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Jamie Carter

We all pretend we can work on our phones. Bigger screens are more productive, we think, and they’re great for multitasking. Besides, most people under 30 can hammer away on a virtual keyboard with their thumbs.
None of that is true if your job involves writing, updating and exchanging documents. Cue the Peakago, a 7-inch device about to be crowdfunded on Indiegogo and expected to sell for US$250 to US$350 that tries to bridge the gap between touch screens and typing.
Is it a laplet? A tabtop? A lapbook? Maybe even a born-again netbook from a decade ago?
Although the past few decades have seen electronics designers obsessed with minimalism and portability, no one has ever built the ideal productivity tool. Has Peakago managed it with this cute and convertible Windows 10 … MiniBook?


Design and hardware
Just 17mm thick, 113mm wide and 181mm tall, you can easily fit it in a jacket pocket or hotel room safe, and use it on an airline seat’s tray table.

Having said that, it is pretty chunky for its size despite its 7-inch touch screen and minimalist appearance compared to a “proper” laptop.
Although at 535g it weighs about half as much as its ultra-expensive “ultrabook” laptop competitors, at 17mm it is thicker than, for example, Apple’s 13-inch MacBook Pro (14.9mm, 1.37kg) and Huawei’s MateBook X Pro (14.6mm, 1.33kg).
A flexible hinge allows Peakago to bend in half and so it can be propped up to watch a movie or read an e-book.

The Peakago is well equipped, with Wi-fi, Bluetooth 4.0 and plenty of ports. The right-hand side of the Peakago houses a USB 3.0 slot for thumb drives and external devices, a USB-C slot for recharging, a microHDMI port for connecting to a TV or projector, microSD card reader, and a 3.5mm headphone jack (yes, they do still exist).
The main keyboard has two microphones and two basic speakers.
There’s a generous 128GB of storage and 8GB RAM – arguably too much – but there’s no getting away from Peakago’s ageing Intel Atom X5 processor. That rules out CPU-intensive tasks such as video editing and playing some video games, but that’s no surprise at this low price.

Software and features
The Peakago runs Windows 10 Home, which everyone is either familiar with, or capable of getting used to within a few minutes (yes, even Mac users). You can type MSOffice documents, sync files with Dropbox, attach files to emails, and do other productive work-related things that phones and tablets still haven’t mastered.
What the Peakago really brings is a keyboard. Yes, it’s pretty small, but in my test I wrote this review with (hopefully) only a few more errors than normally occur on a full-sized keyboard. However, there’s no backlight, which would be useful on a plane, an environment for which it is otherwise perfect.

Performance and battery life
In my test the Peakago kept going for an impressive 10 hours. It’s also recharged via USB-C, so its built-in 4,500mAh battery can be topped up easily on the go using a portable battery. Not having to travel with a power pack brick is heaven!
The display is 1,920 x 1,200 pixels, giving it a movie-friendly 16:10 aspect ratio, and it is bright and colourful, with excellent viewing angles.
There’s no stylus, so sketching is out, but its touch screen proved useful during my review when the optical mouse centre button got frustrating. It’s not as nice to use as the TrackPoint found on Lenovo ThinkPads, for example; it doesn’t take much to resort to the left- and right-click buttons to get things done.

Conclusion
A fraction of the price of an ultrabook, and about half the weight, this is the kind of gadget you can sling into a carry-on bag or day pack without too much worry.
It’s not the world’s most powerful laptop, and it could benefit from a touch more processing power, but the Peakago is a likeable product. Likely to be much more affordable than the One Netbook One Mix Yoga mini laptop when it gets to market, Peakago is genuinely useful for getting work done while travelling. Unlike tablets and smartphones, it doesn’t saddle the user with an operating system designed for only entertainment.
However, if Windows 10 is essential to its appeal, its long battery life and thoroughly usable keyboard make this a great option for business travellers who want to travel light, but know that at some point they’ll have to get down to some serious work.

For more insights into China tech, sign up for our tech newsletters, subscribe to our Inside China Tech podcast, and download the comprehensive 2019 China Internet Report. Also roam China Tech City, an award-winning interactive digital map at our sister site Abacus.



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Technology

Peakago review: neither a laptop nor a tablet, but useful for business travellers with its keyboard, 7-inch touch screen and compact size

The Peakago portable computer straddles the line between tablet and laptop.

Measuring 181x113x17mm, you can easily get the Peakago into a jacket pocket or hotel room safe, onto an airline tray table.

A fraction of the price of an ultrabook, and about half the weight, Peakago is the kind of gadget you can sling into a carry-on bag or daypack without too much worry.

A flexible hinge allows Peakago to bend in half and prop itself up for watching a movie or reading an ebook, the latter befitting from it also being a touchscreen.

The Peakago runs Windows 10 Home, which everyone is either familiar with, or capable of getting used to within a few minutes. You can type-out MSOffice documents, sync files with Dropbox, attach files to emails, and do all the other work-related productive things that phones and tablets still haven’t mastered.

The right-side of the Peakago houses a USB 3.0 slot for thumb-drives and external devices, a USB-C slot for recharging, a microHDMI for connecting to a TV/projector, microSD card reader, and a 3.5mm headphones jack. The main keyboard also hosts two microphones and two basic speakers.

Huawei Mate 30 Pro full review: excellent handset, but lack of Google apps will be a deal-breaker for many

The Huawei Mate 30 Pro has a 6.5-inch screen that curves drastically at the sides – known as ‘waterfall display’. Photo: Ben Sin

The Huawei Mate 30 Pro has a unique back design with a large circular camera module hosting four cameras and a textured ring that wraps around the module giving it an extra visual flair.

The Huawei Mate 30 Pro's screen curvature is drastic, so much that the power button sits further back than usual. There is no volume buttons. Users instead adjust volume by double tapping on the sides of the display and then adjusting a software volume slider bar.

Three 10X zoom images captured by the Mate 30 Pro, iPhone 11 Pro, and Samsung Galaxy Note 10. Huawei’s telephoto lens is clearly superior.

There is, however, a relatively large notch on the Huawei Mate 30 Pro, housing a 32-megapixel selfie camera and a pair of TOF sensors for 3D face scanning.

Zoomed-in (or close crop) of two wide-angle images, captured by the Huawei Mate 30 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro respectively. Apple’s image has better balance and dynamic range -- notice the lights inside Xiqu Centre isn’t overexposed -- but Huawei’s image is noticeably sharper with more details, because the Mate 30 Pro has larger sensor and a higher megapixel count. The difference is particularly jarring around the lower right corners of the photos where the bus is.

We review the Microsoft Surface Pro X, a slim new laptop with better battery and US$1,000 price tag

Microsoft will officially release its slimmer, sleeker new laptop, the Surface Pro X, on November 5, 2019. Photo: Business Insider

The Surface Pro X and fingerprints of people who manhandled the device before I did. Antonio Villas-Boas/Business Insider

Business Insider/Antonio Villas-Boas

Lifestyle

Gadgets

Tech


The Peakago, which is made in Hong Kong, has Wi-fi, Bluetooth and plenty of USB ports and other connectors
This portable computer for people on a budget runs on Windows 10, folds in half and has a real keyboard



Genuinely useful for the business traveller, the Peakago, which is made in Hong Kong, has Wi-fi, Bluetooth and plenty of ports and connectors. A budget portable computer, it runs on Windows 10, has a real keyboard and folds in half.


Gadget reviews

An assessment or critique of a service, product or creative endeavour.  Film reviews, restaurant reviews, reviews of art exhibitions. (Eg. Crazy Rich Asians: an important film, yes, but a good one?)


Review

Review | Peakago review: neither a laptop nor a tablet, but useful for business travellers with its keyboard, 7-inch touch screen and compact size

The Peakago, which is made in Hong Kong, has Wi-fi, Bluetooth and plenty of USB ports and other connectors This portable computer for people on a budget runs on Windows 10, folds in half and has a real keyboard

The Peakago, which is made in Hong Kong, has Wi-fi, Bluetooth and plenty of USB ports and other connectors

This portable computer for people on a budget runs on Windows 10, folds in half and has a real keyboard