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4 months ago
2
Hey fellow sudoers,
I'm your typical Linux guy: old laptops, weak hardware, no fluff, just .bashrc. You know the type. Recently I needed a lightweight, portable Linux device for work during business trips — something small, light, and capable of running a clone of my dev setup: terminal, SSH, my environment, configs, tools — all of it.
I fly often, always with carry-on only. I didn’t want to lug around a full laptop. So naturally, the idea hit me: what if I just get a Linux tablet?
I started digging through the usual suspects: PineTab2, Juno Tab 3, StarLite, all those “preinstalled Linux” machines. Sounded nice… until you look closer.
€250 for a weak ARM chip, eMMC, and a barely usable display? Nah. I wanted x86, real ports, proper screen, and no sluggishness when I open htop.
- PineTab – ARM Cortex-A53, 3GB RAM, 32GB eMMC, 10" 1280×800 IPS, Ubuntu Touch, Linux preinstalled – ~$100
- PineTab 2 – RK3566, 4GB RAM, 64GB eMMC, 10.1" 1280×800 IPS, Arch Linux, Linux preinstalled – ~$200
- Juno Tab 3 – Intel N100, 12GB RAM, 512GB SSD, 11" 1920×1200 IPS, Ubuntu 24.04, Linux preinstalled – ~$800
- Purism Librem 11 – Celeron N5100, 8GB RAM, 1TB SSD, 11.5" 2560×1600 AMOLED, PureOS – ~$999
- DC-ROMA Pad II – RISC-V SpacemiT K1, 4GB RAM, 64GB eMMC, 10.1" 1920×1200 IPS, Ubuntu – ~$149
- ThinkPad X1 Tablet Gen3 – i5-8250U, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, 13" 3000×2000 IPS, Win10, officially Linux supported – ~$900
- Dell Latitude 7200 2-in-1 – i5-8365U, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, 12.3" 1920×1280 FHD, Win10, officially Linux supported – €250 used
- HP Elite x2 G4 – i5-8265U, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, 12.3" 1920×1280 FHD, Win10 – ~$950
- Microsoft Surface Go 3 – Pentium 6500Y, 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD, 10.5" 1920×1280 PixelSense, unofficial Linux – ~$550
- Chuwi UBook Pro – Core m3-8100Y, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, 12.3" 1920×1280 IPS, Win10 – ~$500
It’s basically a corporate Surface clone from Dell. 12.3” FHD touchscreen, USB-C, metal body, detachable keyboard (I didn’t get the keyboard, but I use my own via USB-C).
Found one second-hand for €250 and honestly? Best decision ever.
I installed Lubuntu 22.04 LTS — lightweight, fast, and gets out of your way.
- LXQt looks decent and runs great on this hardware.
- All essentials work out of the box: Wi-Fi, sound, Bluetooth, webcam.
- I use a wired keyboard + mouse over USB-C, zero issues.
I don’t use VS Code — I prefer a lightweight, modular setup with terminal-based tools and a minimalist IDE.
I’m still deciding between Geany and Lite XL. Both are fast, minimal, and do the job without eating RAM for breakfast.
Been using it for a couple of weeks on trips:
- Terminal, SSH, dev tools — no problem.
- Firefox (not a snap!!!) runs fine and fast.
- My whole .env, dotfiles, aliases — just copied it all over.
- Battery gives 3–4 hours depending on load.
- Silent — either fanless or so quiet I can't tell.
This little guy fits in my bag, boots fast, and doesn’t make a sound. No complaints.
