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CutiePi – A Raspberry Pi 4 tablet

cutiepi.io

31–40 of 176 posts

Re: CutiePi – A Raspberry Pi 4 tablet

#31

> we plan to support Raspberry Pi OS desktop and apps via XWayland. I am not familiar with the Linux Ecosystem, so I don't understand what this really means. Can someone please explain? Will any Linux apps run on it directly or do developers have to create separate apps just for the platform?

Yes, Linux apps should run natively.

X is the display server on Linux for decades back, and XWayland is the compatibility layer for it built into the newer display server Wayland.

Re: CutiePi – A Raspberry Pi 4 tablet

#32
This could be nice for a hobby project, as it will probably be much easier to customize and develop for than an Android tablet, but it has no GPIO pins. So I can't just connect it to a breadboard and use it as a console for a prototype. Still, this could be very interesting for certain types of applications.

Re: CutiePi – A Raspberry Pi 4 tablet

#34
post #23

I’ve been following this project for a while. I truly hope they succeed, but as always some caution is warranted about crowdfunding projects. They ran a Kickstarter last year with a target ship date of late November, but I’m not sure how many orders they’ve filled. None of my friends who ordered have received theirs. Their open source repositories are available here: https://github.com/cutiepi-io Note this isn’t a ta…

The reason they're late is because they switched from the Raspbarry Pi 3 compute module to the (then recently announced/released) Raspberry Pi 4 compute module very late into the project. I would have preferred if they had shipped what they had, instead of delaying the project for that upgrade, but it seems most backers preferred to get the shiny new thing, even if it meant the project was delayed.

The change shouldn't be that drastic to hold up the project?

Re: CutiePi – A Raspberry Pi 4 tablet

#35

> we plan to support Raspberry Pi OS desktop and apps via XWayland. I am not familiar with the Linux Ecosystem, so I don't understand what this really means. Can someone please explain? Will any Linux apps run on it directly or do developers have to create separate apps just for the platform?

It's just a Pi running ARM64 Linux.

The default OS image that ships on the devices has their own touch UI shell which currently runs on EGLFS, which is basically an alternative to X or Wayland meant for embedded devices. So as it currently stands you can't run normal Linux apps in the default OS.

They're supposedly porting it to Wayland which will allow normal Linux applications to run within their custom shell. Their shell is a relatively straightforward Qt Quick application so it shouldn't take a huge amount of work to port. Though the most recent commit was a little over a year ago[1] so who knows when it'll actually get finished.

[1] https://github.com/cutiepi-io/cutiepi-shell/tree/wayland

Re: CutiePi – A Raspberry Pi 4 tablet

#38

The faq about battery concerns me a bit. "Achieved about 5 hours of standby time." Reporting standby time seems like a question dodge.

I see a sleep/wake button, but my Raspi 400 has no such feature, and googling about whether this can truly be done are inconclusive. 5h standby time suggests the sleep isn't a very deep one.

It might be hibernation, as in putting RAM on disk and shutting down.

Re: CutiePi – A Raspberry Pi 4 tablet

#39
Two-hundred bucks is basically "impulse purchase" territory, but I'm nevertheless struggling to see the use case here.

If you're into maker projects with Raspberry Pis, then I'm not sure what this does for you. It's a Pi already built into a consumer device. Not seemingly a platform for new maker projects.

If you want a tablet with a Linux kernel buried in there somewhere, then there's probably a thousand Android options with better specs at the price point.

Just kinda seems like a tablet with with limited apps and terrible battery life, being marketed to Pi fans who think having "Pi" in its name will make it a good conversation piece.

Re: CutiePi – A Raspberry Pi 4 tablet

#40
post #33

Would love to see a bullet point about repairability somewhere. That's one of the most compelling points about indie projects like this for me.

Besides swapping the Pi out I'd imagine there's very little repair ability. PCB with tiny components, custom screen, etc.
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