4 ms·

The GPD Pocket is, indeed, very nice. However, it's much larger and heavier than the Gemini. The Gemini has two obvious advantages over the GPD Pocket. One is

The GPD Pocket is, indeed, very nice. However, it's much larger and heavier than the Gemini. The Gemini has two obvious advantages over the GPD Pocket. One is LTE; the other is its small size. Size restrictions were imposed on electronic devices permitted in the cabin on flights between certain middle eastern airports and the USA early in 2017 due to a specific terrorist threat. While those size restrictions were not extended to cover EU/USA flights, and appear to be being relaxed, if they're revived we can expect a ban on flying with anything significantly bigger than a 5.5" phablet in the cabin. The Gemini slips under the size bar; the GPD Pocket doesn't.

devereaux 9y ago
These are valid objections, but premature optimization is the root of all evil. If these restrictions are extended, I do expect a GPD Pocket2 designed with these restrictions in mind, to fly just under the radar. At the moment, the GPD Win2 is being designed, with a M2 SSD slot as many people complained about storage. It is reasonable to expect a GPD Pocket2 after that. As many users are complaining about the lack of WWAN, I do expect it will come with LTE (and an outside screen to display the calling number) or at least a slot to add it in the M2 slot.
- tluyben2 9y ago
  I spent a lot of time with the Pocket; I think the Linux niche (Gemini has that too) is a good one as there are plenty small devices with Windows 10 already, like the Mipad (very nice by the way and a lot cheaper, however you need to get an external keyboard) but not so many Linux ones. After getting used to the weird keyboard (few days) I find I love the screen, battery life, pointer nob and build quality. What could be improved; a bit smaller, wwan and keyboard backlighting. And possibly the keyboard itself. Then it would be perfect.
  - devereaux 9y ago
    As a big thinkpad fan, I must say the Pocket trackpoint had a lot of influence in my purchase decision :-) Basically, I just want a device that I can use like my thinkpad (open it, and use command line tools or x86 software though wine). The GPD pocket is the first device that got me this "thinkpad" impression. Also, I do not want a bluetooth keyboard. I do not want to fiddle with batteries/paring/any other software issue. The keyboard is my #1 concern. I tried an apple bluetooth keyboard with an ipad for a while -- I think that is the highest available quality/ease of use, but even that setup was not satisfying. Besides storage issues (no removable storage!), the wwan and keyboard backlighting other bother me. I will certainly buy a GPD Pocket2 when they come out, and a Gemini if they fix the screen. I am still looking for the right device.
    - tluyben2 9y ago
      > As a big thinkpad fan I have a stack of X220's with big batteries , which are still my favorites, but for travel it's not very good. If they break, they can be replaced for $50-80 which is excellent, but they are just too bulky. But that, indeed, made me a huge trackpoint fan. So much more comfortable than a trackpad imho. > ipad No 'unrestricted' OS is an issue when programming; I tried a lot of ways to do coding on Android/iOS but it's just not very nice. Linux is more obvious for me personally. > I am still looking for the right device. Yep. But at least choice is reaching us fast; it is possible to build the perfect machine for a few $100k in small runs; that used to be hard. When the OpenPandora came out, that was still a huge issue. Now it's actually possible. So i'm thinking more people will push for perfection. In my world, battery life is by far the most important; I don't care so much about cpu/gpu power (if I need that, I login on a server for cpu/gpu or memory work and I don't like 3d games; I like 2d games), but an empty battery is really annoying. As I travel a lot, I find myself with fine internet but scarce power and I need 10+ hours to work. With the OpenPandora (too low resolution/not very good screen and very annoying keyboard but removable batteries and good software community / hackers) or Pocket I am happy. My dream setup would be: - l x w size of the Gemini - h size more of the pandora (you need to give in somewhere for below features) - Linux (it's an expensive and full featured machine; it needs a full OS imho, or at least the option for one) - swivel (2-in-1) of the zaurus (that would be a dream but probably very hard to do); the zaurus was lightyears ahead of what they have now in that space imho; you had a little tablet but no keyboard in the way like those 2-in-1/flips usually have now - sd card slots of the pyra/pandora - ports of the pyra - storage of the Pocket (looking at the space inside the pandora now and the internals of, say, an Samsung ssd, it would be possible to fit swappable inards of an ssd drive, so that would make it even more perfect) - 4g/wwan of the gemini/pyra - usbc of the pocket (not sure about the pyra but the charger for the pandora is annoying; you can them charge with usb but that's very slow) - keyboard of the gemini/psion - screen resolution / quality of the Pocket (for me touch screen is not needed ; that would only be handy if 2-in-1) - trackpad of the pocket - hotswap batteries (aka little battery to allow for 3 minute swap window) of the x230+ - backlighting of the macbook The thing i'm not sure about is casing; aluminium (Pocket) isn't very sturdy and plastic (Pandora/x220) cracks fast; I think I like the Pandora way better though; it's easy to replace the casing and it's less bothersome if it cracks. It looks far worse though. What would be a more rugged option? The price could be higher as this is a niche device; only weirdos like me would buy it anyway but there are enough of us to make a few runs as prices fall for making this kind of thing.
tluyben2 9y ago
I am not flying from the middle East but most airlines tend to be restrictive when lifting off and landing when it comes to devices like laptops. The Pocket no one cares about so far (and I fly a lot); they usually think it's a gaming device and don't ask me to put it away.

devereaux 9y ago

These are valid objections, but premature optimization is the root of all evil. If these restrictions are extended, I do expect a GPD Pocket2 designed with these restrictions in mind, to fly just under the radar. At the moment, the GPD Win2 is being designed, with a M2 SSD slot as many people complained about storage. It is reasonable to expect a GPD Pocket2 after that. As many users are complaining about the lack of WWAN, I do expect it will come with LTE (and an outside screen to display the calling number) or at least a slot to add it in the M2 slot.

tluyben2 9y ago
I spent a lot of time with the Pocket; I think the Linux niche (Gemini has that too) is a good one as there are plenty small devices with Windows 10 already, like the Mipad (very nice by the way and a lot cheaper, however you need to get an external keyboard) but not so many Linux ones. After getting used to the weird keyboard (few days) I find I love the screen, battery life, pointer nob and build quality. What could be improved; a bit smaller, wwan and keyboard backlighting. And possibly the keyboard itself. Then it would be perfect.
- devereaux 9y ago
  As a big thinkpad fan, I must say the Pocket trackpoint had a lot of influence in my purchase decision :-) Basically, I just want a device that I can use like my thinkpad (open it, and use command line tools or x86 software though wine). The GPD pocket is the first device that got me this "thinkpad" impression. Also, I do not want a bluetooth keyboard. I do not want to fiddle with batteries/paring/any other software issue. The keyboard is my #1 concern. I tried an apple bluetooth keyboard with an ipad for a while -- I think that is the highest available quality/ease of use, but even that setup was not satisfying. Besides storage issues (no removable storage!), the wwan and keyboard backlighting other bother me. I will certainly buy a GPD Pocket2 when they come out, and a Gemini if they fix the screen. I am still looking for the right device.
  - tluyben2 9y ago
    > As a big thinkpad fan I have a stack of X220's with big batteries , which are still my favorites, but for travel it's not very good. If they break, they can be replaced for $50-80 which is excellent, but they are just too bulky. But that, indeed, made me a huge trackpoint fan. So much more comfortable than a trackpad imho. > ipad No 'unrestricted' OS is an issue when programming; I tried a lot of ways to do coding on Android/iOS but it's just not very nice. Linux is more obvious for me personally. > I am still looking for the right device. Yep. But at least choice is reaching us fast; it is possible to build the perfect machine for a few $100k in small runs; that used to be hard. When the OpenPandora came out, that was still a huge issue. Now it's actually possible. So i'm thinking more people will push for perfection. In my world, battery life is by far the most important; I don't care so much about cpu/gpu power (if I need that, I login on a server for cpu/gpu or memory work and I don't like 3d games; I like 2d games), but an empty battery is really annoying. As I travel a lot, I find myself with fine internet but scarce power and I need 10+ hours to work. With the OpenPandora (too low resolution/not very good screen and very annoying keyboard but removable batteries and good software community / hackers) or Pocket I am happy. My dream setup would be: - l x w size of the Gemini - h size more of the pandora (you need to give in somewhere for below features) - Linux (it's an expensive and full featured machine; it needs a full OS imho, or at least the option for one) - swivel (2-in-1) of the zaurus (that would be a dream but probably very hard to do); the zaurus was lightyears ahead of what they have now in that space imho; you had a little tablet but no keyboard in the way like those 2-in-1/flips usually have now - sd card slots of the pyra/pandora - ports of the pyra - storage of the Pocket (looking at the space inside the pandora now and the internals of, say, an Samsung ssd, it would be possible to fit swappable inards of an ssd drive, so that would make it even more perfect) - 4g/wwan of the gemini/pyra - usbc of the pocket (not sure about the pyra but the charger for the pandora is annoying; you can them charge with usb but that's very slow) - keyboard of the gemini/psion - screen resolution / quality of the Pocket (for me touch screen is not needed ; that would only be handy if 2-in-1) - trackpad of the pocket - hotswap batteries (aka little battery to allow for 3 minute swap window) of the x230+ - backlighting of the macbook The thing i'm not sure about is casing; aluminium (Pocket) isn't very sturdy and plastic (Pandora/x220) cracks fast; I think I like the Pandora way better though; it's easy to replace the casing and it's less bothersome if it cracks. It looks far worse though. What would be a more rugged option? The price could be higher as this is a niche device; only weirdos like me would buy it anyway but there are enough of us to make a few runs as prices fall for making this kind of thing.

tluyben2 9y ago

I am not flying from the middle East but most airlines tend to be restrictive when lifting off and landing when it comes to devices like laptops. The Pocket no one cares about so far (and I fly a lot); they usually think it's a gaming device and don't ask me to put it away.