This extraordinary laptop comes with features we’ve never seen on a notebook this size before
RS232 port, rotating screen, Gigabit Ethernet - but no touchpad
One-Netbook A1 micro laptop - $599.99 at Banggood
(£470.66/AU$849.51)
The A1 from One-Netbook is almost the perfect ultra portable laptop for developers, thanks to a few unique feature. It doesn’t run on Linux or have a touchpad, but you’d be hard pressed to find something as powerful and compact with a touchscreen.
The past few years have seen the return of a few old trends: vintage vinyl and retro video games, for example. We can now add netbooks to that list, because the cheap and compact form factor from the 2010’s is making a comeback thanks to challenger brands looking to service niche markets.
One-Netbook is one such brand; its A1 notebook targets a unique audience with a very specific set of features. For example, unlike competing models, it has a rotatable screen that protects the keyboard better (compared to the design of the Bmax Y13 Pro).
But that’s not all, it's the only laptop we know of that offers an RS232 port, useful for plugging in all sorts of devices that system administrators, IT technicians and others use.
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Add in three USB ports (including a Type-C that can be used for charging from a laptop power bank), an audio jack, TF card slot, micro HDMI port and a Gigabit Ethernet port and you have a pretty comprehensive list of I/Os.
The A1 even has a rope hole for, well, hanging the laptop, which weighs just 550g thanks to a truly tiny form factor and 7-inch full HD touchscreen display.
Having a native RS-232 serial port rather than USB to RS-232 converter means you don’t need a driver, which has a host of benefits. And elsewhere, there’s an Intel Core M3-8100Y processor, 8GB memory and 256GB SSD, a backlit keyboard and even a fingerprint scanner.
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Bear in mind
- If this product is shipped from mainland China, it will take at least a month to arrive in either the UK or US. You may be levied an additional tax, either directly or through the courier.
- If you've managed to get hold of a cheaper product with equivalent specifications, in stock and brand new, let us know and we'll tip our hat to you.
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Désiré has been musing and writing about technology during a career spanning four decades. He dabbled in website builders and web hosting when DHTML and frames were in vogue and started narrating about the impact of technology on society just before the start of the Y2K hysteria at the turn of the last millennium.