Due to my situation regarding accommodation, I’ve not been able to ship my desktop computer to Spain. Because it will be a while before I can do this, I needed a device that ran a desktop operating system of some sort to use in the interim.

It had to be something that could be moved easily when the accommodation situation gets resolved. This meant a laptop. It needed to have a decent screen size, such as 15.6″. Something like the Asus ROG G752VS would have done nicely. I liked the 17″ screen, 3840 by 2160 resolution, keyboard with number pad and the styling. To be honest, I wasn’t keen on the 16:9 screen ratio so I ruled this out immediately. Okay, it was also about €3,000 above my budget but honestly — I’d only be willing to compromise on the 16:9 screen if I had that sort of money to throw at a laptop. Then again, if I were in that position, I probably wouldn’t be in my current accommodation situation.

I’m very sensitive to devices with a low screen resolution. I grew up reading actual printed books that exist on the physical plane.  They have an analogue resolution which is something to marvel at. Anyway, this ruled out 15.6″ laptops with a resolution of 1366 by 768. (Incidentally, that resolution on anything larger than a 7″ screen needs to be taken round the back of the shed and shot.) Unfortunately, even secondhand laptops with a 1920 by 1080 resolution were out of my budget. What to do? Bite the bullet and spend my time in VESA mode using Vim and pretending it’s 1995?

After some time considering the options, I was stumped. I even considered bringing over my ailing Acer Aspire One. It wouldn’t have been much use but at least I could take advantage of its overheating issue to keep warm. Then I remembered that the Chinese make all sorts of cheap electronics when they aren’t manufacturing for more well-known brands.

I headed over to Ali Express and perused the site. I narrowed my search to items that would have been dispatched from Spain as I didn’t want to deal with customs. The Chuwi LapBook 14.1 looked promising.

There were some downsides. That 16:9 ratio. The proprietary charger. The power button placed above the backspace just asking to be pressed by accident. The unknown quality of the keyboard. However, it remained the top contender.

I then decided to look into tablets. I already had a bluetooth keyboard and mouse to use with my Android tablet, a wonderful Toshiba Excite Write, so I didn’t need a laptop keyboard and trackpad. The Chuwi Hi12 emerged as the new top contender.

Although its cpu is less powerful than the one that graces the LapBook, it has a better screen (albeit smaller): 2160 by 1440, which means it’s high resolution at a 3:2 ratio. In fact, it’s the same screen as the Microsoft Surface Pro 3.

In addition, it sports full-size USB 2 and USB 3 slots and a micro-USB OTG slot that is used to charge it. It also dual-boots between Windows 10 and Android 5. Being a tablet, it’s silent. I like that.

I read up on the potential problems with the Hi12 and with ordering through Ali Express. I mulled it over for days. I ordered it.