The British company Starlabs announces the forthcoming release of a 12.5-inch tablet running Linux, which can be turned into a touchscreen laptop with a keyboard. Prices start at just under 500 euros and the first deliveries are expected in late October or early November.
StarLite 5 is announced. It is about one Linux compatible touch tablet, with a very large 12.5 inch screen. Target Audience: Students, Linux users and developers. The tablet relies entirely on open source software and firmware.
Technically, there is an Intel Alder Lake N200 processor (4 cores), 16 GB RAM (LPDDR5), a 512 GB SSD hard drive and a UHD graphics chip. The screen resolution is up to 2,880 x 1,920 pixels. The announced autonomy is 12 hours, with an integrated battery of 38W. The built-in USB-C charger delivers up to 65W, which is a guarantee of a very fast loading.
Two 2K cameras are integrated, one on the front and one on the back. The speakers are stereo and the tablet has 2 microphones. Bluetooth 5.1, a headphone jack, micro-HDMI and a slot for a memory card (microSD) are standard. Small disappointment: no Wi-Fi 6 (but Wi-Fi 5).
Firmware updates for BIOS, onboard controller and SSD are simplified by using LVFS (Linux Vendor Firmware Service).
Optionally, you can opt for a Detachable backlit keyboard. It supports international keyboards, including AZERTY (French) format. Very good news. Calculate 100€ for this additional equipment.
Pre-orders open
The tablet is Available for advance purchase. The price (for France) is €496.80 HT. VAT is estimated at 80€. This is an introductory price. The final price should be around 710 euros, but that seems relatively high compared to the iPad and Samsung’s Galaxy Tabs. Delivery is expected to take place in 8-9 weeks, which brings us at best the end of October 2023. Stocks seem to be limited at the start.
Choice of operating systems
The choice of your operating system remains. Starlabs offers pre-installation for you Linux system Certified: Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Xubuntu, Elementary OS, Linux Mint, MX Linux, Zorin Linux or Manjaro. The tablet is compatible with Linux, no matter what distribution you choose, at installation or later.
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