I’m interested in ideas for small laptop-style devices that (1) run Linux and (2) are actually usable (i.e., not so small or low quality they’re basically toys).

My goal is for something to supplement my current, larger laptop. Something I can throw in a bag and pull out as needed during the day to take a few notes, read an eBook on, access the web, and so on.

Anyone have or heard of such a device?

  • Blaster M@lemmy.worldEnglish
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    9 days ago

    How small we talking? Dell Latitude 5310 is a nice small laptop, but that might be too big. You can always get one of those GPD mini laptops.

  • iAmTheTot@sh.itjust.works
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    9 days ago

    I guess an important question is how small is unusable for you? That’s not an objective measure, and will be up to what you find usable.

  • Toes♀@ani.social
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    9 days ago

    Ideally an old business laptop or tablet.

    Something with at least 4GB of RAM, x86_64v3 compatible processor and SSD.

    Dell, Lenovo and HP all made decent tablets and business laptops so check out eBay for your country. You also might luck out with Amazon Renewed.

  • tal@lemmy.todayEnglish
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    9 days ago

    If you already have a larger Linux laptop that you’re otherwise happy with, have you considered just throwing it in a padded laptop backpack?

  • SreudianFlip@sh.itjust.works
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    9 days ago

    A 2012 11" MacBook Air will run ZorinOS nicely and is truly tiny but very usable. Any Air made between 2012-17, really, but the 11" is SMALL.

  • audaxdreik@pawb.socialEnglish
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    9 days ago

    https://x-plus.store/products/n150-netbook

    I saw a post on this a few weeks back and excited purchased one. I’ve had it for a bit now and I’m generally happy with it.

    If you’ve ever bought a Chinese product like this before, you know generally what to expect: about 95% quality and 5% WTF.

    Personally I put Arch on it using KDE Plasma/Wayland and touch is lackluster. Other distros might handle things better, but I’m an Arch guy and I’m sticking it out.

    • Keyboard is better than expected, but still a little janky. Key feel is surprisingly good but far from great, although sometimes they don’t actuate. I think that’s because I’m still learning to type on it. Key arrangement is not as big of an issue as I thought, although stuff like Tab, -, ", / can be a little awkward for typing terminal commands, plain text typing (like note taking) I can get pretty up to speed. Honestly the jankiest key is . but it’s placement in the center of the cluster still makes it fairly easy to hit
    • The screen is clearly a tablet turned sideways. I’ve seen this before and I think even the Steam Deck does this, but it does lead to some oddities like resolution being 1200x1920 and SDDM is sideways (I tried fixing it, I’m sure there’s a way but I broke it so bad on one go that I ended up just doing a reinstall)
    • It’s hefty, feels like a solid device, although maybe even a little too hefty when using it folded over and trying to hold it with one hand while reading

    For me it’s absolutely perfect for the kind of note taking, book/comic reading, emulator playing, internet browsing I need to do. Admittedly it may still be too close to that “toy” kinda feel though …

  • thefartographer@lemm.ee
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    9 days ago

    I’m in love with my Lenovo Legion Go and use it as my primary PC for programming, photo editing, graphic design, and gaming. My friend got me a nice case for it with a pocket that fits my folding keyboard, a dongle, and a few adapters. I’ve completely removed Windows and run Bazzite on it.

    A project that I’m sporadically working on is to figure out how to use the controller and fps mouse with input-remapper and plover for an all-in-one steno keyboard/mouse solution.

  • vala@lemmy.world
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    9 days ago

    GPD laptops run Linux well. Even their smallest laptop. So it’s really up to you as far how small you want to go.

  • Sergio@slrpnk.net
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    9 days ago

    I have an HP Chromebook 11 that I was going to install linux on (iirc you have to open it up and flip a hardware switch to do so) but I ended up keeping Chrome OS on it. Anyway I mention it bc the form-factor is nice, it’s very small and light but still usable. Only thing I don’t like is the touchpad so I hook up an external mouse whenever possible. You can get those chromebooks for under $100 refurbished too.

  • MrsDoyle@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
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    9 days ago

    I have a Toshiba Satellite T110, 11.6" screen, now running Linux Zorin. I’ve had it for 15 years - got a new battery at one point and added RAM, very easy to do. It’s been a cracking little machine, really nice for travelling with.

  • Paper_Phrog@lemmy.world
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    9 days ago

    Not sure how much power you need - but I just bought a used Microsoft surface 7 pro and installed Linux Mint on it. Was pretty damn easy actually. Runs great!

  • hexagonwin@lemmy.sdf.org
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    8 days ago

    Maybe not the smallest but I recently got a second hand Panasonic CF-RZ6 and it’s incredibly useful. Surprisingly most(all?) hardware’s working on Linux/FreeBSD/Win10/MacOS 10.13(OpenCore) that I tested, and the battery lasts about 4~5 hours with low clock speed on Linux. S3 sleep is also working pretty well. The japanese keyboard is hard to type on, and it’s pretty hard to obtain outside japan though.