This article was 1st published on our sister Site, Digital World Native.
If you’re looking for a really cheap, low power laptop for entertainment or for doing light work, then you might want to check out the ‘Pinebook’. It’s thin & lightweight & comes with a full size keyboard, a large multi-touch touchpad, & you can install any of a number of linux-based Operating Systems: Android, Ubuntu, Remix OS…
The Pinebook uses the Pine64, a US $20 index card sized single board computer, & is quite a bit faster than the 32-Bit US $35 Raspberry Pi-2B, which is probably its main competitor.
The main hardware specs are:
- 64-Bit ARM Cortex A53 quad-core CPU at its heart, running 1.2 GHz.
- GPU: the MALI-400 MPO2, running at 500MHz, & capable of 1.1 Gpixel/s throughput, (which is faster than the original X-Box)
- 2 GB of internal RAM
- Flash: 16 GB eMMC RAM
- MicroSD card slot for storage, which can be expanded to up to 256 GB
- Mini HDMI port for connecting to an external monitor or TV display
- 2 USB 2.0 ports
- WiFi 802.11bgn+
- Bluetooth 4.0
- Headphone Jack :
- Built-in Microphone
- Front-facing camera: 1.2 Megapixels
- Lithium Polymer Battery (10000mAH)
- 11″ or 14″ IPS LCD (1280 x 720)
- Dimensions: 352mm x 233mm x 18mm (WxDxH)
- Weight: 1.2 kg (2.65 lbs)
The Pinebook is available in 2 different models; the only difference amongst them being the screen size: the 11.6-inch model costs US $89 & the 14-inch version comes in at US $99. The resolution is nothing to write home about though: 1280×720, but for the price, it’s actually not that bad. You should be able to do basic computing tasks with this laptop, like browsing the Internet, word processing, light video editing & viewing, etc.
Pine64 is a California, USA-based startup that got its start in December 2015 with a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign. You can’t buy the Pinebook directly yet, but you can register with your email address here, & you’ll be notified when the product is released.
Share This•
