
Pine64 Unleashes $200 Rockchip-Powered Pinebook Pro Linux Laptop - jrepinc
https://hothardware.com/news/raspberry-pi-rival-pine64-unleashes-200-pinebook-pro-linux-laptop#V7YJkhDrjbkSpcum.02
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mbreese
It should be noted that this is currently only available for a pre-order
basis, and only for people who joined their forums before July 1, 2019. As far
as I know there is no timeline for general public availability.

The first pre-order batch is only a run of 100 devices, and these were
reserved within the first 2 minutes of their pre-order window. The next batch
will be 1000 devices, but they haven't announced with those will be released
(right now estimated to be in reservation holders hands w/in 8-10 weeks)[0].
Hopefully they'll get an ANSI keyboard figured out sometime in the next few
months (but based on the forum posts, I don't think this is a high priority
for them at the moment).

Take home message -- this is really a pre-production machine at the moment. It
might be better to wait for later revisions.

[0][https://forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?tid=7752&pid=48104#p...](https://forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?tid=7752&pid=48104#pid48104)

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neilv
Direct links:

[https://www.pine64.org/pinebook-pro/](https://www.pine64.org/pinebook-pro/)

[https://store.pine64.org/?product=14-pinebook-pro-linux-
lapt...](https://store.pine64.org/?product=14-pinebook-pro-linux-laptop)

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aidenn0
Anyone know what the status is for mainline linux support for the rockchip
used in this? Last I checked things like USB3 didn't work in mainline and am
wondering if things have improved.

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24gttghh
>Small numbers (1-3) of stuck or dead pixels are a characteristic of LCD
screens. These are normal and should not be considered a defect.

I get that it's a $200 laptop, and it's open source which is commendable,
but... this disclaimer does not instill much confidence.

~~~
everdrive
This is pretty standard language for most warranties. Apple used to make the
same claim, although I'm not sure if they still do.

~~~
benj111
I'm pretty sure they can't disclaim that kind of thing, certainly not if
you're charging Apple prices. If you live in a country with actual consumer
protection laws of course.

~~~
everdrive
I'm telling you, this is simply standard. As I also said, I don't know if
Apple has more recently changed their policy, or sourced different screens.

Here's a quote from Asus:

"Since LCD panel is made up of millions of micro electronic pixels, if one
pixel no longer functions normally, it will become a bright or dark dot. By
ISO 13406-2 standards, ASUS conforms to the acceptance level between 3 to 5
defective bright/dark pixels. In order to deliver ultimate vision experience
to ASUS customer, if your panel is less than or equal to the above number of
dots, then, it is considered as an acceptable LCD monitor.In addition, the
Premium Range of ASUS LCDs offers a unique Zero Bright Dot (ZBD)
warranty.Please refer to ASUS LCD Monitor Bright/Dark Dot Warranty Table
below."

Your LCD display is possibly subject to replacement if it meets the criteria
outlined in Table 1:

[excerpt from Table 1]

Threshold for warranty replacement

Bright = 1 or more [pixels]

Dark = 6 or more [pixels]

And here's an older (2010) article which describes the policies of many
manufacturers, including Apple.

[https://www.tested.com/tech/1337-we-uncover-the-dead-
pixel-p...](https://www.tested.com/tech/1337-we-uncover-the-dead-pixel-
policies-for-every-major-lcd-maker/)

~~~
benj111
I don't dispute that they're saying it. You can't disclaim basic legal
minimums though.

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Havoc
Looks like the perfect burner laptop for those that feel the need for that
when visiting certain countries. Especially with

>PCIe x4 to m.2 NVMe SSD Slot (requires optional adapter)

An encrypted NVMe could in theory be mailed...

~~~
penagwin
> An encrypted NVMe could in theory be mailed...

Wouldn't this apply to any sneakernet medium? You can mail microsd cards,
harddrives if you wanted, etc.

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redwards510
Really want to pull the trigger on this, the Privacy Switches to disable
camera, mic, wifi at the firmware level appealed to me. If you search around
you'll find a video the creator made demo'ing skipless 1080p/4k video
playback. However, it's probably prudent to wait for some of the initial bugs
to get ironed out first.

They also claim to be making no profit off of these.

~~~
giancarlostoro
Wish they would let you donate an additional amount if its not making a
profit. I want to see them build more things. I kept wanting the former model
but they never got back to me on it. I put my email several times.

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RodgerTheGreat
Pretty decent specs for the price, but unfortunately it appears that they've
stuck with the same bizarre keyboard layout as the older iterations of the
Pinebook- take a look at where they map out the slashes and double-quote! The
layout of the physical keys would make it tricky to remap them to something
more familiar.

~~~
aidenn0
That keyboard is an ISO standard. Their recent blog articles have indicated
they will be offering an ANSI layout[1] once they find appropriate hardware.

1:[https://www.pine64.org/2019/06/06/june-2019-news-
pinephone-p...](https://www.pine64.org/2019/06/06/june-2019-news-pinephone-
pinebook-pro-and-pinetab/)

~~~
dmix
ISO looks like a Macbook keyboard. Haven't seen a laptop like the ANSI one
before in a long time.

~~~
aidenn0
What country are you in? My macbook keyboard definitely doesn't look like the
ISO one (the ISO one is the one with the L shaped return key).

~~~
dmix
Oh apologies I mean ANSI then. The caption on the picture in the above article
says "ANSI and ISO Keyboard Variants" which I assumed was left ANSI/right ISO,
but it's reversed I guess.

[https://www.pine64.org/wp-
content/uploads/2019/06/PInebookPr...](https://www.pine64.org/wp-
content/uploads/2019/06/PInebookPro_ANSIISO.png)

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siscia
I am very interested in this kind of product.

I wonder if there are any competitor in this market, especially European
competitor.

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beatgammit
I hope they fix the weight distribution. I watched a video about the original
Pinebook and the laptop tilted back when the screen went past 120deg or so. I
imagine it's because the internals are so small and clumped together at the
back, but it seems so annoying to have to hold it down while typing.

I'll likely buy one once they get an ANSI layout. I've been meaning to pick up
a RockPro64 for a NAS, but I decided the RAM wasn't quite enough to run ZFS
well, but I won't be needing that much RAM for a casual laptop.

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mrmondo
I was about to buy one as a spare, linux-only laptop, I was hoping they'd have
16GB-32GB RAM options (for a price of course), but they don't even have 8GB
let alone 16/32... they seem to be stuck with 4GB!?

That's not going to be much good for browsing modern Javascript heavy websites
and doing anything else at the same time let alone having a VM or a few apps
running in the background.

I'm all for cheap laptops for kids to learn on, basic word processing and
things but - this is going to struggle.

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derstander
I’ve been following the forums and more RAM is often requested. The Pine64
folks have stated that the SoC only supports 4GB RAM. I do wonder, though,
about the utility of pairing the rather modest compute capabilities of the SoC
with a large amount of RAM.

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cptnapalm
Disk cache. That's been the great benefit I've had from the excessive amount
of RAM I have in my laptop.

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grizzles
I bought a pinebook late last year. It's so terrible that I consider it
e-waste. I hope this new version is at least usable for folks.

~~~
aquabeagle
Why not sell or donate it if you have no use for it?

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grizzles
$20 + S&H if you want it.

IDK if I'd feel right donating it to anyone. Its that bad.

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jplayer01
This seems pretty cool. All I'm missing is an estimate of the possible battery
life.

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JohnJamesRambo
Can’t wait to read some reviews on this thing, sounds like exactly what I’m
looking for.

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ganzuul
I would be interested in seeing some glam shots of this product. Especially
interesting design details, if there are any. Confidence in build quality
feels important for portable devices.

~~~
thequux
I handled the prototype at FOSDEM this year. This may or may not have been the
final case, but it felt as solid as a macbook air; it had no discernable flex
even while holding it by a corner (better than my T460!). It did feel
disconcertingly light, but I suspect that many people may find that a feature.

That said, their table was always very crowded, so I didn't spend as much time
as I'd have liked examining it. I still bought one though

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Zenst
30 day warranty! Be nice to have an optional extra to increase that.

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apple4ever
Have they done any work on the software side? My experience has been that has
been terrible.

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jaytaylor
The battery sounds small, since it's only 2 or 3x that of my phone. Other than
that, what incredible specs for only $200!

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baybal2
10Ah * 3.7V = 37Wh

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krastanov
I am pretty sure you mean "Ah" (i.e. current * time, i.e. charge, not "A/h",
which is rate of change of current or second derivative of charge). Similarly
it is "Wh" (i.e. energy, i.e. "power * time", not "W/h" which is the second
derivative of energy).

~~~
baybal2
Thanks

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quickthrower2
I haven’t heard the three dead pixels are ok excuse since 2002, it takes me
back.

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NikolaeVarius
I'm almost tempted, been eyeing a chromebook for low power lightweight work.

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mrweasel
I might be a little old fashion, but I'd rather have the motherboard in an ATX
form factor, with a few PCIe slots.

