
Linux on the GPD Pocket 7 - wolframio
http://medium.com/@tomac/qpd-pocket-7-the-return-of-the-hacker-netbook-fe9be1b02ebf
======
_joel
Am I the only one in thinking £469 (at least in UK) is expensive for what it
is?

~~~
detaro
Kind of, but if that's the form factor you want there isn't much in the way of
alternatives as far as I know. (small tablet + external keyboard + one of
those projects to run GNU/Linux userland on Android?)

And the linked sale price is 433 € with shipping to Germany from a location
inside the EU (so no import duty), that's a bit better than your quoted price.

(EDIT: adjusted price, didn't update properly)

~~~
neilalexander
The Gemini PDA is another such alternative in development:
[https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/gemini-pda-android-
linux-...](https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/gemini-pda-android-linux-
keyboard-mobile-device-phone)

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jbeard4
I backed this project on Indiegogo, and the Windows 10 unit that I received
does not implement sleep correctly, so the battery drains excessively while
the unit is suspended with the lid closed. After about a day suspended, the
battery is fully drained. This limits its usefulness as a mobile unit, as I
have to power off the unit between uses. I emailed GPD support, but did not
receive a response. They are a very small company.

Other than that, it's been a pretty nice device for development. One of the
nice features is that it's so small, I don't have to stow it during airplane
take-off and landing, and can continue programming throughout. The keyboard
requires some getting used to, though.

~~~
mmjaa
I had the same issue with mine regarding suspend-mode, but since moving to
Linux haven't had an issue with it at all. Great little machine, and wonderful
to have a full-blown Linux workstation in this form factor.

~~~
jbeard4
This is good to know. I haven't tried the Ubuntu respin, but will plan to do
so soon.

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pjc50
This thing looks adorable. It has the Apple-style metal case rather than the
more common plastic, and the ad copy at [https://www.gearbest.com/tablet-
pcs/pp_613003.html?lkid=1122...](https://www.gearbest.com/tablet-
pcs/pp_613003.html?lkid=11226317) is basically "what if macbook, but in
handbag"

~~~
mmjaa
I've been waiting for a Unibody-style Linux workstation since .. well, since
the tiBook. And now that there is a viable contender for this space, I'm
packing up my MacBook and getting ready to retire it: Linux is finally
available on decent hardware.

(That said, I really look forward to the GPD Pocket II, if and when its
available .. there are definite improvements that can be made, such as the
keyboard layout..)

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jankotek
Finally decent replacement for Psion 5 MX. It only took 20 years :-D

~~~
dcminter
This might be more to your taste: [https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/gemini-
pda-android-linux-...](https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/gemini-pda-android-
linux-keyboard-mobile-device-phone)

~~~
stuaxo
Hopefully that will work out, but it is by the people who did the Spectrum
Vega handheld, which has been a debacle. With any luck the people doing that
project didn't syphon the money out, but it's seeming unlikely at this time.

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jabot
I thought about buying this, but was put off by the tiny keyboard.

Also, I already have a perfectly working dell xps 13 with linux, so this would
really be more of a luxury item.

~~~
mmjaa
The keyboard is .. okay .. it does take some getting used to, and you will be
cursing at it for at least a week, but if you get real work done on it you'll
get over this issue after a bit of usage. Its really quite viable.

~~~
stuaxo
Not sure why DEL is huge and backspace half size.

And the grouped keys is a little hard to get used to.

If they licensed the tech for Psions fold out keyboard for the next version I
would probably have to upgrade.

~~~
mmjaa
I have no problems remapping DEL/Backspace (like all keys in Linux - easily
remapped) but what really keeps tripping me up is the CAPSLOCK/A situation ..
I hope they fix that on the next release.

Over on /r/gpdpocket there is a thread discussing alternative layouts of the
keyboard - so its quite possible that this will be community-optimised for the
next release.

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digi_owl
A decade ago i would have moved mountains to get hold of one of these, i have
owned a eeepc 901, a Nokia 770, and a N800. But these days my first though
goes to having to deal with the bikeshedding and musical chairs that is modern
day Linux userspace, and can't help thinking it will be a big time sink for
little gain...

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sschueller
I was all in on this until I saw the location of some of the keys. Especially
under Linux use, I need the tab in a good position

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cup-of-tea
So there isn't actually a Linux version available, and if it does become
available it will be more expensive? Why?

~~~
wolframio
Rumor is that Windows 10 installations on mobile devices are highly subsidized
by Microsoft, which is why WIntel tablets are cheaper compared to same specs
android equivalents.

~~~
MrMember
This is from a few years ago but if it still holds true Windows is free on
smaller devices.

[https://www.theverge.com/2014/4/2/5574146/microsoft-
making-w...](https://www.theverge.com/2014/4/2/5574146/microsoft-making-
windows-free-on-devices-with-screens-under-nine)

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dharma1
Pixel C, with a keyboard cover, on paper would be a good device for Linux, it
has a Tegra X1 which is a pretty decent SoC with a great GPU. You can even run
some basic Tensorflow models on that GPU, it's the same as Jetson TX1.

Nvidia has Linux for Tegra, but not sure if the final hardware enablement was
ever done for Pixel C.

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jhongy
Baytrail tablets aren't so bad with Linux now either (they were a right pain
when released). My t100ta runs Arch perfectly with everything working (well)
other than the camera. It was cheap, the keyboard dock is decent, and it feels
like a great natural successor to the original eeePC.

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cujic9
I've been looking for something like this for a while. The Asus C101
Chromebook with GnuRoot Debian for a chrooted Linux has done a satisfactory
job. Small, light, reasonable keyboard, and flips into a tablet.

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ajarmst
I have difficulty conceiving of anything that lacks a full-size keyboard as a
'hacker PC'.

~~~
Zibri
totally agreed

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_Codemonkeyism
Reminds me of my Toshiba Libretto.

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TomasD
A windows key?

~~~
jabot
You can buy a tux sticker and put it on the windows key.

There are some companies that sell them, e.g. getdigital:

[https://www.getdigital.eu/Key-Sticker-
Tux.html](https://www.getdigital.eu/Key-Sticker-Tux.html)

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otabdeveloper1
Neat idea, except that it doesn't actually run Linux and most likely never
will.

~~~
ekianjo
What do you mean? There are official Ubuntu images for the device.

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KGIII
The article seems to indicate that it doesn't have official images but a
hacked together version and a future version will be released soon.

~~~
ekianjo
No, it's not true. There are official images released since a month ago or so.
The diffs are even available on github.

Proof:
[http://www.gpd.hk/news.asp?id=1519&selectclassid=002002](http://www.gpd.hk/news.asp?id=1519&selectclassid=002002)

Don't take everything for granted. It's not because someone writes about
something that they have researched the subject.

~~~
mmjaa
Plus, the 'hacked together' version is really just normal Ubuntu with a kernel
configuration tweaked specifically for the GPD Pocket, and .. it RUNS GREAT!
So, don't worry Linux newbies, this really is a wonderful little pocket Linux
workstation ..

~~~
otabdeveloper1
> Plus, the 'hacked together' version is really just normal Ubuntu with a
> kernel configuration tweaked specifically for the GPD Pocket

No. It's an unsupported code dump of patched kernel code:
[https://github.com/253647445/Pocket-Ubuntu-
kernel](https://github.com/253647445/Pocket-Ubuntu-kernel)

Needless to say, nobody is every going to merge or ever update this.

~~~
mmjaa
You're confusing terminology to make it all seem bad and nasty, but really its
not: Ubuntu is there, it runs great. Use nexus511's kernel to boot it, get
proper support for the GPD Pockets' devices.

End of problem.

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mschuster91
Looks nice - but can it play Youtube without having to close everything else
on the system?

I've been badly burned by "netbooks" powered by Atom CPUs... nice battery life
but forget opening Facebook or Youtube, and the ultra low screen resolution
doesn't help either when web sites are designed for FullHD+ monitors.

~~~
morganvachon
> _" Looks nice - but can it play Youtube without having to close everything
> else on the system? I've been badly burned by "netbooks" powered by Atom
> CPUs... nice battery life but forget opening Facebook or Youtube"_

You should have no issues, the Atom used in these is not your 2010 PIII based
Atom, it's a modern part that can handle the modern Web.

> _" and the ultra low screen resolution doesn't help either when web sites
> are designed for FullHD+ monitors."_

If 1920x1200 is "ultra low screen resolution" then what do you consider high
res? The GPD has higher resolution than my 27" 1080p display, and I have to
turn up magnification on that just to be able to read comfortably on most
sites.

~~~
opencl
The early Atoms weren't P3 based, they were an original low-power design and
actually quite a bit slower than the P3 at similar clockspeeds. Though a lot
of the unpleasantness of using those machines was more from the extremely
anemic GPU which has also improved considerably since then.

Here's a benchmark comparison between the Atom used in the EeePC 901 (N270 @
1.6Ghz), the GPD Pocket (x7-Z8750 @ 1.6Ghz), and a 1.1Ghz P3:
[https://www.cpubenchmark.net/compare.php?cmp[]=2968&cmp[]=13...](https://www.cpubenchmark.net/compare.php?cmp\[\]=2968&cmp\[\]=1381&cmp\[\]=614)

The P3 is slightly faster than the old Atom in spite of the lower clock, and
the new one is over 2x as fast single threaded and over 7x as fast
multithreaded.

~~~
haikuginger
> Though a lot of the unpleasantness of using those machines was more from the
> extremely anemic GPU which has also improved considerably since then.

Specifically, the GMA950 that didn't have hardware video decode for H.264,
which was already the mainstream choice for any Internet video. Combined with
the anemic in-order Bonnell core, it was dead on arrival for most uses
involving any sort of video. Some netbooks even came with a separate Broadcom
PCIe card whose only purpose was hardware video decode.

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nnq
Why would _anyone_ want a device of such inconvenient size for a human being?
This size seems optimized for _a falcon (superhuman eyesight) with huge
pockets._ I thought these were extinct.

You'd want it either _< =4.5" so it fits comfy in a normal person's pocket_
(5" phones are bearable but incredibly annoying), or _> =10" to be able to
actually see stuff on the screen_ (ever tried one of those horrible 6-8"
tablets?). Heck, even most women's purses can accommodate a 13" device
easily...

~~~
staz
> (ever tried one of those horrible 6-8" tablets?).

Yep and I loved my nexus 7 and Shield K1, so....

edit: not to mention that most Kindle are at that size too...

