At a previous job, I was the engineering manager for a new neo-bank and was on call 24/7 for it. I have a beefy Lenovo P52 that I hated carrying around and leaving in my car lest it get stolen. So I got a GPD Pocket. It fit very well into my back pocket.
Not only did it work great for emergency situations (I ran Ubuntu MATE as well) when I needed to SSH into machines, check stuff on Datadog, edit code to make a quick fix, push code to our K8S environments and more, but I actually found myself frequently at coffee shops and bars coding away happily on it. It brought a certain amount of freedom and cool factor with it. It was a delightful little device with a very sharp and crisp screen, a surprisingly useful keyboard that combined well with my i3 environment, that I could actually be productive on (save for running our test suite which took around 30 minutes and sucked the life out of the battery). It also got a lot of onlookers asking questions about it, leading to those ever so fun random conversations that can lead to night long friendships over wine and coffee.
I genuinely miss it and will probably pick up another one now that I just got hired as a CTO for another project with equally demanding on-call schedules and uptime requirements. Although I don't drink anymore so none of those fun conversations. Ce la vie.
For others in similar position as parent (i.e. in need for a hand held portable Linux computer) but couldn't buy a GPD device for various reasons(availability, cost, trust issues etc.); Then here are two recommendations which are just as good(or better?):
1. Buy a used smartphone with postmarketOS support[1]. I suggest Poco F1 if you want to make phone calls with it right away (or) Oneplus 6/6T if you can wait a bit long for it to be fixed. I use Poco F1 as a daily driver and these are the most powerful, feature complete Linux smartphones right now.
If your work depends upon tool adamant on glibc and couldn't be compiled for musl then Mobian works on the aforementioned devices[2] too.
Use a foldable bluetooth keyboard, case with kickstand; you can get just as productive as a GPD albeit more portable and also feel good about taking away a device from potential e-waste.
2. Buy a 11" used Chromebook (Mainly used in schools) which is supported by Mr.Chromebox's UEFI firmware[3], You can use any Linux with it but I use PeppermintOS for its light weight and OOB support for Chromebook. Of course any portable laptop could run Linux, But they tend to cost 2x-3x the Chromebooks.
I personally think if you have an Android phone, Termux is really powerful, its basically a linux container, and you can do a lot on it,
And with Root its even more powerful.
And of course Android is always going to be more usable the mobile linux.
For me personally I just can't work on my phone, its too small, there is no place to work on anything!
Termux is an excellent piece of software, I recently saw a security researcher from Zambia using only Termux for his development[1] and research as he couldn't afford a computer. I'm sure there are plenty more like him in developing economies, Where using smartphone for better computing is not just a lifestyle but a necessity for livelihood.
Because Google with its Playstore API restrictions has stopped Termux from releasing in Playstore, It has robbed people in the similar circumstance as that Zambian gentleman of the opportunity. Now, One has to have enough knowledge about existence of third party app stores like F-Droid to make use of Termux like applications.
Even then, Android's enthusiast scene is highly dependent upon 'privilege escalation', To auto update Termux from F-Droid it needs root.
And that's exactly why I'm evangelizing Linux smartphone at every chance I get, I'm not telling those who couldn't afford a PC should move on to a Linux phone, I'm telling we need to break the duopoly in the mobile ecosystem to gain back the freedom in mobile computing. Linux phone, Especially aftermarket projects like pmos seems to be best bet for me since coincidentally developing economies are e-waste dumping grounds for the rest of the world.
I don't feel that way, Productivity benefits of a Linux handled aren't compromised to any significant effect by having a detached foldable keyboard(With layouts we're used to) as compared to attached smaller keyboard, especially when you can use it as a normal phone in any pocket :P
May be its a user preference, I just put out options as 'Choice' is the crux of Linux ecosystem.
Gotta disagree here a tad, I got a small tablet (windows but doesn't matter in this context) that I intended to use while commuting on the subway but the external keyboard/holding the device up wasn't at all comfortable on the lap in a subway train. Having had a proper keyboard as a base/holder would definitely have been an improvement when going on a subway/train.
You make a valid point, But I think a even a GPD like device wouldn't be comfortable on the lap while traveling if we have to crouch over while typing due to neck strain.
I think what's best in this situation is display glasses, Like VR headset but only that it outputs our computer/phone display for stereoscopic vision. I've been tracking such glasses for a while[1] as I have limited freedom of movement with my neck as its held by rods.
There is a Logitech BT KB that has a slot to place your phone/tablet in. It's a way to get the laptop feel, which is needed when you need to type on your lap. It's quite heavy though, almost 2 pounds. That's because it needs to be heavy enough to not tip over if an iPad or something is attached to it.
I really miss the slide out keyboards. Touch screen SSH sessions are a miracle if they work, and it's frustrating when you retype a word for the fifth time in a row only to realize autocomplete was trying to 'help' you.
> It also got a lot of onlookers asking questions about it, leading to those ever so fun random conversations that can lead to night long friendships over wine and coffee.
Hah. So true!
It's always interesting to see that even today with all the fancy miniature devices we have, how many people still see these UMPCs as almost magic. My Zaurus in the early 2000s used to get this kind of attention which was understandable. But I'm surprised that random people will still strike up conversations whenever I use modern UMPCs in public...
My GPD Pocket experience was pretty bad. The battery swelled up and there was no replacement stock available. The reply I got was: sorry old model. The thing wouldn't even turn on without the battery connected, so it was trash at that point.
It's a "shut up and take my money" system for me; I've dream of a netbook/micropc with trackpoint and keyboard taking as much space as it can for about 12-13 years now. Thx!
I was so sad when I specifically ordered an HP laptop for work (The other choice was Dell) to get the keyboard with a trackpoint on it, only to find out that the HP layout only has two buttons.
It turns out my years of ThinkPad training has given me permanent muscle memory that the button underneath the middle of the space bar is middle mouse and therefore paste :)
Yes, it is on the Gen 1, but the Gen 1 has a lot of other deficiencies in the HW that make it not so great as a daily driver today.
The OneMix ones have a capacitive trackpoint that's not as good (-> it works like a tiny trackpad area), but they also have touchscreens.
IMO the newer GPD Win ones are probably the best implementation of mousing on a small devices. You have all the options: A touchscreen, A small trackpad, and A joystick that has a mouse mode which behaves like a trackpoint.
Which one did you have? I have P2 MAX (just changed the battery after 2-3 years), but rarely use it outside vacations. Cannot really see myself coding happily on it, even though the keyboard and the screen are decent it's not really comfortable for long typing sessions
Not only did it work great for emergency situations (I ran Ubuntu MATE as well) when I needed to SSH into machines, check stuff on Datadog, edit code to make a quick fix, push code to our K8S environments and more, but I actually found myself frequently at coffee shops and bars coding away happily on it. It brought a certain amount of freedom and cool factor with it. It was a delightful little device with a very sharp and crisp screen, a surprisingly useful keyboard that combined well with my i3 environment, that I could actually be productive on (save for running our test suite which took around 30 minutes and sucked the life out of the battery). It also got a lot of onlookers asking questions about it, leading to those ever so fun random conversations that can lead to night long friendships over wine and coffee.
I genuinely miss it and will probably pick up another one now that I just got hired as a CTO for another project with equally demanding on-call schedules and uptime requirements. Although I don't drink anymore so none of those fun conversations. Ce la vie.