Pinebook Pro?

[Kochise]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXLdIYL30tw

Send him a Pro to test...

[Luke]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXLdIYL30tw

Send him a Pro to test...

We will : good overview of the original Pinebook too.

[brent.thierens]

I would love to see a bigger battery, is there physically space available underneath the touchpad? Can I just connect an extra LiPo cell in parallel?

[av8r1]

wudo

Will an ANSI keyboard be an option or will the Pinebook Pro be ISO keyboard only? I love everything else about the Pinebook Pro so far but every other computer I use has an ANSI keyboard

Speaking as someone who has had both ANSI and ISO keyboards as their primary keyboard, I wouldn't worry too much about that. It's very easy to get used to and even switching between them isn't much of an issue.

Another new guy here, saw Linus' video about the Pinebook and that led meanderingly to my finding this image: https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2019/01/pine...oming-soon of the Pinebook Pro.  A simple, straightforward ARM-based laptop with an ANSI keyboard layout only slightly ruined with that power key/delete key/backslash key/right ctrl key fiasco.  But the spec sheet calls for an ISO keyboard, and I find this:  https://imgur.com/a/zMmKBrq linked in this thread.

An ISO keyboard is a 100% dealbreaker for me.  If I get a row of backslashes every time I reach for left shift or pound/hash every time I go for Return, I'm gonna break the thing over my knee in under an hour.  I'm not going to pay $200 for the privilege of fighting decades of muscle memory all to save the inconvenience of undocking my main laptop two or three times a week.  I have a need for a small, cheap, low-power Linux laptop (basically, I want a battery powered bash shell with a physical keyboard) but ALL of them have ISO keyboards.  Not a single model of ARM Linux laptop conforms to the industry standards of my region.  I'm not even sure why these are priced in USD, surely Euro would be more appropriate?

[NSW]

Registered to keep up with developments of the Pinebook Pro and also to voice my disappointment for the switch to an ISO keyboard. I'm truly hoping you will reconsider or at least offer a model with an ANSI keyboard. ISO keyboards are not standard here and are a major deal breaker for me.

[Luke]

Look everyone, there are as many ANSI users as there are ISO users. We're not doing this to spite anyone - there is a very good reason for going with ISO; the chosen keyboard is much better quality than the ANSI keyboard we currently have access to.

Now, this is what I've written in response to some of the users in the news blog so I am pasting it below as not to repeat myself - hope this will put this discussion to rest:

Just had a talk about future ANSI keyboard options with TL Lim. The initial batches will ship with the ISO keyboard we’ve already selected (its really a good keyboard), but once the production volume increases with demand, with time we’ll revisit this subject and search for an ANSI keyboard (possibly also offer a US / EU keyboard choice in the store).

Just to make it clear, its ISO for the foreseeable future. Thanks for the feedback.

[naylo44]

I'm so hyped for this machine to come out! Is there a way to be notified when it will be available for purchase and to "lock in" that sweet 128GB eMMC upgrade?
Also, please tell me it ships to Canada!

[NSW]

Look everyone, there are as many ANSI users as there are ISO users. We're not doing this to spite anyone - there is a very good reason for going with ISO; the chosen keyboard is much better quality than the ANSI keyboard we currently have access to.

Now, this is what I've written in response to some of the users in the news blog so I am pasting it below as not to repeat myself - hope this will put this discussion to rest:

Just had a talk about future ANSI keyboard options with TL Lim. The initial batches will ship with the ISO keyboard we’ve already selected (its really a good keyboard), but once the production volume increases with demand, with time we’ll revisit this subject and search for an ANSI keyboard (possibly also offer a US / EU keyboard choice in the store).

Just to make it clear, its ISO for the foreseeable future. Thanks for the feedback.

Fair enough. I'll definitely keep an eye on the project for future releases, but i will have to find a different device to suit my needs for now. Quality and usability are two very different things, and this keyboard is unusable for me. Very disappointed.

Thanks for the reply and for the information.

[brent.thierens]

On several sites I read about an outer magnesium shell. However, I hope that the areas around the keyboard and trackpad are metal as well? Not only the bottom plate and the back of the screen?

[soupbowl]

the chosen keyboard is much better quality than the ANSI keyboard we currently have access to. 

Will it suffer from the original Pinebooks problem of needing to mash the keys hard to register a keypress?

My only complaints with the original was the keyboard and trackpad. with both being replaced, this should be awesome.