Jeff on Nostr: So, after having the #PineTab2 for a while now I have some nice things to report. ...
So, after having the #PineTab2 for a while now I have some nice things to report.
Firstly, remember that it's still dev-oriented, so I wouldn't yet recommend it to an average Linux user. It's still squarely in the domain of the more adventurous.
That said, I've been using the DanctNix Arch distro on it and it's actually surprisingly functional for an early-release npub1kcyg7gujnms2ymey0z5sfq7smjv6vvamy9rn5q5es6thq2gyychqhmfzfa (npub1kcy…fzfa) device.
The OS is really just a desktop distro with an on-screen keyboard installed, but it works well on the large form-factor and with the addition of a package or two the auto-rotate also works fine.
The only notable omission currently that would keep me from using it as my main lightweight linux portable is the lack of a stable wifi driver. I'm sure it'll be solved soon enough, but for now you'll be needing a supported USB wifi dongle.
The camera driver is another thing that's missing, which may be a bigger issue to other users, but for me it's a nice-to-have and not a need-to-have.
Putting aside the software, the hardware leaves little to be desired. Obviously I'll never complain about getting more performance, but given the price and the form-factor I think it's a very fair offering.
The IO is actually pretty decent for the tablet market and as a dev device it shipped with the debug adaptor, so flashing the eMMC with new images/OSs is rather easy.
The big standout for me was the keyboard case. The PineTab2 has a set of pogo pins which provide a USB 2.0 connection and the keyboard case uses this to provide a keyboard and touchpad.
These feel surprisingly good, with the kickstand hinge _also_ feeling extremely sturdy and well integrated.
Really, I feel that the ARM version of this tablet is actually not too far from being usable day-to-day by the more hardcore Linux fans, once the onboard BES2600 wifi and bluetooth drivers are ported successfully.
Firstly, remember that it's still dev-oriented, so I wouldn't yet recommend it to an average Linux user. It's still squarely in the domain of the more adventurous.
That said, I've been using the DanctNix Arch distro on it and it's actually surprisingly functional for an early-release npub1kcyg7gujnms2ymey0z5sfq7smjv6vvamy9rn5q5es6thq2gyychqhmfzfa (npub1kcy…fzfa) device.
The OS is really just a desktop distro with an on-screen keyboard installed, but it works well on the large form-factor and with the addition of a package or two the auto-rotate also works fine.
The only notable omission currently that would keep me from using it as my main lightweight linux portable is the lack of a stable wifi driver. I'm sure it'll be solved soon enough, but for now you'll be needing a supported USB wifi dongle.
The camera driver is another thing that's missing, which may be a bigger issue to other users, but for me it's a nice-to-have and not a need-to-have.
Putting aside the software, the hardware leaves little to be desired. Obviously I'll never complain about getting more performance, but given the price and the form-factor I think it's a very fair offering.
The IO is actually pretty decent for the tablet market and as a dev device it shipped with the debug adaptor, so flashing the eMMC with new images/OSs is rather easy.
The big standout for me was the keyboard case. The PineTab2 has a set of pogo pins which provide a USB 2.0 connection and the keyboard case uses this to provide a keyboard and touchpad.
These feel surprisingly good, with the kickstand hinge _also_ feeling extremely sturdy and well integrated.
Really, I feel that the ARM version of this tablet is actually not too far from being usable day-to-day by the more hardcore Linux fans, once the onboard BES2600 wifi and bluetooth drivers are ported successfully.