Late last year Pine64 unveiled plans to release a cheap Linux laptop with a starting price of $89.

While the Pinebook isn’t available for purchase yet, it looks like some developers have gotten their hands on pre-release versions of the laptop.

As spotted by Gamehelp.guru, some real-world photos have been posted to the Linux Sunxi website, along with more details about the computer’s specs.

The Linux Sunxi community is focused on bringing open source software to computers with Allwinner’s ARM-based processors, so the Pinebook seems right up the group’s alley.

The Pinebook features an Allwinner A64 ARM Cortex-A53 quad-core 64-bit processor. It also has 2GB of RAM, 16GB of eMMC 5.0 storage, 802.11n WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, two USB 2.0 ports, a mini HDMI jack, and a microSD card slot.

Pine64 will offer two models: an 11.6 inch version with an $89 price tag and a $99 model with a 14 inch screen. Both HD displays.

While the official spec sheet for the laptop says it features a 1280 x 720 pixel IPS display, the Linux Sunxi site says the current version actually has a 1366 x 768 pixel TN screen. It’s unclear if that will change in the final design.

Also according to Linux Sunxi, 11.6 inch Pinebook measures about 11.8″ x 7.9″ x 0.9″ while the larger version is 13.9″ x 9.2″ x 0.9″.

You can also find more details about the specific hardware in a series of posts at the Linux Sunxi Google group. There’s no word on what kind of performance we should expect from this cheap Linux laptop yet though.

 

 

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10 replies on “Pre-release Pinebook spotted in the wild ($89 Linux laptop)”

  2. The problem I’ve always had with conventional Linux (so not Android) on ARM processors is that most non open source apps are x86 only and about half of the open source ones have problems. I’ve spent days trying to get a useable Linux system working on an nvidia K1 powered chromebook and gave it up as a bad job.

    Hopefully this will give the community something to build around.

  4. Sign me up, this is where the value’s at. It’s the equivalent of the SBCs at $30 while everything else is up at $100-200. Wasn’t there another laptop based on the A64 but modular due out at some point for twice the cost of this despite having half the RAM and a quarter of the eMMC?

  5. please better keyboard. linux users need PgUp right AltGr no combination but normal terminal keyboard.

    1. I like the keyboard and size of the touchpad better on the 14″ version of this laptop. Keep in mind the price though, it’s still going to be a low end keyboard, but at least the keys are laid out better.

  6. I am finding those prices for those brand new laptops very hard to believe.

    1. Why? They’re not having to pay licensing fees for x86, Windows, other miscellaneous chipsets, and cutting costs using a single SoC to drive most of it with a cheap screen and simple injection molded case. It’s really easy to crank out a clamshell if you’re just dumping cheap brains in it.

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