[HN Gopher] GPD Pocket 3 - Handheld PC with KVM and RS-232
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GPD Pocket 3 - Handheld PC with KVM and RS-232
Author : kbumsik
Score : 126 points
Date : 2021-11-04 18:10 UTC (4 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (gpd.hk)
(TXT) w3m dump (gpd.hk)
| rbanffy wrote:
| Seems quite vanilla Intel. I hope it runs Linux well, but, in
| this format, the i7 is overkill. The battery must be really
| limited and an Atom would probably be a better match.
| rsync wrote:
| If the modular IO port has an SCART module I will just die.
| [deleted]
| ok123456 wrote:
| I owned a Pocket 1, and I'm still bitter about it.
|
| After about a year of light use, the battery swelled up.
| Replacement batteries were out of stock and never replaced. The
| response was like, "Uh yeah old model. Sorry."
| amysox wrote:
| Amazon lists the GPD Pocket 2 at $730, and that's for half the
| RAM and a quarter the storage of this one. Draw your own
| conclusions about how much the Pocket 3 will cost.
| https://www.amazon.com/Update-8GB-Windows-Portable-Processor...
| sschueller wrote:
| Pocket 3 - 1195G7: $999 Pocket 3 - 1195G7 + module: $1079
| Pocket 3 - N6000: $650 Pocket 3 - N6000 + module: $730
|
| DHL costs included. All IGG backers get a 4096 stylus.
|
| From Twitter:
| https://twitter.com/softwincn/status/1453982767381762054
| vorpalhex wrote:
| Module here is the kvm module?
| sschueller wrote:
| I don't know, there appear to exist 3 modules [1], KVM,
| RS232 and a USB 3 A port.
|
| [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsRixkYu5I0
| dTal wrote:
| They're running it under their "Pocket" brand, but with its
| aggressively practical port layout (including RS232!) it looks a
| like it's being positioned as the long promised successor to the
| (fabulous) GPD Micro PC. This impression is bolstered by the odd
| touchpad and mousebutton placement - copied straight from the
| Micro PC.
|
| Which is a bit of a shame, because it sacrifices the thing which
| made the Micro PC a peerless gamechanger - pocketability
| (ironically). 8 inches is not a pocketable laptop, it's a
| standard netbook. Which is fine and nice and doubtless many will
| love it, but... disappointing. What I really wanted was double
| battery life and cellular modem so I wouldn't have to carry a
| phone anymore.
|
| I'm getting mixed messages from the touchpad placement as well.
| That design is perfect for using the computer with your thumbs
| while walking, and quite awkward for sitting down at a desk. It
| works fantastically well on the Micro PC, with its clicky thumb
| keyboard. Yet an 8 inch netbook would seem to be too large for
| thumb typing. What are the intended ergonomics here?
|
| The swappable rear port for all the exotic KVM stuff is a
| fascinating feature.
| int_19h wrote:
| I own both the MicroPC and GPD Pocket 2. The difference in size
| is not _that_ large, IMO. In fact, I did carry the Pocket
| around in the front pocket of my pants for a while,
| specifically as a portable but full-featured device. Granted,
| these were cargo pants, but still.
| dTal wrote:
| Right, the Pocket 2 is a diagonal inch bigger than the
| MicroPC. This is another diagonal inch bigger on top of that.
| It's definitely not going to fit in my back jeans pocket the
| way the MicroPC does. It crosses the line from "phone" to
| "tablet" size.
| nfriedly wrote:
| I have a GPD Win Max, which has about the same size keyboard,
| and it's a bit awkward at first, but you get used to it pretty
| quickly.
| 1MachineElf wrote:
| Love these features. Just wish it wasn't Windows.
| int_19h wrote:
| Their other devices have had good Linux compatibility. Stock
| Debian works great on GPD MicroPC, for example.
| mike_d wrote:
| I purchased the previous version of their "tech" mini laptop the
| GPD Micro PC.
|
| Most of the preorder/first batch shipped with a defective battery
| that couldn't charge if it ever dropped to zero. After waiting
| months for a replacement battery I had to install it myself, only
| to find out that the replacement battery had the same issue.
| Tossed the thing in a drawer and haven't tried using it since.
|
| Based on the other issues I have seen from r/GPD on Reddit, I
| think QA/testing is basically non-existent on these products. If
| you are lucky and get a good one from the factory they aren't
| bad, but issues are rampant.
| soneil wrote:
| Interesting, I didn't know that was the flaw. The battery in
| mine lasted less than 3 months, so this doesn't sound like a
| coincidence.
|
| It's interesting seeing people sing the praises of the Micro, I
| treat it as a lesson learnt.
| fuzzy2 wrote:
| Huh, that doesn't sound like something I'd want rotting in a
| drawer! Haven't had any batteries actually explode/burn but saw
| many that (physically) broke their devices when they bloated.
| WalterGR wrote:
| What uses RS-232 these days?
|
| https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/RS-232
| ktm5j wrote:
| Rackmount networking hardware (routers, switches), disk
| arrays/storage appliances, etc. I work with a lot of equipment
| that does. It's usually a rj-45 connector on the hardware, but
| you just use a cable that has rs-232 on one end and rj-45 on
| the other. The fact that this has an actual rs-232 port makes
| it really tempting for me to buy one!
| snvzz wrote:
| Pretty much everything.
|
| But particularly, servers, network equipment, industrial
| equipment.
| prova_modena wrote:
| Industrial equipment like CNC machines.
| zwieback wrote:
| Rarely anything new but I regularly need it for old
| manufacturing line equipment that just keeps running. 20 years
| is nothing for some of our assembly lines.
| tenebrisalietum wrote:
| My VT-220.
| com2kid wrote:
| Plenty of embedded still does.
| jdhawk wrote:
| Headless Equipment with a console.
| foxfluff wrote:
| It's the first thing that works, JTAG or other proprietary
| debug ports aside. It's _the_ thing that you start with in
| order to get everything else to work, and it 's the thing that
| works when everything else fails. That's why my desk is full of
| RS232 dongles and cables. The first thing I need to do when I
| get a new board is to figure out where the console is.
| stefan_ wrote:
| Except few of those use actual RS232 voltage levels, which
| would just be an useless expense.
| foxfluff wrote:
| Well our boards do support the full swing. Except for the
| latest prototype which I got a few weeks ago, that one
| talks 3V3 TTL levels.
| bobsmooth wrote:
| Military equipment.
| luma wrote:
| Basically all modern storage arrays and network devices rely on
| serial connections for first time setup. There are some
| advantages to this approach for the datacenter engineer if you
| aren't trying to do it at scale (where you'd likely be
| leveraging PXE). Once you have the speed and parity sorted out
| (often a pain), it's easy to copy/paste into a serial terminal
| which can make stuffing large configs into a new device
| relatively painless. Alternately, one can sometimes navigate
| through a simple menu system to configure IP addressing to
| complete initial config through some other means
| (SSH/HTTPS/etc).
|
| Anyone supporting network gear in a datacenter has a baby blue
| Cisco serial cable somewhere in their bag.
| IOT_Apprentice wrote:
| It would be great then if Monoprice built those serial port
| cables for use on iPads via either Lightning AND usb-c 4.
| int_19h wrote:
| Isn't it a different physical connector between Lightning
| and USB-C?
|
| And there cetainly are Lightning-to-serial cables out
| there: https://redpark.com/products/serial-adapters/
| rbanffy wrote:
| It's usually the interface of last resort, when all others were
| misconfigured into silence.
| crawsome wrote:
| I had a GPD XD that bricked a chunk of it's own circuitry, all of
| the screen became fuzzy and distorted. All because I cold-reset
| it while it was on power. I did nothing else to it to make this
| happen. Amazon accepted the refund, and I look at GPD devices
| with distrust-by-default now.
| zeronine wrote:
| i think you're looking for reviews.ycombinator.con
| aspenmayer wrote:
| I would visit this site if only it existed.
| linsomniac wrote:
| TL;DR: Tiny laptop with modules so it can act like a KVM (HDMI
| and USB) or do RS-232 serial, high res display, i7-1195G7 CPU and
| 16GB RAM, touch screen, stylus, 1TB SSD.
|
| Couldn't find a price on it.
|
| Looks like it ticks all the boxes for a NetOps dream pocket PC.
| If you have kind of big pockets.
| sschueller wrote:
| Pocket 3 - 1195G7: $999 Pocket 3 - 1195G7 + module: $1079
| Pocket 3 - N6000: $650 Pocket 3 - N6000 + module: $730
|
| DHL costs included. All IGG backers get a 4096 stylus.
|
| From Twitter:
| https://twitter.com/softwincn/status/1453982767381762054
| bitwize wrote:
| Big pockets won't be a problem for the people buying this,
| given the likely asking price...
| tluyben2 wrote:
| Looks like they listened to indiegogo gpd sponsors like myself
| for this one. The best I had was the pocket 1, the pocket 2 I
| sold immediately after, the win3 is a lovely monster for gaming
| but this looks like a great move. Gpd makes nice machines and
| Linux is usually supported well, so I might get one.
| sschueller wrote:
| Looks like the port on the back needs 2 screws to put in the KVM
| vs the RS232 but that should be easily upgradeable to thumb
| screws.
|
| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdBgJOqIZPg
| chx wrote:
| > Intel Pentium Silver N6000
|
| Still Intel Atom. I will pass. My One Mix Yoga 2S has a proper
| Core processor.
| tyingq wrote:
| Looks pretty handy for certain niches. I do wonder how irritating
| the keyboard layout is when you actually have to use it, since
| semicolon, colon, quotes, braces/brackets, etc, are located in
| odd spots.
| emsy wrote:
| I have an iPad with a Magic Keyboard that looks quite similar if
| you squint (albeit a bit bigger). But I can probably do a
| fraction of the things on it that the GDP will be able to do. I
| wonder why? Better hardware? Makes you wonder.
| IOT_Apprentice wrote:
| I would think that an iPad would be faster and with someone
| designing/building USB C based serial port connector would be a
| better solution. Especially if a formal KVM Hypervisor was
| built to run on the iPad and you could load the Linux OS of
| your choice that way with drivers to support utilization of the
| USB-C port on the iPad for hardware connectivity/sensors.
| perth wrote:
| Beware connecting GPD devices to your home or corporate network:
|
| https://old.reddit.com/r/gpdwin/comments/8qfvuh/warning_new_...
|
| https://old.reddit.com/r/gpdwin/comments/n5u1sy/yep_malware_...
| snvzz wrote:
| It's been a while. Years.
|
| Since they were able to point their finger at an "offending
| binary", you'd think there'd be some published work on analysis
| of this binary by now.
|
| But I couldn't find any. Why?!
| sschueller wrote:
| Wipe, install Linux
| chx wrote:
| Don't.
|
| I posted https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17656645 a
| number of times. Since then WSL v2 happened, even better.
| entropicdrifter wrote:
| Agreed, or use a clean debloated Windows image from the
| community's subreddit
| aspenmayer wrote:
| Is there an advantage to using their image, like hard to
| find/install drivers? I generally always advise people to
| use first party install media, in this case, via Media
| Creation Tool.
| monocasa wrote:
| Yeah, the GPD stuff generally has very specific to them
| drivers. Internally they straddle the line between
| regular PC and embedded device and there's some custom
| code to smooth over the differences.
| int_19h wrote:
| FWIW, at least some of their devices will happily work
| with a mainline Linux kernel. I have a GPD MicroPC
| running Debian Buster.
| monocasa wrote:
| Yep, I've got a GPD Pocket running Mint.
| xarope wrote:
| GPD pocket 2 running mint here too (well, until the
| battery bloated)
| monocasa wrote:
| Oof, I'm sorry. I'm really lucky to not have hit any
| battery bloat issues it seems. I don't even treat it
| well, regularly leaving it in my car's back window sill.
| aspenmayer wrote:
| I've had a lot of trouble reinstalling Windows on similar
| devices, the worst of which was a 2-in-1 tablet laptop,
| RCA brand sold at Walmart. I forget the model exactly,
| but they sold new under $200, maybe even under $100 on
| sale. I couldn't find the vendor who assembled them, but
| I think it was a W101 V or V2, originally shipping with
| Windows 8/8.1. Whenever I tried to clean install Windows
| 10, I could get everything to work but the touchscreen
| driver.
|
| I wish I still had that driver to see why it wouldn't
| install, but I'm not sorry I don't have the tablet, as it
| was a end user repair job. I tried DoubleDriver[0] to
| save my Windows 8 driver config, but it wouldn't work
| under restore on Windows 10. I tried Snappy Driver
| Installer Origin[1], and none of the drivers in my driver
| db worked. I even tried DriverStoreExplorer[2] to
| manually install from the .cabs and .infs. No luck.
|
| I suspect it had OEM offsets, registry keys, or other
| customizations which are applied at install time. I
| eventually had to use the OEM factory reset through the
| Shift + Restart menu to reinstall Windows 8, then in-
| place upgrade to Windows 10.
|
| It really makes me wonder what the market forces and
| actors are doing, such that a poorly integrated, barely
| functional underpowered laptop, with nonstandard hardware
| and software, can be sold in big box stores. I suspect
| that price conscious customers with basic needs get the
| majority of these, closely followed by gifts for kids or
| other family/friends.
|
| I usually have great success with these tools, but
| certain hardware tends to have vendor/integrater
| modifications to the OEM driver. I didn't have time to
| dig into the reasons why in this specific case, but the
| OEM didn't even provide a driver/installer for this model
| for the touchscreen. I know that for some people losing a
| touchscreen may not be a big deal, but as I was doing the
| repair as a service, I wanted total restoration of
| original OEM state, ideally without any unnecessary
| bloat. Can't win them all, I guess.
|
| I eventually got there, and it was the long way I knew
| would work, but it wasn't the Windows 10 clean install I
| had hoped for the end user. They were more than happy
| with the repair and so I choose to be happy with the
| outcome also, if not with the hoops I had to jump
| through, which ended up being for naught. All's well that
| ends well.
|
| [0] http://www.boozet.org/dd.htm
|
| [1] https://www.snappy-driver-installer.org
|
| [2] https://github.com/lostindark/DriverStoreExplorer
| 5- wrote:
| i have always found the microsoft model here
| understandable but unfortunate.
|
| i'm running stock linux on my gpd pocket 2 and i have
| never even had to consider whether there is any special
| hardware (apart from the rotated screen -- that required
| adding a parameter each to the kernel cmdline and the x11
| config).
|
| in particular the seemingly problematic on windows goodix
| touchscreen driver appears to have been part of the linux
| kernel since early 2015 when 3.19 got released: https://g
| it.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux...
| monocasa wrote:
| Are those for sure real? In a former job, I supported system
| software for Windows (among other OSes), and it'd be like once
| a quarter that one of the antivirus companies would mistakenly
| flag us as malware, and since they all share signatures, the
| others would all flag us like a week later. It was a huge pain,
| because they'd kill our auto update mechanism too.
| glonq wrote:
| Phrasing and grammar quirks on that website suggest that they
| should have spent a few extra bucks on an English-native writer
| or proofreader.
| celeduc wrote:
| 1) Being a native English speaker doesn't guarantee anyone
| knows how to write. 2) The vernacular style may be
| characteristic but it is not inferior, just unfamiliar.
| apricot wrote:
| It fits with GPD's reputation of not caring much about quality
| control.
| ketralnis wrote:
| I had a GPD Pocket 1 which was great for about six months until
| its battery swelled to dangerous proportions and I had to dispose
| of it. $500 gone :(
| sschueller wrote:
| Unlike and Apple (Yes mine is swollen and not under warranty of
| any kind) device the GPD Pocket 1 is not difficult to open [1]
| and you could have probably replaced that battery.
|
| [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTymxvORuZA
| wvenable wrote:
| Yeah my GPD Pocket 1 battery swelled as well after a year but I
| was able to pull it out and replace it with a new battery from
| AliExpress. It's still going strong with the new battery.
| loxias wrote:
| Makes me miss OQO.
| dmje wrote:
| Longest screen of text in the world, ever, and the "buy now" call
| to action doesn't work so no idea of price...
| zamadatix wrote:
| The order now button is a bit premature, it isn't schedule to
| start selling until tomorrow on Indiegogo.
| tluyben2 wrote:
| It is usually crowdfunding on indiegogo. So maybe that will
| happen any moment.
| sschueller wrote:
| According to their twitter, Nov 5th, 10:00AM BEIJING time
|
| https://twitter.com/softwincn/status/1456207719069749256?t=v.
| ..
| jack1243star wrote:
| I appreciate the details, feels like they know what they're
| doing. (target user, use case, design goals etc.)
| bitwize wrote:
| This is a modern-day Toshiba Libretto which takes design cues
| from the Framework and I frickin' love it -- on paper. I'm not
| going to early-adopt the thing but I'm interested to see how it
| shakes out.
| sschueller wrote:
| From Twitter:
| https://twitter.com/softwincn/status/1456207719069749256?t=v...
|
| "GPD Pocket 3 Indiegogo crowdfunding starts on 5th Nov 2021,
| 10:00AM BEIJING time 5th Nov 2021, 2:00AM GreenwichMeanTime Total
| 45 days! 30% off if you back us on Indiegogo. The stylus is free
| provided but only for IGG backers! IGG page:
| https://t.co/zEMaOUJfIX"
| at_a_remove wrote:
| I really wanted to like the GPD Pocket 2, after agonizing over
| buying it, but it turned out that I could not quite deal with the
| keyboard and was not adjusting to it. And so it sits, unused. I
| should probably dig it out and make it into a "in case of
| computational emergency ..." item of last resort.
|
| If I could type on this for a while to see, I would likely buy
| it.
| zamadatix wrote:
| Seems a little larger than most of their devices. I'm not sure
| carrying an 8" laptop really gains much from your standard 12" or
| 13" laptop since in either case you're out of pocket or small
| pouch territory.
|
| I still think the GPD Win 2 was their device witht he best design
| direction, even if it wasn't a perfect implementation of the
| goals. 6" was the perfect size for the niche, the gamepad mouse
| controls were easier to use than the corner touchpad, the
| keyboard had more buttons, and it was more all purpose. Newer
| innards and higher quality physical components for the
| keyboard+gamepad would be killer. The 3 went far too gaming
| console focused trying to be a Nintendo Switch with a hidden
| keyboard rather than a computer.
| LAC-Tech wrote:
| I used to have an 8.4 inch tablet, and while I couldn't fit it
| in a pocket it was still "take it with me everywhere" in a way
| that a 12 inch laptop wasn't.
| dTal wrote:
| I agree, this is basically a gorgeous and modern netbook loaded
| with ports. Which is a wonderful product and desperately
| needed! But not quite as revolutionary as some of their other
| products.
|
| I can't speak to their other products, but the GPD Micro PC is
| basically a perfect product for what it tries to be. I've never
| used anything that made such a perfect set of ergonomic
| decisions. The crazy bastards managed to make a phone-sized
| laptop that _actually works_ as a laptop.
|
| I find the corner touchpad to be extremely usable on the GPD
| Micro PC, by the way. I haven't tried the Win 2, to be fair,
| but I find it difficult to picture a joystick nub being more
| precise.
| Rebelgecko wrote:
| FWIW I have a similar device (Chuwi minibook) and it really is
| pocketable. However I realized that at least for me, a better
| keyboard and more screen real estate would come in handy more
| often than extreme portability (plus support from some of these
| small brands is pretty bad)
| jbj wrote:
| I spent money on planet computers gemini, which I have been happy
| with, but one thing that came to a surprise to me was how the
| whole keyboard layout ecosystem works. If going into a remote
| desktop, the remote machine needs to support the layout of
| whatever device you use. If you plan to use it for coding, better
| verify before relying on it.
| sschueller wrote:
| Yeah, I have one too but the battery just sucks and Linux
| support is limited. Haven't used it much sadly...
| sschueller wrote:
| Here is a good "quick" review:
| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsRixkYu5I0
| csdvrx wrote:
| Would fit in my purse _and_ connect to my thunderbolt desktop
| setup (dual 4k OLED with a nice SK8835 keyboard)
|
| I would gladly pay extra for an OLED screen, ECC ram, and a 2nd
| m2 port to plug a 4G or 5G module.
|
| At the moment I'm playing with a WoA (Windows on ARM64) Lumia 950
| XL running Windows 10 Pro, it's wonderful to have a Windows
| Terminal with me at all times to SSH, even if it is a tad slow
| when opening multiple apps.
| z3t4 wrote:
| Site difficult to brows on mobile. Order button doesnt work. Nice
| features though, dont have to move around a screen when
| connecting to a server...
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(page generated 2021-11-04 23:00 UTC)