Photo: Evan-Amos · Public domain · via Wikimedia Commons
NEC TurboExpress
NEC · Released Dec 1990 · TurboExpress / PC Engine GT
A 1990 marvel that ran full TurboGrafx-16 HuCards on a crisp backlit screen — the most powerful handheld of its time, at a steep price.
Pros
- +Played the same HuCards as the home console — astonishing for 1990
- +Sharp, high-quality backlit screen
- +Arguably the most powerful handheld of its era
- +Optional TV tuner accessory
Cons
- −Extremely expensive at launch
- −Devours six AA batteries in a few hours
- −Ageing capacitors commonly fail today
What can it play?
Emulation performance by platform, based on real-world testing.
Full specifications
Hardware
- Chipset (SoC)
- HuC6280 + HuC6270 / HuC6260
- CPU
- 8-bit HuC6280 @ 7.16 MHz
- GPU
- HuC6270 VDC
- RAM
- 8 KB
- Storage
- HuCard TurboGrafx-16 / PC Engine HuCard
- Weight
- 320 g
- Dimensions
- 125 x 110 x 40 mm
- Cooling
- Passive
Display
- Size
- 2.6″
- Resolution
- Full TurboGrafx-16 output
- Panel
- Backlit colour TFT
- Refresh rate
- 60 Hz
- Touchscreen
- No
Battery & Connectivity
- Battery
- 2000 mAh
- Real-world life
- ~3 hours
- Wi-Fi
- None
- Bluetooth
- None
- Ports
- HuCard slot, 3.5mm headphone, TurboVision TV tuner
- Expandable storage
- No
Controls
- Analog sticks
- 0
- D-pad
- Yes
- Face buttons
- Yes
- Analog triggers
- No
- Gyroscope
- No
- Hall effect sticks
- No
Software & custom firmware
Ships with: None (HuCard-booted)
Also plays natively: TurboGrafx-16 / PC Engine HuCards
No third-party custom firmware tracked for this device.
Our verdict
The TurboExpress was almost unbelievable for 1990: a handheld that played the exact same HuCards as the home TurboGrafx-16, on a sharp backlit LCD. It was the most capable portable of its generation by a wide margin. The catch was a very high price, brutal battery consumption, and capacitors that fail with age — but as a technical achievement it stands tall.