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Linux - Laptop and Netbook Having a problem installing or configuring Linux on your laptop? Need help running Linux on your netbook? This forum is for you. This forum is for any topics relating to Linux and either traditional laptops or netbooks (such as the Asus EEE PC, Everex CloudBook or MSI Wind).

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Old 08-10-2019, 07:20 AM   #1
Christopher Wylie
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Linux Tablets - do they exist?


Hello,
I was trying to make the title a little bit more interesting than "Hardware recommendations", but that is what I am asking for!
I want to buy myself some sort of very small 360-degree (meaning I can bend the keyboard all the way back to use the thing like a tablet) laptop/ultrabook, or an actual tablet, max. 11 inch.
Compressed video playback should be possible, hence it should have decent driver support and not be much older than 5 years.
What models exist, and which have a high likelihood of being Linux-compatible?

Thank you in advance,

CW
 
Old 08-10-2019, 01:02 PM   #2
business_kid
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If you've searched ebay, newegg, Aliexpress etc, and they don't exist, my guess is no, linux tablets don't exist.

Drivers are usually the issue Everybody is used to touch screens holding keyboards, and by the time you research that enough to reverse engineer it, that model is passé and they have a thinner, fancier screen from a different manufacturer. It would take a very large project to get that off the ground, and if the tablet has a sim, forget it. Then there's wifi, bluetooth, charging, etc.

Try and find projects on github, or sourceforge. That's probably your best bet.
 
Old 08-10-2019, 06:00 PM   #3
freemedia2018
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I had a pengpod https://web.archive.org/web/20140217...itle=Main_Page https://www.pcworld.com/article/2014...ng-at-120.html https://linux-sunxi.org/User:BroderTuck

I really wanted to like it, but I can't say I was too impressed. Seems to be gone now. It ran a derivative of Ubuntu and I downloaded and ran Debian on it from a microsd (not a chroot like Lil Debi on Android.)

So the real question is, is there a (GNU) Linux tablet that you can still buy, and is it any good? I hate tablets anyway, but I would be happy if there were more tablets that ran neither Apple or Google software, really.
 
Old 08-10-2019, 09:15 PM   #4
frankbell
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I saw instructions on how to make a Raspberry Pi tablet. (Looks around.) Here they are: https://hackernoon.com/raspad-review...t-499579033214
 
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Old 08-10-2019, 09:31 PM   #5
ChuangTzu
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Install Linux on your x86 tablet: 5 distros to choose from
https://www.techradar.com/news/softw...e-from-1162825
 
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Old 08-11-2019, 04:34 AM   #6
rokytnji
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My XT2 is pretty cool and still runs. Be nicer if it was a XT3.

http://www.linlap.com/dell_latitude_xt3
 
Old 08-13-2019, 02:56 PM   #7
jefro
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Ubuntu port came out the other day where some users could install it to phone or tablet maybe.
 
Old 08-18-2019, 04:34 AM   #8
Christopher Wylie
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I did not mean Linux Tablets as a product. I plan to install Linux myself.
I think Linux distros for ARM exist nowadays, so it is a normal question to ask for recommendation which device work best with Linux?
One person said x86 tablets exist also. That should be even easier.
I think touchscreen support exists in Linux nowadays, no?

A lot has changed since 2016.

What is the situation for 2019 for Linux distros for touchscreen devices with small screens?

PS: thanks for mentioning x86 tablets and the raspad (but I don't want to build hardware myself)
 
Old 08-18-2019, 05:59 AM   #9
freemedia2018
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Christopher Wylie View Post
I think touchscreen support exists in Linux nowadays, no?
It's just another pointing device. I've used it on ARM tablets and amd64 notebooks with touchscreens. So really touchscreen support isn't that special.
 
Old 08-19-2019, 02:49 AM   #10
ondoho
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Just found this in another thread, seems relevant here:
Quote:
Originally Posted by permaroot View Post
You don’t think x86 will offer better game emulation over ARM?
Quote:
Originally Posted by NicoD SBC View Post
It will give better compatibillity with more games. But it isn't that much more powerful than the raspberry pi 3b.
Biggest advantage is all graphics drivers are available for it.

For the lighter consoles up to N64 and PSX it'll be ok. Most PSP games work ok, but not great.
PS2 is out of the question.
Greetings.
 
Old 08-19-2019, 02:30 PM   #11
jefro
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https://ubports.com/devices/promoted-devices
 
  


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