Raspberry Pi Rival Pine64 Unleashes $200 Rockchip-Powered Pinebook Pro Linux Laptop
Pine64 has made a name for itself by producing single-board PCs that are competitive with the incredibly Raspberry Pi family. Single-board PCs are well-known not only for their relatively affordable prices, but also their versatility when it comes to empowering new form-factors.
Pine64's latest venture is with what it is calling the Pinebook Pro, which is a Linux-based laptop. The Pinebook Pro is said to offer performance comparable to that of the newly released Raspberry Pi 4, and features a hexa-core Rockchip RX3399 ARM64 SoC, 4GB of RAM and a total of 64GB eMMC storage.
Given that this is a laptop, we should point out that it has a 14.1-inch IPS display with a resolution of 1920x1080. You'll also find a full-size QWERTY keyboard and a relatively large multi-touch trackpad.
On the connectivity front, there's a single USB 3.0 port and one USB 2.0 host port (both with Type-A connectors). There's also a USB 3.0 Type-C port onboard for plugging in more modern accessories and smartphones. Wireless connectivity is supported by 802.11ac Wi-Fi along with Bluetooth 5.0 radios.
Other features include:
- 3.5mm headphone jack
- microSD slot
- 2.0 MP webcam incorporated into the display bezel
- 10,000 mAh lithium-polymer battery (runtimes haven't been provided yet)
Pine64 is selling the Pinebook Pro at a rock bottom price of $200, so don't expect much with regards to ultra-high quality components or tight quality control that you might expect from a big name company like Dell or Lenovo. In fact, Pine64 asks you to temper your expectations, writing, "Small numbers (1-3) of stuck or dead pixels are a characteristic of LCD screens. These are normal and should not be considered a defect."
The company goes on to say the Pinebook Pro (and its low price) are being provided "as a community service to PINE64, Linux and BSD communities." Pine64 adds, "If you think that a minor dissatisfaction, such as a dead pixel, will prompt you to file a PayPal dispute then please do not purchase the Pinebook Pro."
In other words, you've been forewarned on what you're getting yourself into. With that being said, the 2.78-pound Pinebook Pro comes with just a 30-day warranty and is available to purchase now using the following link.
