Bought an 11.6″ HP Pavilion x360 11-k106no with a touchscreen. Installed Ubuntu 18.04 on it and have used it now for almost a week.
So far, I happy with the experience, even though it only has a Intel N3050 CPU that runs at a pretty low speed. A 5400rpm HDD and 4 gigs of ram. If you want a multi-tasking monster this isn’t for you. However, I installed Ubuntu on it to test out the touch functionality and make it into a “Cloud” computer similar to a Chromebook. I do after all run my own Nextcloud. I plan to stream music, check my e-mail (I still have Thunderbird installed), stream video (Netflix, HBO Nordic and such), edit documents, sync files, scheduling etc.
From what I’ve tested this device it works fine for all this without any problems. Really like streaming video on it, but need to try and take it on a trip still to really put it to the test on the cloud productivity front, though it seems to handle these things fine at home.
However, I ran into some issues as well. For one, if you install any apps via Appimage, such as the Nextcloud client it takes up 30-50% of your cpu. Thankfully all my Appimage apps where also found in the app store. Also as an heavy multi-tasker jumping between programs, tasks and such, this device didn’t really handle that smoothly, it is after all only a low frequency dual core. Also swiping and touching doesn’t really work the same as on Android, you can tap, but getting the keyboard to show up on screen you need to swipe it out from the bottom on the screen, it doesn’t always work automatically. Also I haven’t yet figured out right-clicking on touch. I am considering trying out the Unity desktop to see if it works better in this aspect, as it was designed for touchscreens as well. The WiFi is also spotty, doesn’t always work, need to try to change the wifi card. I thankfully have extra wifi cards that I know work with Linux to spare at home.
Right now I would say the experience ain’t there, so that any normie would like this experience. However, as a Linux person and tech lover, this is a must. Building Linux Chromebook/cloud computing is still in the early stages, keep it in mind.
I will continue fiddling with this device and start using it actively, improving it to soften the edges. I like the this kind of new technology.
/Signing-out
My Mastodon: mastodon.cloud/@kennetmattfolk