Tell us about them! On mobile here, owned several. Many memories to tell.
I had a GPD Pocket at launch and used it for a long time - it went everywhere with me. Traded it a couple years ago and I still regret it.
Presently I’ve got a Sony VAIO VGN-UX72 that I’ve been hunting a working battery for. Installed XP on it, as it’s 1gig isn’t very Vista-friendly, and got all the original XP VAIO software and drivers working perfectly. What a little bundle of joy, I wish I could send it back in time to my younger self who was salivating over the UX and OQO devices. Kinda surprised at just how much performance can be squeezed out of it. Playing Typing of the Dead on a thumb keyboard is a special experience.
I’ve also got a Sony VGN-U50 with dock and keyboard that I’ve gotten to power on twice for short periods, the stock battery seems to charge and the aftermarket battery I bought does not. Can’t figure out why it boots sometimes and other times not. Mostly it just flashes it’s backlights at my when I try to boot it. If anyone has experience debugging with one of these I’d love some tips.
Presently I’m still hunting down more Sony and VAIO pieces and waiting for something as compelling as the GPD Pocket to release with more power. I’d love if a gaming handheld style UMPC like most modern GPD offerings or the Steam Deck would have a nice dpad and a sliding display with a thumb keyboard. GPD Win 3 came close by copping the UX design but it just seems like the build quality isn’t there.
Not sure if it’s sacrilege, but the Steam Deck has finally fulfilled my UMPC dream. It’s amazing to just have a portable Linux workstation where everything works out of the box.
That said, my ancient dream device of yore would have to be those Windows CE powered palmtops of the 90s. I’d love to see that form factor make a comeback.
The CE PDAs are rad! I picked one up at a garage sale in the mid 2000s and could never get it running but I kept it around for a long time just to admire the design and feel of it. The Unihertz stuff is sort of getting there but not quite yet. Also their proprietary obsession is questionable. I’d love a truly pocketable PDA style x86 machine though!
The Steam Deck seems like an insane value. I’ve been eyeing it for productivity (mostly programming) and gaming. If you don’t mind my asking, how do you find the dpad? I mostly play 2d games and that’s the one bit that’s put me off the Deck until now, seems like it’s secondary to the sticks
I’d say the D-Pad’s positioning seems fine to me—that said, I’ve mostly played 3D games on it so I’m probably the wrong one to ask, hah.
The trackpads are super cool for using desktop mode though!
