Underground typists set to flip over ‘cheapest mini laptop’

THIS tiny laptop could help commuters bash out a few emails on a proper keyboard or polish a spreadsheet on a packed Tube.

The Falcon, which has a full qwerty keyboard and runs Windows 10, is being billed as the world’s cheapest mini laptop. Its 8-inch screen flips over to become a note-taking tablet with a 1920x1200 resolution screen.

The aluminium-cased computer, which weighs 680g, is being offered for just over £300 to backers on Kickstarter, but will cost about £550 when it goes on sale next year.

Its backlit keyboard is said to offer a comfortable typing experience, although it is too cramped for long writing sessions.

A tiny optical touch sensor in the middle of the space bar controls the on-screen mouse, and a stylus can be used to take notes on-screen.

The device has 8GB of RAM and either 128GB or 256GB of storage on a solid state drive. It is powered by an Intel Pentium Silver N5000, a 1.1 GHz quad-core processor with support for speeds up to 2.7 GHz.

Chinese start-up TopJoy claims the Falcon has up to eight hours of battery life. It is said to run all Windows-compatible software but CPU-intensive tasks will take longer to complete and some games will be unplayable.

The Falcon is a shade bigger than the GPD Pocket 2 and One Mix Yoga laptops, which have screens of about seven inches but cost more.