Pinebook Pro?

[JimK]

I heard about the Pinebook Pro on Destination Linux this week, and their shownotes linked to the Forbes article. That's why I'm a new forum member; count me in. I have come to appreciate the form factor of my Asus Chromebook (originally purchased because it was "a tablet with a keyboard attached," not because it was a convertible "notebook"). But I find the lack of Linux apps, particularly LibreOffice Writer to be too restrictive. (No, mine isn't one of the ones designated to easily run Linux. And, yes, I use Google Docs, but you'd be surprised the number of times a doc set to "available offline" isn't available offline.) And battery life hasn't been as impressive as I had hoped. A PBP might fit the bill.

A Pinebook Pro might have additional advantages. I spend several months, on and off, each year in developing countries. At a US$200 price point, I wouldn't have to think too hard about pulling out the NVMe adapter and SSD and giving it to one of my friends overseas. I'd like to use one for a while, and, having proven its quality and durability, we might even think about doing some fundraising through our non-profit to buy some PCP for computer-less leaders in these countries. And it would be far less painful to lose a PBP to theft or robbery (I don't get to visit the "safe, tourist meccas" in these places) than it would to have a new $1K laptop ripped off.

I realize that there are no pre-signups for the PBP yet, but is there a mailing list signup that will allow us to receive an email notification once everything is in place?

[Luke]

About staying up to date on Pinebook Pro wh development progress (and all the other announced devices too): I will make sure to post new info under News in the General section when we have a better idea of the production start. If any changes are made to design - some minor things are considered - then I will make sure to post about that too.

You can also stay up to date by reading the chat logs or participating in the chat directly... most things get discussed there.

[pbcross]

I am currently using a HP Stream 14 with OpenBSD on it. Your features, the modular design, and just the cool factor got me hooked. Can't wait to get my hands on one of these to tinker with!

[MihaiBojescu]

Looking forward to the new PBP. It might suit me for some light work.

[filiphsandstrom]

Super excited for this!

[wolfen1125]

I have high hopes for the Pinebook Pro when it becomes available.  I had considered the original Samsung Chromebook Plus with the OP1 (basically a Google-certified rk3399 soc) as my daily driver about a year ago, but the Chromebook fan sites said ARM-performance was not on par with x86-64 and I was concerned about that.  Ultimately I chose an Asus C302 and haven't regretted it, but I recently bought a HiSense C11 with the rk3288 soc and only 2gb of ram to toy around with off of eBay (under $30) and it works fine for its intended purpose.  Having gotten a feel for ARM chipsets and how they work, I am a bit more comfortable making the jump now and the Pinebook Pro has some decent specs for a sub-$200 offering.  Even better, it comes with Linux from the factory, so count me in when they are ready.  I've got my money....

[nikongod]

I like many others found my way here through various media outlets reporting on this new laptop. 

I'm excited to be able to buy something priced like a chromebook designed to run free software from day 1

[Kochise]

Hi, just my 0.02 €...

Regarding this project : https://www.crowdsupply.com/eoma68/micro-desktop

1- It would be great to have the CPU on a SODIMM card like the SOPINE, better for upgrade path, reduce e.waste
2- Such cards, once becoming "obsolete", could be recycled on a cluster board
3- Backlit keyboard is a necessity, not just a feature (might lit up regarding to ambient light)
4- 4.3" touch screen instead of trackpad is a great feature, not a necessity (better than Touch Bar)

Regarding this project : https://mntre.com/reform/

5- The motherboard should have the more ITX compatible form factor (holes) to be reused in other projects
6- It should have another SODIMM slot to increase performance adding another CPU card (simple upgrade)
7- Peripherals/connectors on separate "mezzanine" boards (ie. https://www.96boards.org/products/)
8- If possible "extensions" like webcam should be replaceable with upgrades, old not thrown away

Advertise here :

http://armdevices.net/category/laptops/
https://www.linux-arm.info/index.php/laptop

Something else :

https://www.olimex.com/Products/DIY-Lapt...e-hardware

Concept notebook :

https://newatlas.com/concept-fujitsu-lif...013/21183/
https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/smart...red-laptop
https://www.razer.com/projectlinda
https://www.instructables.com/id/Smartph...ed-Laptop/
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/xfini...martphone/
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/and...a-laptop-f

Adreno driver :

https://github.com/freedreno/freedreno

Thanks for your attention.

Kochise

[Luke]

Thanks for the list of ideas Kochise,
Before going though them, lets me start with the TRES-A64; hardware wise its nearly identical to the original Pinebook (the Pinebook has a higher res LCD)...and it costs over twice as much.

As for the remaining points you've made and the ideas you offered up:
1- Adding a SOPine-like RK3399 module would greatly increase manufacture cost, and contrary to what you may think it would not improve upgradability over the current scheme where you will be able to exchange current mainboard (something I am sure current Pinebook owners will appreciate) for a new one with a upgraded SOC.
2- Not everyone buying the PineBook (Pro) has a clusterboard or even an interest in SBCs  - and related embedded applications. 
3- Two things about the backlit keyboard suggestion: i) backlit keyboards are great but surprisingly expensive (would drive BOM up a fair bit) and ii) the money that a backlit keyboard costs is better spent on more eMMC storage, better LCD, better components, etc., remembering that the target price for the unit is $200.
4- Seems like a total gimmick to me - personally I wouldn't want a TP LCD instead of a trackpad. What good does it do other than eat away at battery?

5- not possible due to case tooling; then there is the issue with backwards compatibility for current Pinebook users. I see this as a non-issue.
6- not sure what you mean by 'another SODIMM slot' - there are no SODIMM slots on the Pinebook pro (the max RAM the RK3399 supports is 4GB), and there really isn't a way to 'add' another SOC ... not sure I understand your point.
7-8- not really necessary IMO for what the Pinebook Pro is meant to be. As for replacement parts, as with the current Pinebook the Pro variant will surely also have replacement parts in the store eventually, so if you break the LCD or keyboard you'll be able to exchange just the one component that is broken.

Take away: bringing a well spec'd FOSS ARM laptop to the market is not simple and offering it at a (very) good price is crucial to its success. Many of the suggestions you offered would increase the BOM cost, which would lessen the interest in the device; in turn, fewer users would result in the dev community having a lesser incentive to actively develop for the PB Pro. The device is already very modular and, as is the case with the current Pinebook, if there will be new SOCs introduced in the future viable for laptop use, you will most surely have an upgrade option ...

[Kochise]

Thanks for the clear answers. I understand the $200 price tag, but :

1- was to avoid changing the whole mother board instead of just changing the "sopine", a "bundle" can be available
2- those having an interest into embedded could always get them refurbished / second hand from those who upgraded
3- adding a few led under the keyboard shouldn't cost that much more
4- yeah, that one was just for fun

5- if you add "ITX holes", maybe the motherboard can be fitted into a regular casing, for those interested
6- adding a slot/sodimm cpu to get a second hexacore cpu (doing smp clustering into the notebook for performance)
7- and 8- yeah, that also was to replace faulting parts with new ones without changing/dumping everything

Regarding this project : https://www.crowdsupply.com/sutajio-kosagi/novena

I think even a $300 price tag remains viable (come on, $300 for a FHD IPS hexacore 14" notebook, who would be that picky ?) for a little more versatile setting, allowing you not just fitting a Pinebook Pro case, but perhaps doing much more with the parts.

What about the idea to fit the PineTab in place of the keyboard to get a dual screen (dual cpu ?) notebook ?

Kochise