I’ve had the Pocket Reform for about two weeks now, so I figured it was time to share my early impressions.
tl;dr: I love it. It fills the niche I hoped it would, and it gets a lot of attention
from people who pass by my desk (usually because I stop them and make them look, but still!).
I bought the Pocket Reform because I needed something smaller than my current Macbook Pro 16" in order to do some light writing and programming on the bus ride to work, and the Pocket is able to do that while being one of the nicest and nerdiest devices I’ve ever laid eyes on.
It’s not a perfect device, by any means, but I still think it was worth the price.
I’ll try to keep this short, so I’ll switch over to bullet points, but feel free to ask questions.
The good
- Mechanical keyboard. Takes a little getting used to, but it feels (and sounds) great.
- Trackball is awesome. I need to figure out how to swap the scroll lock and the middle mouse button, though.
- Crisp screen.
- Chassis feels high quality.
- Ridiculously easy setup. I was productive within minutes.
- Can be repaired/upgraded. I’m already planning to update the keyboard and motherboard hardware.
- Hardware is mounted behind the screen, so my lap stays cool.
- No fan.
- The small size. This thing goes with me everywhere.
The bad
- Arm architecture has some challenges. Still haven’t figured out how to get Spotify and Signal running.
- Trackball rattles when carrying the device.
- Glossy screen. I tend to use this thing next to a window or outside.
- Ports are on the screen, which looks a bit wierd and makes it unbalanced when connected to a screen.
- No suspend-resume. Can be fixed by upgrading to the new QSC SoC, but then you sacrifice the amount of RAM and the HDMI port.
- Consumes a noticable amount of power when powered off. I believe this is improved with the latest hardware revision.
- Display frame picks up grease from the keyboard.
Surprising non-issues
- I don’t mind the thickness of the device. I actually like the height up to the keys.
- Screen could be bigger, but I’ve written several thousand words and lines of code on it. It’s good enough.
- Battery life isn’t great, but it’s good enough. I carry with me a 65W power bank, and I haven’t needed it so far.
Wishlist
- Battery modules in the online store, maybe even a bigger pack than what’s currently in the device.
- LTE/5G modem in the online store. I’d ordered it with my original purchase if it was available. I know it’s possible to order one myself, but finding the right chip and antennae is more hassle than I’d like. It’d be great with a “official” solution.
Regrets
- I chickened out. Should have gotten the Ultra Deep Purple color.
- Should have opted for 32GB RAM. Not that I need it (I don’t think I’ve used more than 3GB yet) but prices rose sharply right after I placed the order.
Conclusion
Like I said, the MNT Pocket Reform is not perfect. It is, I think, the perfect device for me.
