MNT Research Begins Shipping the Aggressively-Open Pocket Reform Netbook
The first 50 units are out of the door, but with 700 orders to fulfill it's going to be a few months before the backlog is cleared.
Open hardware specialist MNT Research has announced that its Pocket Reform fully-open netbook system is now shipping to crowdfunding backers — though admits it will take "a few months" to get through all 700 orders.
"We are very excited to announce the first shipments of MNT Pocket Reform! It’s been a year since our campaign has ended and we have worked constantly to get your new gear ready," MNT's Lukas Hartmann writes in the project's latest campaign update. "Now that the device is polished (hardware- and software-wise), we are focusing solely on assembly, testing, flashing, and shipment."
MNT Research unveiled the Pocket Reform concept three years ago, following Hartmann and colleagues' success with the full-scale MNT Reform open-source laptop. In June 2022 the final design was demonstrated, based around a 7" display with ortholinear mechanical keyboard and integrated trackball pointer — and in March last year the company opened orders for the first production run, starting at $899.
Like the larger MNT Reform, the MNT Pocket Reform is a modular design with a focus on open hardware and firmware. Everything from the chassis and keyboard to the motherboard is released under an open hardware license, and it's possible to build your own — with or without customization. The motherboard plays host to a choice of systems-on-modules, some of which are also compatible with the original MNT Reform motherboard, with the stock model using the NXP i.MX 8M Plus system-on-chip with 8GB of RAM.
As a small company, though, it's going to take a while before the Pocket Reform campaign has caught up on orders. "Since all of these steps are carried out on location by two people — Greta and Liaizon — it will take us a few months to ship all MNT Pocket Reform laptops," Hartmann admits. "We are talking 700 units here — a lot for a small independent company like us."
So far, MNT Reform has shipped a little under 50 units — with a goal of shipping 100 per month. More information is available in the company's Crowd Supply update.