Yearning for an it-just-works real Linux Tablet
Why in 2018, does it seem impossible to buy a purpose-built Linux (distro) tablet from any major computer vendor. A device with features typical to those iOS and Android devices.
9 comments
Yeah the best match I found for this was the lenovo t420, costs under $200 on the refurb market but has a core i5, if you get a refurb they tend to have decent battery life. Kind of heavy but since the hardware has been out for ~10 years the drivers are really stable and its an easy install for most distros.
I have a t410 and can ditto this experience. You probably could get it for $70 from someone who doesn't know what they have.
I was running Lubuntu on a decently reliable PNY USB stick, but I would probably advise against this because my filesystem corrupted itself and I've since been wayyyy too lazy to reinstall and reformat everything.
I'm not a programmer by trade so I just use my LG Zone4 to do everything digital in my life currently.
I was running Lubuntu on a decently reliable PNY USB stick, but I would probably advise against this because my filesystem corrupted itself and I've since been wayyyy too lazy to reinstall and reformat everything.
I'm not a programmer by trade so I just use my LG Zone4 to do everything digital in my life currently.
Sorry if I'm misunderstanding: Lenovo T420 is a laptop, a Thinkpad that's about 2.5 kilos, and doesn't have a touch screen.
I like my T420 a lot, especially the build, keyboard, screen, general familiarity. I've used it for 7 years (i7, replaced the original HDD with an SDD a while ago, replaced the battery too).
But a T420 is far different than a tablet with a touchscreen that weighs a few hundred grams.
I like my T420 a lot, especially the build, keyboard, screen, general familiarity. I've used it for 7 years (i7, replaced the original HDD with an SDD a while ago, replaced the battery too).
But a T420 is far different than a tablet with a touchscreen that weighs a few hundred grams.
There's actually a thinkpad X230 tablet edition. I'm typing this on an X230 (non-tablet) and fairly happy with the device. But it won't be out of the box tablet-like on Linux.
Quick search for Ubuntu Touch seems to suggest Canonical stopped working on it and it's now maintained by the community.
Quick search for Ubuntu Touch seems to suggest Canonical stopped working on it and it's now maintained by the community.
I honestly would be less ambitious and settle with more it-just-works Linux laptops that devs can trust and maybe mainstream users can learn too.
Currently the only one that fits that bill is Dell XPS13 and that comes with just one flavor (Ubuntu). Most laptops will have random driver issues or another.
Currently the only one that fits that bill is Dell XPS13 and that comes with just one flavor (Ubuntu). Most laptops will have random driver issues or another.
And the XPS comes with the dell quality gamble. We use them a work, and around 20% of them just don’t hold up.
I think it’s crazy how bad the laptop market is these days. If you’re barred from Lenovo then you only have two high quality options, MacBooks and surface books and neither run Linux out of the box.
I think it’s crazy how bad the laptop market is these days. If you’re barred from Lenovo then you only have two high quality options, MacBooks and surface books and neither run Linux out of the box.
PostmarketOS is just Alpine Linux for phones. It might be worth checking out the list of devices: https://wiki.postmarketos.org/wiki/Devices
Because it’s hard to market. I mean, you basically want an Apple device with Linux that works like OS X/iOS.
I wanted one too, but eventually I gave up and settled in the apple ecosystem.
I wanted one too, but eventually I gave up and settled in the apple ecosystem.
Yes, you are correct. Hard to market? On this crazy planet where we market every and anything, tangible and intangible. Methinks not.