DC160 Critique: PineTab tablet

Design Critique: Products for People

Yousef Hegazi joins the show to help Tim Keirnan critique Pine64's PineTab, a low-cost 10-inch tablet that uses Linux as its operating system instead of iOS, Android, or Windows. Pine64 provides "system on a chip" computing devices that run free and open source software (FOSS) as their operating system and applications. The PineTab follows earlier projects such as the PineBook/PineBook Pro (a laptop), the PinePhone and PinePhone Pro (a smartphone), and the PineTime (a smart watch). Projects are shipped early to a community that can help with development and, at some point, the project will be ready for regular everyday users to buy and enjoy. Unlike other tablets on the market such as the Apple iPad and the Amazon Fire, the PineTab is not a closed ecosystem that sends information back to its manufacturer about how customers use the device.

NOTE: PINE64's website for ordering the PineTab did mention that the operating system is "a work in progress". Our critique balances our impressions of the device's UX with that admission. At some point, though, the software needs to mature to be useful and usable for regular consumers.

Check out the upcoming PineNote.

Here is the article Tim mentioned that explains how the dominant tablet makers track users' activity on the devices and why. For those not comfortable with such an arrangement, a Linux tablet such as the PineTab may offer hope. https://www.theverge.com/2020/1/31/21117217/amazon-kindle-tracking-page-turn-taps-e-reader-privacy-policy-security-whispersync