iamtanmay@wolfballs.com 2 years ago
Used to be invested in phones with keyboards, but they were poor for coding work on the go
Since last summer, I have an allrounder: 8 inch/ i7 11thGen/16GB/1TB ~850gms including charger, got a deal for 650 Eur (https://gpd.hk/gpdwinmax2021)
Keyboard large enough to comfortably type on a bus, it barely fits in my coat [207x145x26mm]. At home its a media player behind my TV.
I work on it exclusively when travelling. I can play all games, including Cyberpunk, although I had to tweak the config to turn off the raytracing. Its possible to use eGPUs with full bandwidth due to USB-4
It handles my coding needs, GPU heavy stuff and rendering. Never hangs or crashes. Battery life is 12 hours with WiFi on Battery saver. Bought it from a French eBay seller, new for 650 Euros last summer.
Only thing missing is a SIM slot. Then I wouldn't need my phone.
In the future, I would love a similar machine, slightly smaller in dimensions, without the game pad, so it could fit into smaller pockets
squashkin@wolfballs.com 2 years ago
I've been wondering if someone or Steam will release a keyboard for their Steam deck which would be a competitive UMPC choice it seems
iamtanmay@wolfballs.com 2 years ago
Regarding Steam deck. That thing is huge. It will never fit in any pocket, and its awkward to work on a train or bus. I checked its Chinese rivals Aya Neo and GPD Win 3........
Yeah, that was a no for me. Dimensions are too awkward, even thought the hardware is good
squashkin@wolfballs.com 2 years ago
true, does the win fit in ur pocket tho?
iamtanmay@wolfballs.com 2 years ago
It will only fit barely into the largest coat pockets. I wish it was slimmer by removing the trackpad + gamepad, but keeping the same length keyboard. I will take a photo and post it
iamtanmay@wolfballs.com 2 years ago
I can make a short video if you like. The only thing that really bothers me is the awkward placement of the touchpad, and the mouse buttons are the "trigger/shoulder" keys of the gamepad, so I recommend packing a small mouse
If you are sitting at a table, say a cafe, touch typing is no problem. In a bus, if you have to type on your lap, I make more mistakes, but I can still type.
The keyboard layout is ok for its size, some coding related keys like ; ( ) [ ] _ can be tricky to find
Nothing compares to a full size desktop keyboard, but this one is good enough, considering the size.
squashkin@wolfballs.com 2 years ago
you dont have to make a vid if you can find one online but if you cant then maybe other people would enjoy seeing a demo too besides me
yeah I've typed on a 8" keyboard I think and I slowed down a little but it was still mostly the same speeds
iamtanmay@wolfballs.com 2 years ago
Yes, there is. When I was shopping for machines in this size range, I scoured Liliputing, which does an excellent job of fully reviewing all devices in this size. They also compare these machines to their competition.
Their typing video: https://youtu.be/H1_ZKeaMuJU?t=385