If you’ve been itching to get your hands on the GPD Pocket, a 7-inch Ubuntu laptop, now’s your chance.
Crowdfunding for the GPD Pocket is underway on IndieGoGo, and the good news is that it has already smashed through its $200,000 goal.
It took the little 7-inch laptop less than 7 hours to leap over its $200,000 fixed funding goal. This means the device will (barring any hiccups) be produced.
They say big things often come in small packages, and this computer aims to live up to that, with 7-inch full HD touch display, a quad-core Intel Atom processor, 8GB of RAM, and 128GB of storage. The laptop is available with a choice of Windows 10 or Ubuntu 16.04 LTS.
GPD has produced a number of Android-based gaming devices, and successfully crowdfunded and delivered a Windows-based product last year.
This track record of delivering products will help allay fears that the GPD Pocket is some sort of scammy ‘over promise, never deliver’ vapourware campaign. While no crowdfunding project is guaranteed, you should feel a little more confident about backing this one.
GPD Pocket Specs
The device is super small, measuring a teeny 7.1-inch by 4.2-inch (and standing a mere 0.7-inch tall). The GPD Pocket offers a 7-inch 1920×1200 IPS screen, pushing a pixel-popping 323 PPI. Corning Gorilla Glass 3.
Despite the diminutive proportions the unibody magnesium alloy case contains some powerful internals.
Core specs:
- 7-inch full-HD (1920×1200) IPS touch display
- Intel Atom x7-Z8750 CPU (Quad Core) @ 1.6GHz
- 8GB RAM
- 128GB eMMC
The device does have a fan. GPD says this ‘active cooling’ means its performance is better than the Microsoft Surface 3, which is passively cooled.
Also:
- 7,000 mAh battery (12 hours battery life estimated)
- 802.11ac WiFi
- Bluetooth 4.1
- 1x USB 3.0 Type-C
- 1x USB 3.0 Type-A
- micro HDMI
- 3.5mm headphone jack
An option USB Type-C dock can be attached to provide an additional 2x USB 3.0 ports and an SD and microSD card reader.
The included QWERTY keyboard takes up as much room as possible, with a small pointer nub in-between a split space bar (yup, no trackpad, no palm rest).
Crowdfunding & Price
The GPD Pocket IndieGoGo campaign runs from February 15th to xxx, 2017. It is available to back — sharp intake of breath — from $399 US, which GPD say is a $200 saving over their recommend retail price of $599.
Don’t Expect 15-inch Performance from a 7-Inch Laptop
As a 7-inch laptop there are compromises to be had (and you must bear these in mind) including a smaller keyboard, reduced number of ports, and so on.
The GPD Pocket’s Indiegogo page is live as of today, with the first batch of devices expected to ship in June 2017. Early-bird backers can nab the laptop for $399 instead of the eventual $599 retail price, with a homie of Windows 10 or Ubuntu 16.04 LTS.