[Variation] GPD Pocket 2 - m3 (Silver - 128GB Storage)

I was a little hesitant at first ordering this product, some of the reviews indicated that the keyboard might be a little cramped, the mouse nipple fiddly, and the fan a little noisy. But after I opened the box and beheld this tiny perfectly formed little slab of magnesium alloy, all of my doubts vanished. This is a really impressive bit of industrial design, small and light and really nice to hold. The keyboard is nowhere near as bad as I was expecting, I can touch type on it just fine (though I admit this may be because I spent years learning to touch type on a Psion Series 5). The key action is very nice, and is similar to the keys on my 2012 Macbook Air. The fan is about as loud as the fan on my Air, but here is the important thing about the fan - it is OPTIONAL. You can turn the fan off completely, and the super speedy Core m3 just clocks itself down to a slower speed. If you're just browsing the web and reading emails, you won't notice this speed drop at all. If you're playing games, or doing more intensive stuff, then yes hit the button to spin the fan up, and the noise is back - but then that is true of all modern laptops. And that pretty much boils down what this thing really is - it's a dual personality device. Fan off, it's a quiet web browsing PDA. Fan on - it's a gaming or development machine. It CAN DO BOTH.Speaking of gaming, I installed some games from Steam onto the Windows 10 Home install it comes with, and found that the 615 Intel HD Graphics in this thing is actually pretty impressive for what it is. Whilst it clearly is not going to do modern triple A games, it works just fine with stuff from a few years back. Drop the graphics quality down on things like Skyrim or Fallout 3 and it runs just fine. And it's perfect for indie games and emulators.And back to my point about this being a dual personality device, Linux - in my case Ubuntu Mate - also runs perfectly. There is a GPD Pocket specific distribution of Ubuntu Mate (Google it) that sorts out things like the screen rotation problem, and ensures all the drivers are present. I have re-partitioned the 128GB SSD, and am running both Windows and Linux on it, in dual boot.One last point - the mouse 'nipple' on the top right is possibly the weakest thing about the design. It's ... ok, and initially I did find it a little frustrating to use. But then I started using the touch screen instead, and discovered that the touch screen is actually really nice to use, and is good enough for most tasks. I tend now to only rely on the nipple to click smaller things that are too fiddly to hit with the touch controls.In short, this is a seriously powerful and comfortably tiny little device that looks like it came out of Cupertino, yet is a fraction of the price of its distant (especially to Shenzhen!) Californian relatives. If you're looking for a portable but powerful and flexible bit of hardware that looks great, then look no further than the GPD Pocket 2.

Mid Feb 2019:I have a main laptop but since getting my P2 I have installed the same apps thereon and I have access to all my data through OneDrive. So I am now pretty much mobile as I can just put my P2 In my pocket and go out. I use it a lot for making notes on a daily basis. I cannot type as fast as on my main laptop but my typing is improving as I get used to the layout. The battery lasts pretty well. I am charging it on a daily basis. The display is excellent (though a magnet for fingerprints). Windows 10 functions very well with the small display, for both store apps and traditional ones.This is my second P2. The first one had a keyboard fault (spurious characters from one key) when I received it. I reported this to the seller and they asked me to return it. 3 days later I had a new device with no more problems. I am using it to type this review. So I am impressed by GPD for designing a brilliant little device, and the seller for giving first class support.Mid May 2019:I have been heavily using my GPD Pocket 2 for the past 3 months. It is quite a work-horse. With 8 GB RAM, SSD, and fast CPU, nothing seems to slow it down. I no longer use my big laptop except for backups of my OneDrive. I use the Pocket 2 for all my daily emailing, copious note-taking, WhatsApp Desktop, managing appointments, keeping my diary, watching YouTube videos, doing research on the web, etc. The neat thing is it runs 5-6 hours between charges and is easy to slip into its carry-case and take out with me. No way I could be so mobile with a big laptop, or even a 10-inch one. I am continually amazed by this little machine and what it is capable of. Also 3 months down the road since getting it I am pretty proficient on the keyboard and able to write lengthy amounts of text with it. I have even been able to use it for software development, editing my source code, testing, etc. Best purchase I have made in years.

This machine is absolutely nuts. I mean you have got everything a decent PC can do in the palm of your hands.I was actually looking for a tablet for a summer holiday. Firstly I wanted to browse the internet and possibly play a few games. Secondly I needed to keep up to date with work as being a manager, there were certain tasks that I needed to do. A normal tablet would not do for this.I also wanted something that was not bulky and I could easily carry around which had high marks for performance. Well look no further. I was torn between this and the more gaming orientated one. For professionalism, it had to be this one. I am not disappointed.The cons – The Keyboard takes a while to get used to and 120GB is a bit to small but its enough. The touchscreen works but its a bit fiddly, maybe i have large hands. I'm certain I can get something to help with this.The pro’s – It plays games really well and it is essentially a PC.I’ve got Football Manager and every Stellaris add on running on this. It can play games and has exactly the same specs as its counterpart. Higher graphic games, probably not as well. It runs offworld trading company quite well but its hard to scroll around the map.However, it does not run Sim City 4 but this is due to a resolution issue. So it’s not perfect but it’s still pretty good.I can fit this on my lap and table tray for the plane. I can word process with ease. I can play games but I would recommend a mouse for this as the touch screen is not too great for gaming which is what we all knew already.It’s cute and has some serious power behind it. 4 cores at 2.6ghz and 8GB Ram and HD Graphics. You’re on a winner.People are looking at this and thinking “Wow!”There may be more issues in the future but I think its safe to say that GPD are here to stay and I cannot wait for the next one.You will not be disappointed!