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A new crop of mini-laptops with 7 inch displays and Intel Celeron J4125 processors are available from AliExpress with prices starting around $300.
For example, you can pick up a model with 8GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD for $308, or pay a bit more for a model with up to 1TB of storage.
The little computers are available from a number of different sellers with different names and different price points. But the basic features appear to be the same across the board. The mini-laptop has an aluminum body that measures 0.8 inches thick and weighs about 1.4 pounds, a 2MP webcam built into the side of the display, and a QWERTY keyboard for touch-typing with a TrackPoint-style pointing nub rather than a touchpad.
If the little computers look familiar, that’s because they appear to be identical (on the outside) to last year’s Topton L4 and a number of similar models released since last summer. But while those models were powered by a 2016 Intel Celeron J3455 Apollo Lake processor, the new versions have a more recent Celeron J4125 Gemini Lake Refresh chip, which was released in 2019 and which should bring a noticeable performance boost… keeping in mind that it’s still a low-cost, low-power chip designed for budget devices.
Unfortunately the processor appears to be the only thing that’s been upgraded. The display is still a low-res 1024 x 600 pixel touchscreen display. And while the marketing for the mini-laptop says that it supports pressure-sensitive pen input with up to 1024 or 2048 levels of sensitivity (depending on the seller and model), the computer ships with a capacitive pen, which makes me doubt that spec. Capacitive pens basically act like a fingertip, letting you write or draw on the screen, but without any pressure sensitivity.
Other features include 8GB of RAM, an M.2 slot populated by a 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB SSD, USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 Type-A ports, an HDMI port, a 3.5mm audio jack, and a microSD card reader.
The laptops are powered by 7.4V/3,000 mAh batteries and support WiFi 5 and Bluetooth 4.2. They’re actively cooled, with a small fan inside the chassis.
If you’d rather opt for a model with the same processor, but a slightly larger and much higher-resolution display, the new Chuwi MiniBook is an 8 inch mini-laptop with a 1920 x 1200 pixel display touchscreen display, a Celeron J4125 processor, and a 360-degree hinge that lets you use in notebook or tablet modes. A model with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage is available from Banggood for $330.
Does anybody know what screen this uses? I ordered one that got super beaten up in the mail and the screen got broken. Trying to find out how to replace the screen. I looked it up and found the hardware id of AUO17D8 but every instance I’ve found so far online says it’s a 10″ screen instead of an 7″ screen….
Would anyone know where to download the drivers for this pc. I needed to reinstall windows and now ae missing device drivers. Any help thx
Anyone put Linux on these? Does it work well?
I bought one a week ago and after some in depth troubleshooting yes it does run linux, and I have everything working (can’t verify suspend at this point though). Sound is a PITA because it uses the ES8336 audio card. Wifi also needs a bit of work. The company used a portrait panel for the monitor so you also need to rotate it, then fix the touchscreen.
To have even a halfway usable keyboard size, a 7″ screen laptop needs to have sizable bezels. So what’s the point? I think maybe 10-12″ is the reasonable range for a laptop with small bezels on the screen.
Eh I loved the eeepc701
The return of a trackpoint is delightful! Pity about the placement and the rest…
Fully agree! I don’t know why all the higher cost small laptops (gdp, 1netbook etc.) use the optical “trackpoint” that, in my opinion, is far less usable?!
Typo: “They’re actively cooled, with a small computer inside the chassis.”
Don’t… all computers have a computer in the chassis?
That’s what they want you to think…
Also, thanks, I’ve fixed that 🙂
😂
I can’t imagine trying to use any modern OS with only 600px of vertical resolution. This was a problem even with the original GPD Win at 1280×720 — a lot of programs expect more screen real estate. 1366×768, even if a terrible resolution for a full-sized device, is probably the absolute lowest I’d want to go on a mini device like this.
I can’t imagine being able to effectively draw on a screen with a hinge design like that anyway.