MNT Pocket Reform first impressions and hardware

I got one of these recently as well, and have similar feelings. MNT's devices are not for everyone; you definitely need to be prepared for some tinkering, and some things are a little bit rough at first. But for a certain kind of person (and I count myself as one of those people) they're so much fun.

It definitely has been scratching my tiny laptop itch. I think the first laptop I ever used was my dad's Libretto 70ct back in the day, and I've loved mini laptops ever since. I think they hit on the right input method with that small trackball too, it's very smooth!

I also designed a custom back panel for mine, though unfortunately I missed a few details so I'm gonna have to get it re-made. But it's fun to have so many customization options! https://www.terracrypt.net/posts/custom-pocket-reform-lids-h...

Typing this from an MNT Reform with a CM4 chip in it. Don't have a Pocket Reform yet, but just want to chime in and say that I love what the MNT team is doing.

With the new rk3588 SOM it's possible to have 8 cores and 32 gigs of RAM can't recommend their devices enough. Have a second Reform with an LS1028A.

Deeply want them to continue to succeed. So refreshing to have a device that is fully transparent and upgrade-able over time.

Waiting for their new server rack mounted form factor to come out so I can put my old SOMs to use in my homelab.

Like with the MNT Reform (non-pocket), there are a few things that are aesthetically very pleasing (and fun, even), but in day-to-day use make it hard to adopt.

On the original Reform, I had some issues adapting to it's slightly non-standard (at least for US English) key layout... and on this one, it has a very visually-pleasing key layout, but I can imagine unless it's your only keyboard, it will take a bit of mind-melding to type well on it.

These MNT devices are—at least for now—not the type of things you'd consider to replace a Macbook or a slim laptop for portability and practicality/value.

I still want one, lol

Too small to be practical for me. I can feel my RSI kicking in right away with this form factor.

But I will say the MNT Reform stuff is pretty amazing all-around! I just can't anymore with most keyboards after a good 34 years keyboarding.

To the younger crowd out there - stretch... Play guitar or something. It helps!

I heart my mnt reform. Give these people money if you can spare some in exchange for interesting open hardware for running linux on you'd like to see keep improving and being iterated on.

Talking about open hardware:

Is there a tablet out there which runs Debian or Ubuntu?

I don't mean it has to come with Linux in the first place. I can wipe Windows or whatever it comes with and install Debian myself.

When I google around, I see people use some tablets with Linux based on special kernels they download from somewhere around the web. I would not want that. But a standard Debian or Ubuntu on a tablet would be great.

That's really cool!

I have a GPD win mini that I'm really happy with. It's not really comparable to this device, except that they're both pocket-sized computers. But in just that one regard alone they're fairly unique, and it is very nice to be able to just grab a computer (that's more functional than a smartphone) and stick it in my pocket.

Apparently these things support OpenBSD to some extent. Which is nice, OpenBSD on ARM tends not to be all that great if you want everything to work for you.

What I'd like to know is, how'd he get his device so quickly? I have one on order; I checked the Crowd Supply site, and it says they're shipping it August 31. (Earlier, it said "July 31," but they bumped it.)

1200 euros for such a small laptop is too much though, that's the price range of frame work and other similar laptops. You can get a large sized laptop from hp or dell with better hardware for roughly half that price. 700 euros should be the max price for the size and specs.