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7" netbooks from MNT Research
From: |
Paul Sutton |
Subject: |
7" netbooks from MNT Research |
Date: |
Tue, 28 Jun 2022 16:36:05 +0100 |
Hi
Just found this too. I have put the link below plus the text from the
website article (in full, but minus the pictures). Looks interesting
and also looks to be open design too.
Problem with small form factor is less room for all those cool stickers :)
I acknowledge copyright, but in this context quoting for the benefit of
anyone who may have a problem viewing this.
https://www.hackster.io/news/mnt-research-unveils-the-near-final-mnt-pocket-reform-a-7-aggressively-open-modular-netbook-3e2804a07d2d
**MNT Research Unveils the Near-Final MNT Pocket Reform, a 7"
Aggressively-Open Modular Netbook
Compatible with SOMs built for the full-size MNT Reform, the Pocket
Reform could prove the ultimate netbook revival**
MNT Research has unveiled the near-finalized design of its Pocket
Reform, an aggressively open take on the classic netbook designed for
compatibility with its earlier and larger Reform laptop — yet,
impressively, sacrificing little in the quest for miniaturization.
The latest revision of the MNT Reform laptop landed with backers last
year, offering a device, which was wholly open — from the operating
system it runs to the design files for the PCBs and chassis. A blend of
modernity and retrofuturism, the device includes an unusual mechanical
keyboard, option of trackball or touch-pad pointing device, and modular
innards in which the key components are held on a replaceable module.
Since the release of the MNT Reform, the company has been teasing a more
pocketable variant dubbed — unsurprisingly — the Pocket Reform. Designed
in a clamshell form factor like a traditional laptop, the Pocket Reform
uses a far smaller yet Full HD 7" display panel with a compact 60-key
ortholinear mechanical keyboard. There's no touchpad option this time
around, with a trackball your only option — in order to reduce the
amount of bezel required around the screen to ensure full coverage with
the lid down.
Perhaps the most remarkable thing about the Pocket Reform is that its
resemblance to its full-sized forebear is more than skin deep. Despite
its dramatically reduced footprint, the carrier board inside the Pocket
Reform is designed to be entirely compatible with systems-on-modules
(SOMs) developed for the full-size Reform - including the original NXP
i.MX8M Plus part with a choice of classic 4GB or new 8GB RAM capacities,
a higher-performance NXP Layerscape part with up to 16GB of RAM, a
Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 in custom-designed adapter board, a PINE64
SOQuartz, or an FPGA module with Xilinx Kintex-7 on-board — allowing you
to run soft-core processors including RISC-V.
There have been some sacrifices made in the design, however. A key
selling point of the full-size Reform is its use of LiFePo4 batteries,
safer and more environmentally-friendly than traditional lithium-ion or
lithium-polymer batteries but with a correspondingly lower energy
capacity. Without the room for eight 18650 cells to ensure a decent
runtime, though, the Pocket Reform switches to two lithium-ion cells
with a total 8,000mAh capacity.
MNT Reform has confirmed plans to launch two variants of the design: a
robust aluminum version with bead-blasted finish anodized in purple or
black; and a more environmentally-conscious version created in recycled
PLA. Those who would customize the design, meanwhile, will be given STL
files to print a case of their own.
More details are available on the MNT Research blog, but the company is
still keeping two pieces of information close to its chest: pricing and
availability.
--
Paul Sutton, Cert Cont Sci (Open)
https://personaljournal.ca/paulsutton/
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