Planet Computers made headlines when it came out almost exactly five years ago. The London-based hardware start-up hoped to bring his PDA into the 21st century with the Gemini, hoping for a nostalgia for his keyboard days with Haptic Mobile. 2020’s Astro Slide 5G followed a similar trend, spurring his hugely successful crowdfunding campaign, albeit launched early in the pandemic.
Today, the company brought a non-mobile device to the MWC in Barcelona, somewhat ironically. Planet launches a line of Linux desktop PCs powered by ARM. The new XR line is being pushed as “the first out-of-the-box Linux mini desktop experience ever.” This means end users need to do very little to get their Ubuntu box up and running.
“The XR series is Planet’s first entry into the personal computer market,” said CEO Janko Mrsic-Flogel in a news release this morning. “By bringing Linux into the mini desktop PC, XR is another step in building a more open and inclusive computing ecosystem.”
Image credit: planet computers
The line will be launched in two systems, XR1 and XR2. The former features a 4-core processor with 4GB or RAM combined with 32GB of storage. The latter offers eight cores and a Mali-G610 GPU. RAM runs from 4GB to 32GB and storage is available from 32 to 256GB (up to 2TB can be obtained with add-ons).
It doesn’t have the kind of nostalgia built into Planet’s mobile devices. The addition of a color touchscreen is certainly interesting, offering more control and more detail on system performance.
“Planet has always innovated device form factors,” said Mrsic-Flogel. Get access to smart Linux appliances. ”
Like its predecessor, the XR will be available through Indiegogo. Early arrivals can grab the XR1 for £399 ($477) and the XR2 for £499 ($596).
