GPD Pocket

[directive0]

Basically an updated eeepc

Which would be cool, but the thing that always dampened my interest for one was the Asus design and build quality, I don't have much faith in GPD to improve on that aspect. I'm intrigued though, especially if the price is right.

 

[levi]

Basically an updated eeepc

Indeed, except to date no eeePC has been made with less than a 9" chassis, even if they only sport a 7" screen.

 

[vcoleiro1]

Here's a photo showing a size comparison between the GPD Pocket and GPD WIN

 

[rygD]

So it will be about the size of the one in the middle, right?

 

[vcoleiro1]

So it will be about the size of the one in the middle, right?

The middle device is a very early prototype/Mockup of the GPD Pocket

 

[directive0]

Looks pretty cool.

*I'm an idiot who didn't read the first post carefully enough.

 

[benoitb]

With:

• Thinkpad-level keyboard and trackpoint quality (we all know this won't happen unfortunately)
• The trackpoint where it should be (could happen)
  
• Non-reflective screen (we all know this won't happen either)

It could be a very nice device.

 

[Grench]

Hmm, with a 7" screen, it's not any different to a normal netbook, is it?

Exactly. But, since nobody that I'm aware of currently makes a modern X86 netbook, they may have found a niche.

On a device like this, though, the keyboard winds up be the differentiatior. They will need to get that 'right', which goes beyond simply having a solid key layout. The old Libretto netbooks had keyboards that were semi-OK to type on. Membrane + scissor mechanism (thinkpad type keys) would not be out of line, but would likely raise the price point substantially. With the trackpoint thumb pointer (it's position is actually OK - thumbs can be accurate) and aluminum casing and 7" IPS display and a choice of OS between Windows and Linux (meaning mainstream internal components), this will likely be priced considerably higher than the Win and Pyra combined.

I'm not sure if I would buy one. I currently haul around a 12.2" Android tablet (Galaxy Note Pro 12.2) and bluetooth keyboard and mouse for remote admin tasks. If the GPD Pocket has 4G, it could theoretically fill that need, though I was intending for the Pyra to do that (and more).

May the Pyra be produced and deemed all sorts of awesome prior to this netbook's release.

 

[EvilDragon]

Ah, no one produces Netbooks anymore? Didn't know that, my current one (couple of years old) still works fine. But indeed, in that case, it might be useful.

 

[levi]

It's very hard to say how useful this device will be yet - we don't really know the specs. We apparenly know the SoC it'll use, and we can see the ports on the right hand side of the keyboard - I'm taking them to be headphone (misplaced, but meh), usb-C, hdmi and USB-A. I'd personally like it to have an SD slot.

And we know very little about the keyboard layout, which we know is pretty important around these parts. On the prototype I can see backspace in the wrong place, but that may not be a bad idea given its normaly position would be perilously close to the power key.

 

[vcoleiro1]

It's very hard to say how useful this device will be yet - we don't really know the specs. We apparenly know the SoC it'll use, and we can see the ports on the right hand side of the keyboard - I'm taking them to be headphone (misplaced, but meh), usb-C, hdmi and USB-A. I'd personally like it to have an SD slot.

And we know very little about the keyboard layout, which we know is pretty important around these parts. On the prototype I can see backspace in the wrong place, but that may not be a bad idea given its normaly position would be perilously close to the power key.

It will have a Micro SD slot. The design is very fluid and the Keyboard layout has changed once or twice already in accordance with feedback from Dingoonity users. See the thread I linked in the OP. Currently the backspace is back where it should be and the power button has been moved elsewhere - not on the face anymore

 

[ible]

ah, keyboard layout thread wars, let me get in on that! (jk, i think i'll sit this one out.)

for some reason, i can't see the pictures from the official guy (kendyzhu777), so i have no idea what their latest iteration of the keyboard looks like.

 

[vcoleiro1]

@ible

You have to be logged into the forum to see them

 

[sulu]

Ah, no one produces Netbooks anymore?

Once in a while there is a device showing up on the market that could be classified as a netbook, but afaik in the whole last year that was just one device. Medion has released some devices in 2014 and 2015 that are still available in small quantities, but that's pretty much it. And all of them are Windows-contaminated.

The whole netbook marked that emerged around 2008 has basically been cannibalized by tablets on the one end and by Chrome books on the other. I've been looking for a replacement for my EEE 901 for quite some time that is either even more mobile or has significantly more computing power to justify the investment. This is how I finally wound up here.

 

[Xcl4m4t10n]

^ This. Also is "ironic?" to see how the tablets market is dying.

 

[levi]

Yeah, 901 users unite!

Still rocking mine. I was going to go for a chromebook and flash some full linux on it, but I'd already upgraded my 901 with a 64GB SSD and no chromebooks came out with that storage capacity built in.

Since then the controller that was connected to that SSD burned out, and I ran it off USB for a while, but an update to the boot process in Arch stopped me booting from it (even though I could still see it if I booted from rescue media), so I bit the bullet and switched to having most of my OS on a SD card that I've stuck electrical tape over to stop me (or anyone else) removing it accidentally.

 

[vcoleiro1]

Some more info/pics about the GPD Pocket has been posted on the Chinese forum.

Here is a comparison between the GPD Pocket, Surface 3, Macbook Air

It appears the dimensions of the GPD Pocket are 180mm x 106mm x 23.3mm. The GPD WIN is 155mm x 95mm. So the GPD Pocket is 25mm wider and 11mm deeper than the GPD WIN

If some one can read chinese , I'm curious to know the difference between the $399 and $599 prices quoted for the GPD Pocket.

I should note that the Surface 3 can be currently bought from Walmart for $450 (128GB edition) - keyboard covers for it can be bought for $30 - so $480 in total ( https://www.walmart.com/ip/Microsoft-Surface-3-10.8-Tablet-128GB-Windows-10/46258896). But I guess the chart below is RRPs

Side view showing Fan outlet

Top view showing fan and brass? (translation says brass, but it looks like copper) heat transfer to heat sink:

Hmm, wheres the uSD slot. They did say it had one, but it's not in the photos. Maybe they have added it since. Will have to confirm

 

[levi]

I guess it's on the other side, as these are both right side shots as before, it seems.

Also, is that heat damage on the left of that board, especially around that chip half covered by the brass mounting plate? Guess they're really thrashing these prototypes!

Edit: Also, any idea what those square BGA or LGA chips under the end of the brass heat pipe are? Maybe that's the difference between the two price points, because that prototype only seems to have half of them installed.

 

[benoitb]

Yeah, 901 users unite!

Still rocking mine. I was going to go for a chromebook and flash some full linux on it, but I'd already upgraded my 901 with a 64GB SSD and no chromebooks came out with that storage capacity built in.

Since then the controller that was connected to that SSD burned out, and I ran it off USB for a while, but an update to the boot process in Arch stopped me booting from it (even though I could still see it if I booted from rescue media), so I bit the bullet and switched to having most of my OS on a SD card that I've stuck electrical tape over to stop me (or anyone else) removing it accidentally.

I also owned a 901 (1 ssd of 16Gb version) and really liked it. But the keyboard was the worst I've ever had on any laptop. It even failed and had to be replaced once.

 

[sulu]

I doubt there is any component on the left side of the case, that could house a µSD port. The easiest way to include one would be to just put it on the main board on the right side.
They'd need another small PCB on the left side for a µSD port. If they had designed the device that way, they would have surely put one of the two/an additional USB port on the left side, because spreading USB ports evenly is always better for the end user than clumping them all together. They would have probably even moved the headphone jack to the left. I guess they are reserving all the left-over space in the case for the battery.
I was in contact with the designers of the Purism Librem laptop during their design phase. They had no ports on the left side for the exact same reason: They didn't want to put another PCB in the case to spread the ports, because they needed the space for something else. And that was a 13" device.

I've also not seen any photos/renders showing the GPD Pocket from the left side. If there was anything interesting to be seen, like any kind of port, I'm sure GPD would have shown one.