[HN Gopher] GPD Pocket 3 - Handheld PC with KVM and RS-232 ___________________________________________________________________ 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... ___________________________________________________________________ (page generated 2021-11-04 23:00 UTC)