Pinebook Pro Initial Impressions

[kunger]

How long does battery last till full discharge?

I'm afraid I don't have hard numbers on that. Given that the type of use will be different for each person. However, I used it off and on from noon until about 9pm last night and when I stopped using it, the battery was reading 5% with an hour left of run time. YMMV.

[Wizzard]

Very good, so it seems that 10 hours is not a problem. How do you like the speed? Web surfing, etc?

[neilman]

I too can report I have received my Pinebook Pro and can echo the "pass the parcel" packaging...

The Pinebook Pro was in a foam bag, inside a plain card board box, inside a bigger cardboard box, inside a big yellow jiffy bag inside the grey and yellow DHL bag.

Having seen references here to login credentials I used rock/rock from the start and set WiFi and clicked on the update script button (no updates available).

Keyboard and screen are definitely nice though a bit more brightness would be nicer - I did notice the screen has a nasty habit of going dim after 10 seconds - can't see where to fix that as there's no reference to it in the screensaver?
Also need to scale up the font a bit - need to figure out how.

Added CUPS and Aisleriot Solitaire through software manager.
The process was noticeably faster than the regular Pinebook however when done...

Tried to launch solitaire - it says "starting" but nothing happens.
Tried to launch Chrome - it starts ok with a blank screen but putting this forum address in never gets there - just a blank tab and anticlockwise spinning donut
Tried Firefox - that did start ok and I got this forum ok. Started to prepare this subject but after a few minutes Firefox crashed.
I have restarted Firefox several times and even with no input it crashes after a few minutes.

So 10/10 for hardware but 3/10 for software - what am I doing wrong?

[kunger]

I have noticed a slight lag sometimes when first trying to go to a website using chromium and firefox. However, they both do work once they're fully loaded... for me at least.

Maybe make sure you're connected to WiFi before starting up the browsers?

[jabo]

After a few more hours of getting comfortable with the laptop I would like to have seen markings on the F1-3 keys letting me know which ones kills what along with a notification light.

A Fn Lock would be nice as well since I tend to use the volume controls and brightness more than the Function keys when browsing, etc.

Changed the push to click to tap to click.
The trackpad doesn't always register right click when using 2 fingers to tap. It will always recognize right click when clicking the trackpad in the lower right corner.

I have removed the bottom cover from the laptop and if anyone is reading this be careful of the back corners. They have plastic spacers for the rear corners near the monitor the screws will go through when you reassemble. Try not to loose those.

Not sure how to post pics here but I will as soon I know how.

[PakoSt]

...

Tried to launch solitaire - it says "starting" but nothing happens.
Tried to launch Chrome - it starts ok with a blank screen but putting this forum address in never gets there - just a blank tab and anticlockwise spinning donut
Tried Firefox - that did start ok and I got this forum ok. Started to prepare this subject but after a few minutes Firefox crashed.
I have restarted Firefox several times and even with no input it crashes after a few minutes.

...

Maybe if you try to start Firefox and solitaire from the terminal it will be easier to get some logs which will point to the issues in question?

Not sure about Chrome but I would give Chromium a go instead (the base version without the multiple Google additions)

I haven't used Xfce for awhile now, I would try to check the power management settings instead of the screensaver for the dimming.

Congratulations on getting your PBP! I'm waiting for the second batch to get mine

[neilman]

Update to the chrome problem... Edit: I do mean chromium as activated by the icon bottom left of the screen

I changed the CPU speed from 400 to 1420 MHz and that seems to have fixed Chrome.
Firefox still crashes after a few minutes use - even from the opening screen.
Solitaire still "starts" but then disappears with no other indications - I will try removing and reinstalling it.

I have a USB-C to HDMI (display port) adapter lead. Used in conjunction with my TESmart KVM's USB lead it works brilliantly with the Pinebook Pro.
Things look so much better on a 27-inch screen.

Next to see if I can get a networked Epson XP830 printer installed on this thing.

[Luke]

@neilman the reson for the Chromium crash running from terminal is that you have to run it with a bunch of flags to enable all the acceleration and custom settings. Check the launcher for details.

The screen going dim is a something in power settings I believe - go into power settings -> battery and poke around. I think there is a toggle for 'dim screen to preserve power' or something to this effect.

No clue about solitaire.

3/10 ...  for software? really?

[edit] to further improve Firefox and Chromium performance, you can cache to RAM instead of eMMC. This obviously will eat into the RAM.
[edit 2] if you have any input regarding software or encounter further issues - make sure to report here.
[edit 3] try out one of the other builds and see if you like something better

[neilman]

@neilman the reson for the Chromium crash running from terminal is that you have to run it with a bunch of flags to enable all the acceleration and custom settings. Check the launcher for details.

The screen going dim is a something in power settings I believe - go into power settings -> battery and poke around. I think there is a toggle for 'dim screen to preserve power' or something to this effect.

No clue about solitaire.

3/10 ...  for software? really?

[edit] to further improve Firefox and Chromium performance, you can cache to RAM instead of eMMC. This obviously will eat into the RAM.
[edit 2] if you have any input regarding software or encounter further issues - make sure to report here.

Ok yes sorry 3/10 my gut reaction when "simple" stuff seems to be against me - it will be much better when it and I are suitably updated.

Since I bumped the speed up to 1.42GHz chromium is working like a champ, rock solid no problem.
Screen brightness was two battery power tickboxes to untick - reduce background brightness and dim display when idle.
But, since putting the screen on max brilliance the battery level drops fast.
Put it on charge but brightness needs to be turned way down for battery level to increase while running.

Solitaire still broken.
Firefox still crashes after a few minutes.
Printer - had to install printer configuration package from software management now trying to find a PPD for my printer

Not using command line for anything - all functions triggered from system menus.

[Luke]

@neilman the reson for the Chromium crash running from terminal is that you have to run it with a bunch of flags to enable all the acceleration and custom settings. Check the launcher for details.

The screen going dim is a something in power settings I believe - go into power settings -> battery and poke around. I think there is a toggle for 'dim screen to preserve power' or something to this effect.

No clue about solitaire.

3/10 ...  for software? really?

[edit] to further improve Firefox and Chromium performance, you can cache to RAM instead of eMMC. This obviously will eat into the RAM.
[edit 2] if you have any input regarding software or encounter further issues - make sure to report here.

Ok yes sorry 3/10 my gut reaction when "simple" stuff seems to be against me - it will be much better when it and I are suitably updated.

Since I bumped the speed up to 1.42GHz chromium is working like a champ, rock solid no problem.
Screen brightness was two battery power tickboxes to untick - reduce background brightness and dim display when idle.
But, since putting the screen on max brilliance the battery level drops fast.
Put it on charge but brightness needs to be turned way down for battery level to increase while running.

Solitaire still broken.
Firefox still crashes after a few minutes.
Printer - had to install printer configuration package from software management now trying to find a PPD for my printer

Not using command line for anything - all functions triggered from system menus.

The LCD will drain a lot of the power when at full brightness, yes. At full brightness the laptop pulls 10W while at 50% just 6W. Regardless, for battery levels to be accurate you'll need to discharge it some 3 times.