MNT Pocket Reform is coming from MNT Research. It is modular and upgradable, open-source hardware. I am not sure how much the battery life is. The color is purple only? I would prefer silver like Framework Laptop, or black or clear. And I want to see Fedora is supported.
I have a MNT Reform now. The Pocket Reform uses the same SoC as the Reform, and will utilize the same bridge to allow the SoC to be upgraded.
Battery life based on what the Reform sees with a larger screen and 16000mAh is probably 4-6 hours. There is no REAL standby mode either, as standby just sucks half as much power. So about 10 hours in “standby” and 4-6 hours runtime. Just my guess. There maybe some other power savings that I’m not aware of.
The Reforms are ARM based. Currently 4gb of RAM is the max. You do have a PCie lane for an NVME but it is only a single lane. I just mention this because this is not an x86 machine and comes no where close to comparing to processing power of the Framework laptop.
Regarding the color: it is purple or black. Both colors are bead blasted anodized.
I should be beta testing it and things are most likely to change with it.
For the record I’m working on taking the Framework mainboard and turning it into a UMPC as well.
If Framework made something like this but with x86 and massive RAM and storage potential, but fully repairable and upgradable, I think I would be in heaven.
I loved all of them. I had a Fujitsu Lifebook that was not quite UMPC but was in the 7-8 inch range. I also had an OQO 01 and 02. Those things were so ahead of their time. Seeing something like that happen again but be repairable would be pure perfection to me.
I see. Seeing the FPGA Wikipedia page, I still don’t understand what it is. How is it different from the OS CPU architecture such as x86_64, arm64 (aarch64) and etc.
Personally in my use case, as I still mainly need to work with GCC (GNU C compiler) x86_64. I would prefer x86_64 rather than arm64.
I am interested in a kind of ZSA PLANCK EZ style keyboard of the MNT Pocket Reform and the Penkesu. However, I was surprised by seeing how compact the GPD Win Max 2 is with the high specs below. Because I was thinking that this kind of compactness with high specs was technically difficult.
GPD Win Max 2 - Tech Specs
CPU: Intel 12th Gen i7 (Intel Core i7-1260P) or AMD Ryzen 7 6800U.
Display: 10.1 Inches
Size: 227 × 160 × 23 mm
Battery: 67Wh
Battery Life: 3 Hours Of Heavy Use, 6-8 Hours Of Moderate Use, 14 Hours Of Light Use, Depending On The Specific Environment Of Use
Onemix has been making mini computers like that for a while. The question isn’t can they be surprisingly powerful it is just a matter of when will it break, because you wont be able to repair it.
I had a Onemix 3pt and I loved it. Sadly the keyboard just died, and Onemix discontinued the model and I could barely get a replacement board. Got one finally. But replacing it will MOST likely break the keyboard backlight layer. So you know, perfectly fine umpc that is dead in the water because of the keyboard.
The Penkesu on the other hand uses a self made Planck like keyboard. I used the QMK toolbox to flash its firmware. It is VERY Planck EZ like (I have one of those as well)/ The keyboard layout is mine and Penk’s creation. I added a mouse layer for the Penkesu.
Anyway my point is that what Framework is doing is something that is absolutely needed across all of the computing realms. Could you imagine a Framework UMPC? It would be an instant buy for me.
I am intrigued by the Pocket Reform, and with its “mechanical” ortholinear keyboard it should be a pure typist’s machine, but cannot bring myself to buy one. Call me cynical, but I suspect many will find if simply too small, so will wait to see if any appear on the used market.
That said, I have looked at the MNT forums for a couple of months and do not see any Reforms being sold, so I guess most of the owners of the original know what they wanted, and hold on to their machines.
I have a GPD Pocket 3 with Intel i7-1195G7 and am using it as a audio- and video-player for theatre shows. Once the show is programmed I don’t need a big screen anymore and the small size is perfect for touring and small control booths in most theatres. Built-in HDMI output is also quite handy for this application. The fan can become pretty loud but there is a key combination for lowering the fan speed (and of course performance of CPU).
How is it different from the OS CPU architecture such as x86_64, arm64 (aarch64) and etc.
