MNT Reform Pocket laptop ships in October starting at $899

[Shawn Knight]

In a nutshell: Research has launched a crowdfunding campaign for Pocket Reform, the mini laptop it first announced nearly nine months ago. The Pocket Reform on Crowd Supply does not deviate too far from what we were shown last June. It features a 7-inch Full HD display (1,920 x 1,200 pixels, 310 PPI) that is powered by a modular NXP I.MX8M Plus (four Arm Cortex-A53 cores running at 1.8GHz), which can be swapped out for a more powerful processor (and probably should be considering the Cortex-A53 dates all the way back to 2012).

Other noteworthy hardware includes a 60-key, backlit mechanical keyboard with ortholinear matrix and N-key rollover support, a 15mm micro-optical trackball with four buttons, 128GB of eMMC flash memory (plus an NVMe SSD slot and a micro-SD card slot for expansion), and dual li-ion batteries that supply about four hours of runtime between each charge.

Pocket Reform features two USB-C ports (one supports power delivery charging), a micro HDMI connector and an ix Industrial Ethernet interface. Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac is also supported, as is Bluetooth 5.0. The machine measures 7.87 inches × 4.96 inches × 1.77 inches (20cm × 12.6cm × 4.5cm) and weighs around 2.4 pounds (1,100g).

Its big selling point is that it is "modular, upgradable, recyclable, and reusable," and features open source hardware and an open source system controller.

Interested parties can support the project (essentially pre-order the laptop) from today starting at $899 for the black model with your choice of light linear key switches or clicky switches. A variant sporting a purple chassis is also on offer for $969, or you can spring for a kit that includes a 1TB NVMe SSD, a sleeve, a handbook and a poster for $1,299.

It'd seem like a tough sell given the asking price but that does not seem to be an issue. The crowdfunding campaign has already surpassed its funding goal and there are still six weeks left. Orders placed now are expected to ship by October 17, 2023, we are told.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/97962-mnt-reform-pocket-laptop-ships-october-starting-899.html

 

[dangh]

Nice idea, but really, in this price I'd expect a screen from edge to edge and 60% keyboard to better use the available space. As is - steam deck is simply a better solution, with a mini BT keyboard can do everything this thing can do, and have x86 cpu which is much better for soft compatibility.

 

[jonny888]

That looks awful and my eyes are already in pain trying to imagine working on that screen for more than 5 minutes. Instant e-waste for all but the most specific of niche use cases.

 

[Hollow]

You are better off buying the low price steam deck and manually upgrade it with a decent SSD then get a bluetooth keyboard and mouse.

 

[VitalyT]

I don't know what kind of pocket one must have to fit this one in, it's just not feasible. And in terms of practicality, it should have a 10" screen to be usable.

Also, this thing must be terrible on your eyes.

 

[mbk34]

Surely the best way of avoiding waste is to get a laptop that meets your expected needs ... and just keep using it.

 

[KwazyIvan]

Chromebooks are so much better, way slimmer, and I bet lighter, not to mention way less expensive.

Overall, Chromebooks make this device look like a pain to deal with, super ugly, expensive, a daylight robbery of a scam for those that don't know any better.

 

[kapital98]

Nice idea, but really, in this price I'd expect a screen from edge to edge and 60% keyboard to better use the available space. As is - steam deck is simply a better solution, with a mini BT keyboard can do everything this thing can do, and have x86 cpu which is much better for soft compatibility.

That's almost impossible if they want it to be as modular as the video shows. It's extremely impressive they can pull it off at $900. It's also a sign of why Apple & Android devices are effectively unable to be fixed: the costs are too high to include those options.

This is a niche product and I'm happy it got crowdsourced.