I know this one has been out there for a while now with the original announcement back in 2022 but now they are available from the online store I’m back wondering if I could use one as a personal pocket* computer.
The ortholinear keyboard and rugged, punk design give it strong visual appeal. The small size, open hardware and software, and community supporting mods and maintenance all mean it fits my permacomputing, smolweb, anti-bigtech ideals.
On the negative side, the small screen appeals but my aging eyes aren’t getting replaced with cyberoptics any time soon. Would it be too small? Then again I am typing this in a glitching text window just 11.5cm wide on a 31.75cm diagonal display. So it’d be much smaller, but not actually change the amount of real estate I’m changing now.
So what do you think? Obviously as I am still job hunting and have no funds available this is all a daydream for now, but there is something that has kept me coming back for the last 18 months to look at this thing and wonder…
So yeah, this thing is pretty badass. I think the thing that strikes me about this is that it’s roughly the same price as (or a little bit cheaper than) a lot of the flagship cell phones and tablets out there, but with a full keyboard (and trackball!) in a middling sized package. The cellular modem is the kicker I think, and with a pair of bluetooth headphones and the right calling software, it could do double or even triple duty as a replacement on-the-go device. But man, 900 Euros is definitely a hefty price tag.
All that being said, I personally would have to try it out for a little while before I committed to it at that price point, mainly to see how these meathooks that I call hands can function on it, whether or not it would inflame my burgeoning carpal tunnel pain, or whether I could even comfortably see the damn thing like you mentioned.
But man, this is about as close to an out-of-the-box, “mass produced” cyberdeck as I have yet seen, and it appears to be pretty rugged. I’m thinking that it would have a high survivability rate and durability profile for getting shoved into a nomad bag for use just about anywhere. I would like to see the “pockets” that this thing is supposedly supposed to fit in for sure, though.
I really want this device, but my adult sense of “what would I even use this for” is stopping me. Mainly because I literally have a laptop pile already.
The MNT devices are really damn cool, and aside the entire open hardware aspect, I also love the look of them, just being…plain old hardware.
If I were to get a device of the MNT line, it most likely would be the MNT Reform, but solely because the clear bottom housing is absolutely slick…I want more hardware to do this (again).
You both hit my key concerns here. The full size Reform makes more sense, but at that price point I could get a more powerful and less heavy big-tech laptop. For me the appeal of the Pocket is that form factor.
That being said, having watched some reviews and usage videos where people had their hands cramped over the thing, it does make me wonder. I’m a long thin, rather than sausage finger chap, so maybe it isn’t a problem…
I’m thinking I might cut out the dimensions on some card stock and see how it feels. A hands on trial is probably not happening, but at least that way I can hopefully swing myself one way or the other.
