Does anyone know of a cheap tablet that can run a Linux distro?
It doesn’t need to be high spec - it’s just for displaying photos.
Thanks!
I have a ThinkPad x1 tablet gen 2. These x1 tablets are very cheap when used or refurbished and you can install any linux distro, as they are using x86_64 cpus.
I use it with gnome and cachyos, the optimizations really help and gnome has, in my opinion, the best touchscreen feel, it’s very polished for this.
Ubuntu touch project runs linux on a tablet while retaining the phone/android functionality
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubuntu_Touch
https://docs.ubports.com/en/latest/userguide/install.html
https://liliputing.com/ubuntu-touch-mobile-linux-distro-is-now-based-on-ubuntu-24-04-lts/
There’s a list of supported devices there. Lenovo was one
PineTab2, been using one for a while now. Few minor things, e.g. specific USB-C ports for charging vs data and BT driver not (yet) working but otherwise, great device at that price point IMHO.
If you have questions, have to clarify.
+1
If it’s just for displaying photos, why Linux? Digital picture frames are way cheap or scroungeable.
For a substitute tablet I’ve been interested in trying a Lenovo Yoga. It’s really a laptop with a 360 degree screen hinge so you can get the keyboard out of the way. My use case of interest is reading arxiv.org pdf’s in portrait mode.
I’ve seen digital picture frames without battery more expensive than a a basic tablet where I live :p
(Doesn’t make sense, but happens)
I recently picked up a Microsoft Surface Go 2 and installed Linux on it. Ebay is flooded with them in the USA, and I paid $90 for the tablet with the keyboard cover. The irony of Linux on a Microsoft branded tablet amuses me.
Everything but the cameras just worked. There’s a kernel patch for the cameras, but I haven’t been motivated to patch and recompile.
Anyone shopping for the same should keep in mind that the 8100Y CPU is twice as fast as the Pentium, and the 64gb storage option is slow eMMC while 128gb and 256gb are faster NVME.
Is it because digital portraits aren’t available in your country? Or because you’re not aware they exist? Because they do, and they’re not as expensive as tablets.
No, it’s because I like open source operating systems and a linux tablet would mean it could be used for other things too if needed.
Oh, since you had said “it’s just for displaying photos” I figured you just wanted portraits. 😅
Any used tablet with Android will do. Some can be found in the trash even.
Really depends on where you live. If you’re not in the first world, you don’t just find tech gadgets randomly on the street.
I live in the second world and holy shit, people are so wasteful.
Yeah, where I’m from, you either pass things down to family and friends, or resell them, there’s no throwing tech away.
