My RasPad arrived this morning and I’m very impressed after just a few minutes of checking it out.
I grabbed a Pi3 that has RetroPie installed on it and inserted it into the bay.
Loved playing SNES Galaxians at lunchtime!
Update October 13th 2018 - Dead RasPad
For a few weeks the RasPad was awesome. I had a Pi3+ installed and a wireless keyboard. I even used it for proper hands-on Node.js coding for NodeConf EU. But then it started giving power warnings and the battery level indicators stayed at zero. Then the Pi kept shutting down. It appears the battery is dead (or the charging circuit is). I can use the RasPad as a standalone display for an external Pi but it’s incapable of passing power through to an on-board Pi even when plugged into mains.
Whilst that’s disappointing, the complete lack of response from SunFounder Support after 2 weeks is much worse. And the comments on the KickStarter indicate that I’m not alone in having a faulty device with no response from Support. Hopefully they’ll sort this out and all will be well but I’d hold-off on purchasing for the moment if I was you.
Update November 2019 - I’m still alive
After several emails the RasPad team did reply to me last year and sent a replacement battery. That didn’t fix the issue. They then sent a replacement charging circuit which did! I’ve used it on and off since then and it really is great when it’s working. It was a lifesaver again at NodeConf EU 2019 when we had 300 Bangle.js devices to program. However it looks like the charging problem may be back. I’m getting less than one hour on battery at the moment.
So it’s a cautious thumbs up for the device. Hopefully they’ll sort out whatever the charging problem is, when they do an upgrade for Pi 4 compatibility.