Buy GPD Pocket 3 to reduce time watching smartphone
Story
One year ago, I bought MacBook Air. The purpose was replacing worthless time, like surfing internet with the smartphone on bed or train, to productive activity, like writing blog.
And now, I’d still not accomplished that purpose, I still addicted the smartphone.
Come to think of it, in the situation, such as trying to get up on bed or commuting in train, the standard laptops are still too large. At least, the replacement device of the smartphone need to be as small as possible to hold by one hand for using with lying down on bed and standing in train.
So I bought the device satisfying the requirement, GPD Pocket 3
About GPD Pocket 3
According to Official page,
A Fully-featured Modular and Utilitary Handheld PC
So, it is a dream device that packs every feature I can think of: an easy-to-use keyboard (for its size), stylus, and KVM function for server admin, into an A5-sized chassis
What I bought
- GPD Pocket 3 High-end Version (with Intel Core™ i7-1195G7)
- KVM modules
The reson I choice it is below
- The size is about A5 size
- From my experience of using A5 notebooks regularly, A5 is easy to place on somewhere such as a desk.
- It can be supported stably with one hand.
- It seems the smallest size for typing easily with both hands.
- Keyboard layout with near-standard feel
- The key size and feeling are similar to that of a standard US keyboard, it’s easy to use with both hands.
- The place of symobl keys are not standard but acceptable1.
- Strap hole
- This is modest but very significant advantage for careless person who never know when their hand will slip, like me
- Stylus support
- I want to practice drawing sometimes.
- There are some reports of running Linux.
- KVM function
- An attractive feature for a server administrator, albeit an amateur.
After using it for about a month.
Size
- As expected, it’s easy to use on a commuter train.
- It takes up very little space, so it can use with a desktop in front of the keyboard.
Power supply
- By default, it’s very hot and the fan is noisy.
- In power-saving mode, it is quiet and not hot. Considering the battery life, it would be better to leave it in power-saving mode.
- The battery is fine for my usage (in power-saving mode).
- After a total of about 2 hour of use while commuting and office(in addition, about 10 hour with the lid closed), the battery still has more than 50% .
Linux
- Just installing Ubuntu 22.04 and running this setting up tool for GPD Pocket , then I can use without any problems except for the stylus2. (Detailed installation will be written in another article)
- The behavior about the stylus is not perfect, but this is somewhat expected. 3.
- Archwiki says that it cannot sleep, so I need to set hibernation if I need more battery time. The battery consumption with closed lid seems enough low so it’s okay for a while.
- The screen is small and its resolution is too hight, so the scale needs to be adjusted.
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Better than the difference between a US keyboard and a JIS keyboard (it’s not only place of key but also different combination of keys to input symbol) ↩︎
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I remember setting up Surface Go was more difficult, because the wireless module in linux is not work and it failed to wake from sleep. ↩︎
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This is the third time I’ve installed Linux on a 2 in 1 laptop supporting stylus, and it has never worked as expected (unlike external Wacom stylus). But the problems seems same so it may be that it is not a hardware-specific problem, but something that can be fixed later in the configuration. ↩︎