Hi Linux nerds,

I’ve started up classes recently, and with being a recent convert and all, was a little curious to hear if anyone had any recommendations for a tablet capable of handling the workload of a student and that runs linux. I’m a bit of a neophyte when it comes to hardware (especially tablets, I’ve never had one in my life), though I’ve got enough experience to run Fedora on my PC.

My needs are pretty simple, I just need to be able to run libreoffice and take notes on the machine during lectures. Any insights as to where I should be looking?

  • buckykat [none/use name]@hexbear.netEnglish
    3·
    22 days ago

    Look at 2-in-1 laptops instead of pure tablets. I use a Thinkpad X1 Yoga gen 4 primarily for note taking, Xournal++ is my favorite note taking application.

  • blobjim [he/him]@hexbear.netEnglish
    3·
    22 days ago

    Searching for “tablet PC” or “Windows tablet” instead of just “tablet” will probably help in your search. Most computers with x86_64 CPUs (Intel or AMD) should be able to run Linux distros fine.

    But tablets don’t seem to be a common form factor for PCs. It seems like the term has really been narrowed down to mean one that runs Android or iOS. Very frustrating.

    If you can’t find anything that doesn’t have an ARM SoC, you can try postmarketOS, but it will require more work and risk than a “PC” that is a tablet. https://wiki.postmarketos.org/wiki/Devices

  • 𝘋𝘪𝘳𝘬@lemmy.ml
    2·
    22 days ago

    If you have money to spend, look for a Microsoft Surface. It’s amazing how good they work with Linux, despite being a Microsoft device designed to run Windows.

    Their build quality is really good, too.

  • highduc@lemmy.ml
    2·
    22 days ago

    Star Labs StarLite might be a good choice. I don’t personally have one so I don’t have 1st hands experience but I know somebody who does, and he’s happy with it.

  • hobbsc@lemmy.sdf.orgEnglish
    2·
    21 days ago

    while it’s a bit more than a tablet, I scooped up a gen 3 yoga x1 thinkpad off ebay for somewhere around $300 USD. i’m running bluefin on it and it works great for most of my general computing tasks. the screen folds back into a tablet mode and the keys recess when it does. that functionality “just works” on a fresh bluefin install for me.

    the stylus that sits inside the body of the laptop doesn’t function and i suspect that it is a (non-replaceable) battery issue. i bought a larger lenovo stylus for the device after some research and it works great (plus i can replace the battery). it’s a CCAI21LP1520T4 model. i think it was about $35 USD.

    the only downside is it’s a bit heavier than a tablet and it can get kind of warm over time but i’m doing development on it and have several docker containers running for that purpose. that might be a me problem.

    i like that it has a headphone jack and an sd card slot. there’s also a sim card slot but i doubt that’s usable with linux.

    • Magnum, P.I.@lemmy.dbzer0.com
      2·
      21 days ago

      Similar expierience, got an Inspiron x360 for $150 - works great and its capable of doing so much more than a usual tablet since I have the same Debian Stable install as on my Desktop and work Laptop.

      And everything worked out of the box, which kinda baffled me to be honest.

  • utopiah@lemmy.ml
    2·
    22 days ago

    Been using the PineTab 2 by Pine64 regularly since it’'s out, even bringing it on holiday, and it’s been good. Some minor problems (e.g. no WiFi initially but now working, still no integrated BT for now but dongles working, etc) but honestly for that price ~$200 from Hong-Kong or ~400EUR from EU store with warranty) I think it’s excellent value for money for a tinkerer.

  • WagesOf [he/him]@hexbear.netEnglish
    1·
    21 days ago

    I had a great time with my minisforum v3. Everything worked out of box in fedora and bazzite except the rotation support, which I did w a tray icon anyway.