Hi, I've been searching for a Linux tablet/convertible to use at school and university for quite a while and would like to hear your recommendations, if you have any.
I have a pretty strict set of requirements, those are:
- 6GB RAM
- 4 core CPU
- stylus support
- magnetic keyboard with German layout
- somewhat reasonable battery life (6h of note taking would be great)
I will mostly use the device for coding, taking notes, web browsing, document editing and watching stuff online.
I am not afraid to do some work to get my device to be usable (e.g. port an Android driver if really necessary), but would prefer to be able to use the device as fast as possible (as one can probably imagine). I do not expect a perfectly usable out-of-the-box experience, as I know that's not to be expected with mobile Linux.
My maximum budget is 700€, but that does not mean I necessarily want to spend that much.
Some devices I've found specifically made to run Linux:
PineTab 2: No stylus support, not for me.
FydeTab Duo: No German layout, not being shipped yet (and kind of unclear when it will)
Starlite Mk 5: Really cool device imo, but there are no reviews as it hasn't been shipped yet
I've also been exploring the PostmarketOS devices page a bit, but only found the Xiaomi Mi Pad 5 Pro which looks good so far, but I might have to reach out to the device maintainer to find out more about the bluetooth status.
Edit: You’ve all recommended x86 devices/convertibles (which kind of makes sense) and I also found some of them:
- Surface devices: seem to work pretty well, although I would prefer not to support Microsoft
- IdeaPad Flex and Duet: Both seem like good deals, the Duet 5i looks especially interesting to me as it’s more of a "true tablet"
Are some of you daily driving Linux tablets? Do you recommend doing this at all? Do you have device recommendations?
Thank you all a lot for your time and effort!
I didn't know that it was this much, that's so great! I think people with disabilities deserve to be able to use free software just as much as people without disabilities do (maybe even more since I may be better able to handle all the BS e.g. Microsoft might throw at me than let's say a blind person) and this is important work in ensuring that.
Although the article talks mainly about all of the negative stuff people are saying, I'm still positively surprised by the amount of work the community is already putting in and I think that the free software vision is one that aligns very well with, well, accessible software.