Planet Computer systems turned heads when it arrived on the scene virtually precisely 5 years in the past. The London-based {hardware} startup was banking on a little bit of nostalgia for the times of tactile cellular keyboards, because it tried to tug the PDA kicking and screaming into the twenty first century with the Gemini. 2020’s Astro Slide 5G adopted in the same vein, spurring on a extremely profitable crowdfunding marketing campaign, despite being launched originally of the pandemic.

At the moment, the agency hit MWC in Barcelona with, considerably sarcastically, a non-mobile gadget. Planet is launching a line of ARM-powered Linux desktop PCs. The brand new XR line is being pushed because the “first-ever out-of-the-box Linux mini desktop expertise,” that means that the tip person has to do little to get the Ubuntu packing containers up and operating.

“The XR collection is Planet’s first foray into the non-public laptop market,” CEO Janko Mrsic-Flogel says in a launch tied to this morning’s information. “By productizing Linux right into a mini desktop PC, the XR is one other step in the direction of making a extra open and inclusive computing ecosystem.”

Picture Credit: Planet Computer systems

The road is launching with two programs – the XR1 and XR2, fittingly. The previous contains a 4-core processor, coupled with 4GB or RAM and 32GB of storage. The latter will get you eight cores and a Mali-G610 GPU. RAM runs 4GB to 32GB and storage is accessible from 32 to 256GB (you may get that as much as 2TB with add ons).

There isn’t any the identical built-in nostalgia current that you simply’ll discover in Planet’s cellular units. The addition of a shade touchscreen is actually attention-grabbing, providing controls and particulars on system efficiency.

“Planet has all the time innovated with gadget kind components,” says Mrsic-Flogel, “and we’re particularly excited concerning the XR’s built-in shade touchscreen, which provides Linux customers a brand new stage of management and confidence, in addition to the proper platform for builders to entry good Linux home equipment.”

Like its predecessor, the XR will likely be made out there through Indiegogo. Those that get in early can decide up the XR1 at £399 ($477) or the XR2 for £499 ($596).