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by BatteryMountain 1801 days ago
I'm going to use it as a (mobile NUC with screen + battery) and use it for programming etc.. not going to buy it for gaming at all. Having an amd machine with 16Gb ram + nvme storage + linux - perfect setup for day to day coding!

And will buy it as a thank you to Valve for supporting us all these years. I think this will pay off for them in the long run.

2 comments

With a 7inch screen, 2 hours battery life when pushing it, and no keyboard (i.e. extra £££)? I think I'd prefer a mid-range laptop.
The intention is to use it with a usb-c dock, which I already own. Will probably buy the steam dock depending on what it offers and if it overlaps with my needs. Or if it is just plain sexy compared to the boring old usb-c dock then I'd rather buy that. The intention is not to get work done on a 7" screen, but on an external display + keyboard/mouse.
If you’re going to leave it docked, why not use a desktop so you don’t have to worry about deteriorating the battery just leaving it plugged in all the time?
Can't imagine coding without a good keyboard though. And mobile mechanical keyboards are too heavy to carry around.

It should be great for debugging random server problems while on vacation though.

It supports usb type c docks, which my mic, keyboard, mouse already uses to switch between my main rig and a macbook. And I have a bluetooth mouse of that fails.

Obviously not going to try be productive with an onscreen keyboard and 7" screen - will use it with peripherals in those cases.

I code on the train using xvkbd on my pinephone. You get used to it. A good editor like vim helps a lot. You're spending most of the time thinking not typing.
Get yourself a small bluetooth keyboard, there's even mechanical full-size keyboards that can fit in a medium-sized bag.

I got myself an Anne Pro 2 from banggood for 65 euros and I take it everywhere. It connects to my laptop, tablet and phone.

I have a k380 which is about the same size, I stopped bringing it because it's just another thing to deal with.
It's got bluetooth
All the good mechanical bluetooth keyboards I know are almost as heavy as this console. Is there anything actually portable in this form factor?
Curious, why the insistence on mechanical for a portal keyboard?

Perhaps I’m atypical, but I type more relaxed, smoothly, and faster on non-mechanical than mechanical.

Point of comparison is 150-175 wpm on laptop keyboards as opposed to 120-145 on mechanical. I’ve owned many mechanical keyboards, including very high end ones, and remain mystified about their aura.

Most programmers out there probably use stock keyboards. It may be not good enough for you, but others could be happy.