I’m looking for a laptop that is very compact in size, and relatively cheap. The more internal storage the better. A detachable keyboard and touchscreen would be nice too but aren’t essential.
I plan to install Linux mint on it and just use it for light tasks and file management, so it doesn’t need to be too powerful.
Avoid lenovo. Their build quality went to crap and they’re easily the least repairable laptop on the market these days.
I’ve had to repair 4 lenovos within the last few years. Cheap parts and the laptops all had their keyboards plastic rivited to the top shell of the chassis, making it impossible to replace without buying a new chassis. One of the laptops had to have two motherboard replacements before it was usable.
Their all-in-one doesn’t have a frame around the LCD panel, and they didn’t put access doors in the back panel. So if you want to upgrade the ram or ssd you have a 70% chance of breaking the screen.
I’ve got a Lenovo IdeaPad being repaired right now. I cannot recommend one of these things id go for something else.
Edit: hey I’m back so update laptop is totaled cracked motherboard. Order a used Thinkpad from eBay it will save you so much trouble
IdeaPad line is a hot mess. Had one with a broken hinge where the threaded inserts meet thin plastic, Enter key stopped working just after the warranty expired, replacement keyboard sagged since I had to break all the plastic rivets, and another with a broken DC barrel jack.
If you’re open to used or refurbished, take a look at Dell’s 5285, 5290, 7200, and 7210 2-in-1 laptops. You might be able to find one in decent condition for around $200 or less. They come with detachable keyboard, touchscreen that supports pen input, Intel 7. thru 10. Gen CPU, and an easily serviceable M.2 2280 SSD and battery.
Pinebook?
I like the Thinkpad X series. The keyboard on one of mine crapped out some years ago so I switched to using a Logitech wireless keyboard (K400) that has a usb dongle and has a built in trackpad. It works well enough that I mostly lost interest in the built in laptop keyboard. At this point I’d be happy with a screen-only Linux computer (plus the ext. keyboard), but that doesn’t exist.
