Questions regarding the PineTab
#1
Hi all,
I tried reaching the Pine64 sales team multiple times via e-mail over the past year, but they never responded :/
I'm currently waiting for the PineTab to get back in stock again (I was happy to see that it got some attention during the last April update), but I'm also aware that it probably doesn't suit my needs in terms of performance.
I currently own an iPad Pro, but I want to get rid of it (it's the last device I own that runs a user-subjugating OS). I'm looking for a halfway viable FOSS alternative (I know that Apple is pretty much leading the tablet market, but hope dies last). The PineTab was the first GNU/Linux tablet I stumbled across, and it appears to be the only one.
I'd be happy if somebody could point me to some (more powerful?) alternatives that I can drop more money on.
Is the PineTab suitably for casual use (web browsing, writing text documents in Vim, etc.)? Can it handle a more bloated OS like GNOME? Does it have (GPU-backed) hardware acceleration?
Thanks!
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#2
I can't answer all your questions, but:

You might want to take a look at the wiki of supported devices for Postmarket OS.

Yes, it can run the Gnome DE. Several people have used Danct's minimal Arch image to install standard Gnome instead of Phosh.

Yes, it's viable for that kind of casual use.
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#3
I was just coming to ask the same question. I do not currently have a tablet and after the news that PineTab will still be a while before they come around I am looking for an alt until they do. I think my main use would be reading pdfs and ebooks, if support software is available, and light internet browsing. I still plan on grabbing a PineTab when they become available but I am at a point I don't want to wait.
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#4
(04-20-2021, 11:46 AM)tyerod Wrote: I was just coming to ask the same question. I do not currently have a tablet and after the news that PineTab will still be a while before they come around I am looking for an alt until they do. I think my main use would be reading pdfs and ebooks, if support software is available, and light internet browsing. I still plan on grabbing a PineTab when they become available but I am at a point I don't want to wait.
The good news about the ptab is that what works works well and it can be a lot of fun to work with and there are several OS that you can load and get a ton of personalization out of.
The bad news is, imho it launched early.

Most ios folks I know use iOS because they turn it on and they get to do whatever they want it to, then they move on.  Ptab is 180 degrees opposite.
Im not going to say anything overly positive or negative.

But I will point out something. I work full time in a trauma ctr as a system support analyst, plus I have a teenager in HS.  MY FREE TIME COMES IN PRE PLANNED BLOCKS.

  When mandreva Linux was having issues there were dozens of forums all over the world working on different  aspects, I was on the live image\system restore project.  You were tripping over folks developing this and that, with forums overflowing with info.


One of the sub forums here hasn't been updated since December......  Nuff said
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#5
Chuwi Hi 10X, Surface 3, surface Go, Surface Go 2, Dell Venue 8, Dell 7140, Thinkpad X1, and the HP Pavillion tablets all work completely with linux. I've either repaired or owned most of them. They are all X86 based, so don't expect as long a battery life on them as arm tablet can give you. There's an ubuntu touch port for the Lenovo m10, and Nexus 7 2013.

I recommend Manjaro Gnome because it's by far the best interface for a tablet other than Lomiri, in my opinion of course. Others may feel differently.
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#6
Hey rock2. Have you installed Manjaro gnome on the pine tab? Most of the other solutions you mentioned are too thick, but I do have a surface 3 I may want to ffr. I just keep putting it off.

J

Sent from my Lenovo YT-X705F using Tapatalk
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#7
(07-20-2021, 10:29 PM)rocket2nfinity Wrote: Chuwi Hi 10X, Surface 3, surface Go, Surface Go 2, Dell Venue 8, Dell 7140, Thinkpad X1, and the HP Pavillion tablets all work completely with linux. I've either repaired or owned most of them. They are all X86 based, so don't expect as long a battery life on them as arm tablet can give you. There's an ubuntu touch port for the Lenovo m10, and Nexus 7 2013.

I recommend Manjaro Gnome because it's by far the best interface for a tablet other than Lomiri, in my opinion of course. Others may feel differently.

Ok as someone with more hardware than common sense here's my 3 cts.
Pinetab launched way too early, I built a rpi4 tablet that is fugly, but does everything you need a tablet to do while running Linux. Hint it's actually an rpi400

The surface3 is much more productive than ANY windows device in my history and I've been an admin for 20 years.

That being said I bought a $200 return Asus laptop from woot through mint on it and it rocks.

It's not touchscreen and I don't play games, but for writing surfing and watching YouTube it's rediculously thin and has a battery forever.
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#8
(07-27-2021, 08:34 PM)mindwave Wrote: Hey rock2. Have you installed Manjaro gnome on the pine tab? Most of the other solutions you mentioned are too thick, but I do have a surface 3 I may want to ffr. I just keep putting it off.

J

Sent from my Lenovo YT-X705F using Tapatalk

Just saw this. You missed the tag so I didn't get notified. Yes, tried it or Postmarket with Gnome. It was a while ago. Wasn't a very stable build at the time. I've kept Arch on it ever since. Ubuntu Touch is slowly getting updates. So, it's an option.

Pinetab is kind of on the back burner for everyone right now.

@mindwave You'll be happy to know that the atomisp camera driver is being updated and made functional again. That will get the camera going on all those atom tablets out there again.
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#9
Surface Pro 3 running Ubuntu is a great portable option with decent stylus experience too. It's slightly too heavy to use as a tablet though. I was hoping this was where the PineTab would shine but I've yet to settle on a preferred setup due to lack of free time. Booting into Sailfish was probably the best tablet UX (as expected) but the browser was broken, I'd like to revisit this now that Waydroid is available and compare to Arch or Manjaro with GNOME.
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#10
(07-20-2021, 10:29 PM)rocket2nfinity Wrote: Chuwi Hi 10X, Surface 3, surface Go, Surface Go 2, Dell Venue 8, Dell 7140, Thinkpad X1, and the HP Pavillion tablets all work completely with linux. I've either repaired or owned most of them. They are all X86 based, so don't expect as long a battery life on them as arm tablet can give you. There's an ubuntu touch port for the Lenovo m10, and Nexus 7 2013.

I recommend Manjaro Gnome because it's by far the best interface for a tablet other than Lomiri, in my opinion of course. Others may feel differently.

I have the chuwi hi10x pro and unless it's really cheap, skip it. Battery life is about 2 hours and perf is far below what it should be considering what's under the hood. Also have a surface 3 (woot refurb) and although the battery is sub par as well once it's running it's really great. Haven't tried Linux on it yet but am flipping a quarter.

If I can find my psu for the 10x it's getting Manjaro asap

When the pinetab works it's fair t best. It was released way too early and pine stopped talking about it almost immediately.  It could have been the start of a great line

The pinebiok for example. Bought v1 and tried hard to like it just couldn't. A year later bought the pb pro and it's been in daily use since!
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