features a 7 inch, 800 x 480 pixel IPS LCD display that supports 16:9 and 4:3 aspect ratios (you can use it as a 640 x 480 pixel screen), a cramped QWERTY keyboard. It has 768 KB of RAM, support for CompactFlash Cards for storage, stereo speakers, support for VGA output, and a set of classic ports and connectors including a PS/2 port for a mouse or keyboard, 8-bit ISA expansion bus, and parallel ports, and a 3.5mm audio jack.
It has a TVGA9000i display chip with 512KB of video memory, a modified version of the IBM PC-XT 05/08/85 BIOS, and an integrated mouse control function that lets you use the arrow, question mark, and shift keys to navigate even if a mouse isn’t plugged in.
There’s a 4,000 mAh lithium ion battery inside, and the system has a transparent plastic body that measures 210 x 110 x 32mm (8.3″ x 4.3″ x 1.3″).
The Pocket8086 is basically what you get when you take 40-year-old hardware and combine it with modern display, battery, and other components… and take advantage of the fact that it’s a lot easier to build or source tiny PC components these days than it was when XT-compatible hardware was new.
While this machine is clearly aimed at retro enthusiasts rather than modern PC users, with support for DOS 6.22 and Windows 3.1, it could be a retro gaming system or word processor (although reviews suggest that the keyboard is pretty awful, so maybe this isn’t the best choice for extended typing sessions).
You cannot replace V30 with V20! Please correct the article! They are not pin-compatible.
V20 is a drop-in pin-compatible replacement for 8088, offering 80188 instruction set and increased performance.
V30 is the same for 8086. But 8086 and 8088 were never pin compatible and cannot be used interchangibly.
If you look closely at the board, it has a jumper on the board that seems to switch circuitry between V20 and V30. It also directly states it in the original article.
This is just more Instagram syndrom e-waste – grab an old PC from a dumpster, or even better, just set up an emulator to run 16-bit OS to play around (and quickly realize there isn’t much to do at all other than stare at big blocks of pixels).
But zoomer kids are yearning for aNAloG mines!
I love seeing these DOS laptops. But honestly, this generation of hardware isn’t useful or interesting to me.
I’m really waiting for something like this to release with a 486 CPU (even if it was powered by FPGA), and a 4:3 screen. I’d buy that in a heartbeat.
I’ve considered buying one of these kinds of machines in the past, but really, DOSbox (or virtualized elderly Windows) is so competent & convenient, it’s tough to rationalize the purchase, at any price. Lotsa options for this device, though, which is kinda nice.