I have a soft spot for tiny laptops, so this was fun to see! The screen resolution is amazing for a 7" laptop. Lots of ports. Nice of you to post a write-up, which allowed me to more fully appreciate how much the designers were able to cram into such a small form factor. I hope whoever lent you the laptop gives you an update after s/he has used it for a while!
HI, Considering that this was purchased for a specific application, (Primarily PLC and cisco programming in outdoor cabinets in remote areas with no vehicle access), its working very well. A fresh installation of windows has eliminated the performance issues (I wasn't even aware of them until I watched this video). Performance and connectivity are very good and I've even managed to install and use Autocad on it (though admittedly its not a great experience considering the size of the screen). Keyboard takes a bit of getting used to but for my application, I am primarily typing with one hand so it actually works out very well. Battery life is around the 5hr mark with screen on full brightness (and in below zero temperatures). Overall works very well for my needs.
0:36 A lot of listings for GPD devices include "gifts," i.e. junky accessories included in the box even if it's not directly mentioned in the listing. All three items on top are gifts, the earbuds not being bagged is odd. Almost wonder if there's a warehouse in Shenzhen with a pit filled to the brim with loose chineseum EarPod clones that needs to be cleared.
Had mine a year now, it’s my daily driver. Very much worth the $600 I spent for the power and portability. I even manage to play some xbox 360 generation games (Arkham City currently!) on it.
I have a story. Once I have ordered a case for my Xiaomi Redmi 1S from ali. I received: 2x Xiaomi Redmi 1S phone, 2 batteries and 10 cases :) plus some protective display sheets. Sometimes you never know what extra items you get :)
At my workplace, we have dozens of Thinkpad 11e, which are great little netbooks. They cost about 100€ on ebay and are quite powerful, albeit not as small as the GPD Pocket.
Well, most of their products are campaigned through Crowdfunding, so that gives you an idea that: - Their margins are slim - They lack access to heavy discounts on parts, materials, labor, and deals with IC manufacturers - Their build processes must not be scalable enough to guarantee a steady supply They have their niche and cult following, which seems to be enough for them to keep the lights on. You're not paying fair price, you're doing them a favor considering their limited resources. I've been in love with 90's Palmtop PCs that I wish I could afford a GPD device, but I have other priorities.
@@LaptopRetrospective software dev on the go. Buying one or two Wisecoco 7 inch 1920x1080 monitors to carry a decent dual or trippel monitor development suite in my jacket pockets. Will design a carry pouch and mounting system for the monitor/s
You should try testing it with more demanding tasks. That CPU is capable of more, as shown in other reviews - Office? Lightroom? Photoshop? AutoCAD? VSCode? Blender? I have run those on slower and older CPUs. It would be nice to see how it performs there, doing light work.
I don't know if it would have worked as well. TrackPoint in my experience works when the device is large and heavy enough to distribute the force needed to operate it and I think it would just end up sliding around. Also using it in your hands off of a desk would be tricky I think.
@@LaptopRetrospective Good point. I guess that's the same reason as to why the X1 Fold omitted it (aside from the fact that having one without a trackpad may not have gone well).
My thoughts exactly. That and I'm not sure the Fold would handle constant downward pressure from the TrackPoint. I can't imagine they didn't try to include it and ran into an issue like that.
@@LaptopRetrospective Another good point, I forgot that the keyboard can be placed on the bottom half of the "laptop". It's plausible that Lenovo didn't even attempt to include it considering their recent history with ThinkPads.
Man, I miss 250$ netbooks. Not the very first ones, but second~third gen: 10-11 inch screen, very plastic, but pretty solid and very portabe. And cheap. All nowadays small form factor laptops cost an arm and a leg, and are not very comfy to use, as 1920x1080 is just too much for a 7 inch screen. It was too much on my 11 inch 2in1 when used as a laptop, text was tiny! Give me a Samsung NC10 or an EEE PC with Celeron J4125 and a HD screen! You don't have to change the bulky case design - just put a lot of copper for cooling inside, maybe you'll manage to make it passive this time around! I'll install something like Xfce Mint and it should last me 5 years of internet browsing and 90s emulation gaming easily.
Blame the OEM's greed and Microsoft for killing off the Netbook standard. However, there used to be good options, if you look close enough. (they are relegated to educational markets, so look over there, oh, and it's not all Chromebooks) For example: HP Stream 11 was produced until very recently, same with the Lenovo 11e. www.ebay.com/itm/LENOVO-ThinkPad-11e-11-6-i3-6100U-2-3GHz-128GB-SSD-8GB-RAM-Windows-10-Pro/284146070302?hash=item42286cf31e:g:V20AAOSwkz9f~gjW This eBay listing shows what you can find. Granted, it's not new, but there used to be options. Won't stop you from missing ye good olde days, though (and to be fair, I even miss the old Alienware M11x)
@@orcaflotta7867 good for you! Both standards exist, so they could offer both. I start feeling somewhat comfy with FHD at about 14 inches - and right now don't need more than FHD even on my 27" desktop screen. For almost six months of 2020 I had to use 2in1 FHD as my only PC, and it just wasn't comfy for every use case. It was a cool thing for casual web browsing in bed (screen much closer to eyes), but not comfy for any serious work at the desk. Shame that everything is designed for high resolutions nowadays as I believe 1280x800 15" screens were the most comfy to use on laptops without squinting. Scaling content is not very convenient IMO - and poor scaling doesn't look good even on most beautiful screen.
@@juanignacioaschura9437 I think post-leasing small form factor business laptops were much better alternative for a while, but pandemic hiked their prices. So maybe I miss them because the better alternative isn't as easily available anymore! $175 i3-6100U ThinkPad sounds like a pretty good value, shame we don't have offers like that in my country now!
I’m looking for a mini laptop to take to school to help with my coding and computing project. Something that can code easily, but also to probably play light video games as well as watching videos. Would you reccomend this over the GPD Micro PC industry Mini Laptop?
@@LaptopRetrospective can you recommend any laptops on the smaller side? Something maybe slightly bigger than an IPad (because you seem to know more about this than I do)
I do a fair bit of writing myself and find the 12-13" form factor to be my personal favourite. I wouldn't want to type a short story or an essay on this, let alone a novel. If the extremely small size still appeals to you, I'd recommend an external USB keyboard of your choice.
@@LaptopRetrospective Good point. My setup is a Chromebook duet (I’ll never go back to windows, Mac would be my second choice), and a Qwerkywriter keyboard.
Interesting! Glad to hear you've found something that works for you. It isn't every day that I talk to people that are satisfied with a Chromebook, whatever works as they say. 😁
Just got mine 8gb ram 356gb ssd Amber edition, running skyrim, fallout 3, elite dangerous, star wars battlefront 2 original version, dexed, ableton lite etc just fine
I have the GPD 1 and the battery died after 1 year... Even without this, it made me realize these devices are a "false good idea" (to translate from a French expression). They are big for pockets, loud, would need cellular to work properly and battery life is short and then dies soon since they use poor cells...not worth it...
I think we have a similar expression in English called the "Good Idea Fairy" and I think for most people it might feel that way. It is a very niche device no doubt about it. Thanks for taking the time to comment on your experience with the first generation of these devices.
The dreaded "FBI": "Fausse Bonne Idée" :) Glad to see some fellow French here ;) And I have to agree, too: I'm not sure what usage this would fill better than a slightly bigger laptop, or a tablet and a decent bluetooth keyboard. I really feel like the biggest issue for me here is the keyboard layout that would make waste productivity. That, and with the issues you just mentioned, I guess it's now easier to say "no" to this. But, man, it's sooooo cute :)
@@esseferio ahah oui, et celui là a un meilleur clavier, le GPD 1 est encore pire, c'est presque mieux d'écrire à l'écran... Au fait, mon ex disait , à chaque fois que je disais GPD, "t'as pété"? 🤣
I haven’t yet finished watching the video, but just wanted to point out that it sounds very weird when you refere to SSD storage as ROM. That’s - by very definition - not a ROM. And neither is even the UEFI these days. Just a nitpicking, I know, but still it felt really wrong, sorry. Nice review, though! Thanks for the video!
It's funny you mention that because I thought it was strange too but that's what the official literature called it so I deferred it to. Thanks for taking the time to point it out.
ROM is the way Chinese manufactures (wrongly) often refer to HDDs and SSDs. It was pretty clear to me he was surprised in the video by the use of the word ROM by GPD
Thanks for the heads up that it is likely a Chinese manufacturer thing, this would be my first time looking at one. This is why I love TH-cam, I learn so much every video I make.
It's really hard to imagine where this thing could be useful, pretty heavy, poor performances, inefficient keyboard for any kind of programming or extensive typing, needs a power bank (so it loses its portability too).. however it's cool as hell!
The person that bought it has to open remote into machines and reset stuff in the middle of nowhere or sometimes in obscure places with little to no room to move. So for them it meets their needs nicely.
@@LaptopRetrospective Now that's a usage that makes somewhat sense :) Thanks for the example. I was a bit afraid this was more of a novelty item than an actual tool.
Every GPD product I’ve ever bought (Pocket/Win/MicroPC) came with keyloggers and malware that stole logins. I hope you reinstalled windows from your own clean copy!
@@LaptopRetrospective yea, I was in disbelief. I don't think it was GPD, it's probably someone in their supply-chain. I like their hardware and will continue to support, but will always nuke their software first.
@@LaptopRetrospective have your viewers test it for themselves. Login to something with a disposable login (like a netflix secondary family account), Gmail login with no 2FA, etc. You'll see bogus logins to the account within minutes (definitely a day or two)...
I have a soft spot for tiny laptops, so this was fun to see! The screen resolution is amazing for a 7" laptop. Lots of ports. Nice of you to post a write-up, which allowed me to more fully appreciate how much the designers were able to cram into such a small form factor.
I hope whoever lent you the laptop gives you an update after s/he has used it for a while!
Yep, I hope for a follow-up later, but initial reports are that it is meeting their needs rather nicely. Glad you enjoyed the supplementary article.
HI, Considering that this was purchased for a specific application, (Primarily PLC and cisco programming in outdoor cabinets in remote areas with no vehicle access), its working very well. A fresh installation of windows has eliminated the performance issues (I wasn't even aware of them until I watched this video). Performance and connectivity are very good and I've even managed to install and use Autocad on it (though admittedly its not a great experience considering the size of the screen). Keyboard takes a bit of getting used to but for my application, I am primarily typing with one hand so it actually works out very well. Battery life is around the 5hr mark with screen on full brightness (and in below zero temperatures). Overall works very well for my needs.
"Celeron is doing what it can" 🤣🤣
Sharp little laptop!
Yeah it did MUCH better on a fresh install of Windows 10 Pro after updates. Out of the box performance is not indicative of the real deal.
0:36 A lot of listings for GPD devices include "gifts," i.e. junky accessories included in the box even if it's not directly mentioned in the listing. All three items on top are gifts, the earbuds not being bagged is odd. Almost wonder if there's a warehouse in Shenzhen with a pit filled to the brim with loose chineseum EarPod clones that needs to be cleared.
Pre tangled and discoloured to boot.
I have a GPD Pocket 2 and it has been awesome. I have now ordered the GPD Pocket 3 which is even better in almost every way.
That's awesome. I hope you enjoy it just as much. 👍
Had mine a year now, it’s my daily driver. Very much worth the $600 I spent for the power and portability. I even manage to play some xbox 360 generation games (Arkham City currently!) on it.
Very cool!
I have a story. Once I have ordered a case for my Xiaomi Redmi 1S from ali. I received: 2x Xiaomi Redmi 1S phone, 2 batteries and 10 cases :) plus some protective display sheets. Sometimes you never know what extra items you get :)
Wow, sounds like you benefitted.
At my workplace, we have dozens of Thinkpad 11e, which are great little netbooks. They cost about 100€ on ebay and are quite powerful, albeit not as small as the GPD Pocket.
Yeah I've seen those education versions of ThinkPads and they were pretty neat.
GPD always seems to have great products, but they are always too pricey.
I suspect if they sold more units they might be able to reduce cost but they'd need a mainstream product over a niche device.
Well, most of their products are campaigned through Crowdfunding, so that gives you an idea that:
- Their margins are slim
- They lack access to heavy discounts on parts, materials, labor, and deals with IC manufacturers
- Their build processes must not be scalable enough to guarantee a steady supply
They have their niche and cult following, which seems to be enough for them to keep the lights on. You're not paying fair price, you're doing them a favor considering their limited resources.
I've been in love with 90's Palmtop PCs that I wish I could afford a GPD device, but I have other priorities.
Fair points on the crowdfunding model and some of its limitations.
I bought a used one today to tide me over until the pocket 4 comes out.
Cool, what is your plans for it?
@@LaptopRetrospective software dev on the go.
Buying one or two Wisecoco 7 inch 1920x1080 monitors to carry a decent dual or trippel monitor development suite in my jacket pockets.
Will design a carry pouch and mounting system for the monitor/s
They wanted to give ya some extras
Must have. 😂
You should try testing it with more demanding tasks. That CPU is capable of more, as shown in other reviews - Office? Lightroom? Photoshop? AutoCAD? VSCode? Blender? I have run those on slower and older CPUs. It would be nice to see how it performs there, doing light work.
Fair enough, I only had it on my table for a short time.
Lol $700ish for that tiny thing? That's absolutely hilarious!
It's a lot of tech crammed into a smaller, niche package. I suspect that's what keeps the price as high as it is.
IMO they should have used a trackpoint instead of that BB like pointing device.
I don't know if it would have worked as well. TrackPoint in my experience works when the device is large and heavy enough to distribute the force needed to operate it and I think it would just end up sliding around. Also using it in your hands off of a desk would be tricky I think.
@@LaptopRetrospective Good point. I guess that's the same reason as to why the X1 Fold omitted it (aside from the fact that having one without a trackpad may not have gone well).
My thoughts exactly. That and I'm not sure the Fold would handle constant downward pressure from the TrackPoint. I can't imagine they didn't try to include it and ran into an issue like that.
@@LaptopRetrospective Another good point, I forgot that the keyboard can be placed on the bottom half of the "laptop". It's plausible that Lenovo didn't even attempt to include it considering their recent history with ThinkPads.
I'm sure they attempted it, but I think there were technical limitations.
Man, I miss 250$ netbooks. Not the very first ones, but second~third gen: 10-11 inch screen, very plastic, but pretty solid and very portabe. And cheap. All nowadays small form factor laptops cost an arm and a leg, and are not very comfy to use, as 1920x1080 is just too much for a 7 inch screen. It was too much on my 11 inch 2in1 when used as a laptop, text was tiny! Give me a Samsung NC10 or an EEE PC with Celeron J4125 and a HD screen! You don't have to change the bulky case design - just put a lot of copper for cooling inside, maybe you'll manage to make it passive this time around!
I'll install something like Xfce Mint and it should last me 5 years of internet browsing and 90s emulation gaming easily.
I loved my netbook. Was an essential piece of kit for my university days.
Quite to the contrary my 11.6" 1366x768 screen isn't HD enough for my taste. I'd prefer 1920x1080.
Blame the OEM's greed and Microsoft for killing off the Netbook standard.
However, there used to be good options, if you look close enough. (they are relegated to educational markets, so look over there, oh, and it's not all Chromebooks)
For example: HP Stream 11 was produced until very recently, same with the Lenovo 11e.
www.ebay.com/itm/LENOVO-ThinkPad-11e-11-6-i3-6100U-2-3GHz-128GB-SSD-8GB-RAM-Windows-10-Pro/284146070302?hash=item42286cf31e:g:V20AAOSwkz9f~gjW This eBay listing shows what you can find. Granted, it's not new, but there used to be options.
Won't stop you from missing ye good olde days, though (and to be fair, I even miss the old Alienware M11x)
@@orcaflotta7867 good for you! Both standards exist, so they could offer both. I start feeling somewhat comfy with FHD at about 14 inches - and right now don't need more than FHD even on my 27" desktop screen. For almost six months of 2020 I had to use 2in1 FHD as my only PC, and it just wasn't comfy for every use case. It was a cool thing for casual web browsing in bed (screen much closer to eyes), but not comfy for any serious work at the desk. Shame that everything is designed for high resolutions nowadays as I believe 1280x800 15" screens were the most comfy to use on laptops without squinting. Scaling content is not very convenient IMO - and poor scaling doesn't look good even on most beautiful screen.
@@juanignacioaschura9437 I think post-leasing small form factor business laptops were much better alternative for a while, but pandemic hiked their prices. So maybe I miss them because the better alternative isn't as easily available anymore!
$175 i3-6100U ThinkPad sounds like a pretty good value, shame we don't have offers like that in my country now!
I’m looking for a mini laptop to take to school to help with my coding and computing project. Something that can code easily, but also to probably play light video games as well as watching videos. Would you reccomend this over the GPD Micro PC industry Mini Laptop?
I mean, I personally wouldn't want to do long work sessions on this without plugging in a keyboard or mouse.
@@LaptopRetrospective can you recommend any laptops on the smaller side? Something maybe slightly bigger than an IPad (because you seem to know more about this than I do)
What's the largest screen size you'd want?
I’m a traveling novelist. Your thoughts on the cramped keyboard vs the portability factor? Excellent review btw 😃
I do a fair bit of writing myself and find the 12-13" form factor to be my personal favourite. I wouldn't want to type a short story or an essay on this, let alone a novel. If the extremely small size still appeals to you, I'd recommend an external USB keyboard of your choice.
@@LaptopRetrospective Good point. My setup is a Chromebook duet (I’ll never go back to windows, Mac would be my second choice), and a Qwerkywriter keyboard.
Interesting! Glad to hear you've found something that works for you. It isn't every day that I talk to people that are satisfied with a Chromebook, whatever works as they say. 😁
@@LaptopRetrospective Thanks. Updates on chrome books are instant.
@@LaptopRetrospective Have you ever heard a device called a freewrite by astrohaus?
Just got mine 8gb ram 356gb ssd Amber edition, running skyrim, fallout 3, elite dangerous, star wars battlefront 2 original version, dexed, ableton lite etc just fine
Cool! What's the Amber edition?
@@LaptopRetrospective it's the cheaper celeron model in black/grey
It's this one
Nice laptop
If you've got the right use case, certainly.
Love the review.
I am wondering how this will succeed when so many netbooks failed.
Thanks. It's a niche product in my books so I don't think it will ever catch on in a big way.
I dont like it in black i préfère in silver
Fair enough. Personal preference is a solid factor.
I have the GPD 1 and the battery died after 1 year... Even without this, it made me realize these devices are a "false good idea" (to translate from a French expression). They are big for pockets, loud, would need cellular to work properly and battery life is short and then dies soon since they use poor cells...not worth it...
I think we have a similar expression in English called the "Good Idea Fairy" and I think for most people it might feel that way. It is a very niche device no doubt about it. Thanks for taking the time to comment on your experience with the first generation of these devices.
@@LaptopRetrospective thanks, I learnt a new expression 😉
My pleasure.
The dreaded "FBI": "Fausse Bonne Idée" :) Glad to see some fellow French here ;) And I have to agree, too: I'm not sure what usage this would fill better than a slightly bigger laptop, or a tablet and a decent bluetooth keyboard. I really feel like the biggest issue for me here is the keyboard layout that would make waste productivity. That, and with the issues you just mentioned, I guess it's now easier to say "no" to this. But, man, it's sooooo cute :)
@@esseferio ahah oui, et celui là a un meilleur clavier, le GPD 1 est encore pire, c'est presque mieux d'écrire à l'écran... Au fait, mon ex disait , à chaque fois que je disais GPD, "t'as pété"? 🤣
I haven’t yet finished watching the video, but just wanted to point out that it sounds very weird when you refere to SSD storage as ROM. That’s - by very definition - not a ROM. And neither is even the UEFI these days. Just a nitpicking, I know, but still it felt really wrong, sorry. Nice review, though! Thanks for the video!
It's funny you mention that because I thought it was strange too but that's what the official literature called it so I deferred it to. Thanks for taking the time to point it out.
ROM is the way Chinese manufactures (wrongly) often refer to HDDs and SSDs. It was pretty clear to me he was surprised in the video by the use of the word ROM by GPD
Thanks for the heads up that it is likely a Chinese manufacturer thing, this would be my first time looking at one. This is why I love TH-cam, I learn so much every video I make.
Rs.
my only hope of someone gaming on this model... no games played.
I wouldn't game on this personally.
@@LaptopRetrospective I see I'm just trying to find the cheapest pocket pc I can game decently on. Win 2 keeps calling me but 740$ is allot.
Yeah cheap isn't a word I'd use with this device. GPD has game specific devices, but they are in a similar price range.
Cool but really pricey for what it is
Yeah, cheap isn't a word I'd use in the same sentence. You need to have a use case for a device like this.
Just got it for £200 for Black Friday. Seems worth it for that price
I'd be inclined to agree. Great buy at that price.
It's really hard to imagine where this thing could be useful, pretty heavy, poor performances, inefficient keyboard for any kind of programming or extensive typing, needs a power bank (so it loses its portability too).. however it's cool as hell!
The person that bought it has to open remote into machines and reset stuff in the middle of nowhere or sometimes in obscure places with little to no room to move. So for them it meets their needs nicely.
@@LaptopRetrospective Now that's a usage that makes somewhat sense :) Thanks for the example. I was a bit afraid this was more of a novelty item than an actual tool.
It's just one of those tools that not everyone needs. 😉
Agreed! But this would've been very exciting if it'd been released a decade earlier, though.
Yeah, the time of netbooks.
Bro I’ve been trying to buy this thing but I can’t find it
Can somebody tell me we’re to get it
What have you looked? I'm not sure how they are doing with supply right now.
All right, so basically I have to wait for GPD Pocket 3 and hope they go fanless and AMD on it.
Guess that depends what you're looking for in a device. 😁
I want this same device but fanless. Even if that means less performance.
Could run it with the fan turned off. They do provide a button for it.
@@LaptopRetrospective That's really nice!
This is so cute i want it lol
Should still be available from their website.
This is of 71000
Every GPD product I’ve ever bought (Pocket/Win/MicroPC) came with keyloggers and malware that stole logins.
I hope you reinstalled windows from your own clean copy!
Really? That is concerning if true. It was reinstalled from scratch, so the owner should be fine.
@@LaptopRetrospective yea, I was in disbelief. I don't think it was GPD, it's probably someone in their supply-chain. I like their hardware and will continue to support, but will always nuke their software first.
@@LaptopRetrospective have your viewers test it for themselves. Login to something with a disposable login (like a netflix secondary family account), Gmail login with no 2FA, etc. You'll see bogus logins to the account within minutes (definitely a day or two)...