Do they have a rPi laptop or netbook form factor? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Beamin
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 19, 2018, 11:01:56 am
content: That would be perfect for me. I sit on my bed all day (kind of sort of disabled )with my lap top as sitting up in a chair bothers my back. Ideally it would be a screen keyboard/touch pad and battery all in one. Then you could just put a rpi or that standard sized board in the bottom and as they come out with new models just replace the board. I wish I had a machine shop or even a 3d printer to make one. Seems like something ben heck would make.

author: edy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 19, 2018, 11:23:08 am
content: There have been plenty of examples online (and I think somebody even tried to Kickstart one). A few examples here:https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hash42/noodle-pi-the-complete-raspberry-pi-pocket-computehttps://www.indiegogo.com/projects/pi-top-a-raspberry-pi-laptop-you-build-yourself#/As cool as this sounds, I don't think it is worth doing unless you want to piece it together yourself for fun, and need the GPIO pins for something. You are much better off picking up even a slightly used laptop or net book and wiping the OS and installing some version of Linux. You will get a faster system, more integrated and probably cheaper system.The thing that came closest to do it yourself cheap was using a Motorola Atrix Lapdock:https://www.google.ca/amp/s/www.instructables.com/id/The-Raspberry-Pi-Lapdock-Connection/%3famp_page=trueThis device was meant to allow Motorola Atrix smartphone users to connect to a screen and keyboard/mouse and it came with battery, making it into a laptop. They had standard USB to power the smart phone and HDMI input so it was relative breeze adapting it for RasPi use. The only problem is that once this trick became known, the few cheap Atrix Lapdocks got scooped up (they were considered a relative failure prior) and now good luck finding one worth the hassle.

author: janoc
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 19, 2018, 12:25:45 pm
content: Sparkfun even sells a ready-to-go kit:https://www.sparkfun.com/products/13896

author: edy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 19, 2018, 02:19:17 pm
content: Quote from: janoc on August 19, 2018, 12:25:45 pmLooks neat but pricey at $265 (which still doesn't include the RasPi)!So question to the OP is why RasPi? Are you going to be using the GPIO? If you are then probably you'll be at a bench. Otherwise you can ssh into it remotely anyways from any laptop. Is it because of RasPian? Any Debian based distro should work just as well (like Ubuntu). Where you thinking to save money or weight?Any second-hand Chromebook will be cheaper and better... Under $100 easily. A quick search revealed many Brand New sub-$200 models which look good. Just install Linux on it (check if model was successfully "hacked" before buying) using the following tutorial:https://tutorials.ubuntu.com/tutorial/install-ubuntu-on-chromebookWhile I have a RasPi myself and think it is cool, personally I'm saving mine to build a PiCade. But if all you want is a lighter laptop to not kill your back in bed, I don't see it as a practical way to go. It is something you would do for fun but end up costing you more and be limiting.[EDIT: Just one more thing added below!]IF you REALLY must have GPIO that the RasPi offers, you can also just buy a breakout board like this from Adafruit for dirt cheap:https://www.adafruit.com/product/2264Again, it all depends on the OP's original intent for the RasPi and what the point of converting it into a "laptop" format would be.

author: Beamin
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 19, 2018, 03:48:52 pm
content: Quote from: edy on August 19, 2018, 02:19:17 pmI would prefer windows actually. I just want something like a netbook size. I have an awesome netbook but when I installed HDSDR the touch pad got fucked up and its useless wit out it. Never could figure out how to fix it and they don't give you the CDs to reinstall so it got put on the self some where.I just want wireless small portable and long battery. Plugging in SDRPlay and sdr uno as well as other SDR programs is a bonus.I just found this lap top with no HD no big deal but I cant find the back plate which makes it useless unless people sell those . I don't remember buying it or why I took it apart. This lap top would be greatSince I have vision issue I have to keep the screen close to my face and those smaller screens seem to be formatted for that.

author: rstofer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 19, 2018, 04:10:40 pm
content: Any of the Microsoft Surface products would probably work well. The Surface PRO models are lighter but the Surface Book model is more robust. I actually use my Surface Book with an external keyboard, mouse and display as my main PC. Windows 10 is included.2.6 GHz i6600U processor - dual core with 500 GB SSD drive on the Book. Pretty quick.

author: edy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 19, 2018, 04:55:15 pm
content: The SUBJECT LINE and original post is confusing then. It sounded like you wanted to convert our RasPi into a laptop/netbook. Later you mentioned you wanted a Windows computer. What do you plan on doing with the computer exactly?Why not get a small Win10 laptop, under 12" screen size. They are small and light and thin and mostly cheap but will be under-powered, for use for light applications and net-apps (cloud apps), email, browsing, etc. A used one will be < $100, even new they are cheap. At least they are small and easy to carry, should have a reasonable battery life, etc. Again, this is way off what the original post seemed to be asking... that's why it was confusing and previous answers were all aiming to show you RasPi (which is going to necessarily be Linux-based) solutions.The only Win you'll get on a RasPi is WinIoT core and trust me that's not going to be enough RAM or power for much of anything useful but IoT development.

author: rdl
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 19, 2018, 05:09:11 pm
content: Might be cheaper to just fix the "awesome netbook" you already have.

author: Beamin
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 19, 2018, 07:41:06 pm
content: Quote from: edy on August 19, 2018, 04:55:15 pmMy brain likes to go off on tangents. I might buy that 249$ pi adapter one just because it's novel.Many times I was ready to go out and buy something made a post here and ended up getting something totally different and usually better. That's how I got my scope and soldering iron. I would probably pay money for this site or most likely start a patreon once my living situation changes. I just hate monthly charges because everything is going that way.