Main characteristics
screen: 11.6-inch 1366×768 IPS display
Camera: 2 MP
Mouse: 2.4 GHz (adapter included)
Cooling fan: Included
Audio: Stereo speakers, 3.5 mm headphone jack
battery: 5000 mAh
Software for self-development: Pi board for CrowPi-L
Hardware training: External Raspberry Pi expansion board
Compatible devices: Raspberry Pi 4B
storage: 32GB microSD card, plus an expanded storage slot
Elecrow is at the forefront when it comes to Raspberry Pi laptop kits, especially now with the CrowPi-L. If you’re looking for something to constantly tinker with and perfect, chances are Elecrow is on your radar. It’s the same if you want to build or code.
What’s most impressive is how the CrowPi-L builds on established notebooks like the CrowPi2. Gone are the micro-USB ports (ugh) and in is the better USB-C. Want to take it with you? Now there is a powerful battery that can boast up to about six hours of operation.
CrowPi-L sings not only thanks to the upgrade. Clever design ingenuity has made the CrowPi-L the most affordable Elecrow Raspberry Pi laptop to date in terms of ease of use and modular compatibility.
Of course, it’s not a common choice, but the CrowPi-L offers an interesting alternative best laptops for coding? You get a drop in specs, but actual hands-on experience as you build and program your own laptop.
CrowPi-L Review: Setup and Usability
- Lots of detail but easy to set up
- Fantastic screen, but the included operating systems let it down
- Good speakers
It’s impossible not to feel a little intimidated when unpacking the CrowPi-L, as there are a lot of parts to it. And screws. And magnets. And GPIO cables. But after a quick look at the instructions, it’s not as scary as it seems at first glance.
It’s really just screwing in magnets, pushing the USB panel into place, adding an SD card extender, plugging the Pi into the correct ports and sliding the fan board onto the pins. That’s all. Pop the Pi into place and you’re ready for your first boot.
Although setup is very easy, there are, however, some notable usability issues.
First, it’s an 11.6-inch 1366×768 IPS screen. Radiant brightness of the screen is almost perfect. There are no dark spots, and the brightness is adjustable. There is nothing to complain about. The problem is that the visual quality just isn’t very good.
This could very well be a problem with the modified Raspbian operating system. Text looks thinner and a bit washed out, making the screen hard to read even when zoomed in.
As we speak, we’re not sure if it’s the screen that’s causing the problem. When booting Batocera and another version of Raspbian, both looked better. It wasn’t perfect by any means, but the improvement over stock Raspbian was immediately noticeable.
There are also stereo speakers available definitely speakers for a laptop. We’ve used worse speakers than this one, mostly on Chromebooks, but they don’t have enough room for sound to penetrate. Instead of letting the audio flow through multiple layers, they squeeze the sound out all at once. At high volumes, this is too difficult to sustain.
CrowPi-L Review: Design and Features
- Visionary design
- Great for emulation
- Coding lessons are easy to follow
This brings the CrowPi-L design to life. There’s a “fix it” mentality to the overall feel that really sets it apart from a lot of devices on the market.
Part of the fun of owning a Raspberry Pi is the constant tinkering. Once the unit is assembled, most will want easy access so they can add parts, remove SD cards, or easily remove it to move it to another project.
The CrowPi-L gets this and therefore chooses magnetic panels to hold the Raspberry Pi 4b in place. The end result here is that users can just pull everything out when they need it. Likewise, the fan board plugs directly into the Raspberry Pi pins, so again it’s just a sharp pull to remove. Compared to having to unscrew something every time a replacement is needed, magnets make the whole process a lot easier and faster.
Same with the removable back cover. There is no clip or screw holding it in place. Just push your finger into the groove and it will pop right out.
This is the “fix it” mentality we’ve been talking about: understanding why people choose Raspberry Pi, fixing competitors’ problems, and serving users directly through intuitive design.
This extends to areas that most won’t think about until it’s right in front of them. Take the SD card adapter for example. At first, it seems like the extender is only there to pull the microSD slot out from under the Raspberry Pi and into a more accessible location. While this is true, it also acts as a double reader. You can have the CrowPi-L running on one SD card, but flip it over and you can add a second SD card with a second operating system on the other side.
To switch between the two operating systems, there’s a handy switch that’s easy to poke. Click it before booting and the Pi will recognize the change and boot accordingly. The brilliance here is that users can have the best of both worlds – one SD card for the main CrowPi-L training software and another for, say, emulation.
Let’s go to “what where” on the laptop. Along the right side, you’ll find an HDMI output, a USB-C charging port, a headphone jack, and a GPIO adapter port. Yes, you can connect GPIO ribbon cables directly to this. And also yes, it makes life a lot easier.
Flip the CrowPi-L over and the left side reveals three USB ports – one of which will surely be occupied by the included 2.4GHz USB mouse dongle – and an Ethernet port (although the CrowPi-L has Wi-Fi with box).
Open the CrowPi-L and you’re greeted with a GPIO function board across the top width of the laptop, with a small trackpad between it and the power button. Trackpad… ok? It’s nothing revolutionary, but it gets the job done. Its size will surely put some people off, but as an alternative, if you don’t have a mouse handy, it will do the trick.
Next comes the keyboard. Most laptops opt for the top placement with the trackpad at the bottom. Instead, the CrowPi-L moves the keyboard slightly lower relative to the screen. Is this a good move? Yes and no. It will definitely take some getting used to, but once the placement becomes second nature, the keyboard and its responsiveness clackit’s a joy to work or code.
On the underside is a flip-off cover, a 5,000mAh battery, and the aforementioned magnetic cover for accessing the Raspberry Pi. As expected, the lid does include a vent directly above the fan. We won’t break down everything that lives next to the Pi on the inside, but it’s worth noting that there’s an expansion slot for those looking for more memory. Since the operating system takes up a large part of the main SD card, it is highly recommended to grab a larger card to install other programs.
CrowPi-L Review: Price
CrowPi-L starts up in USD 219.88 (opens in a new tab). This will get you the laptop itself, but it won’t come with the Raspberry Pi 4b needed to run it.
If you’re going from scratch and want a Raspberry Pi 4b bundled, the CrowPi-L plus Raspberry Pi 4b with 4GB of memory in USD 372.60 (opens in a new tab)or you can upgrade to the 8GB version for $394.10.
In addition, Elecrow also offers the CrowPi-L bundled with the Crowtail Starter Kit for 314.10 US dollars (opens in a new tab). Add a 4GB or 8GB Raspberry Pi 4b and this kit jumps to $435.60 and $457.10 respectively.
CrowPi-L Review: User Reviews
As with most Raspberry Pi devices, it takes a while for reviews to arrive. Although there aren’t many of them at the moment, the ones that are there are all in agreement CrowPi-L (opens in a new tab) perfect for DIY and computer tinkering enthusiasts. Some have even noted that it would be a great first laptop for a child.
Should I buy the CrowPi-L?
It all comes down to what you want to use the Raspberry Pi for. The CrowPi-L isn’t perfect, but when you look at the competition – cheap screens, battery-less cases, keyboards that don’t respond to feedback – this laptop kit beats it all.
If you need a laptop for the sake of laptops, get a Chromebook or expect to pay premium prices. However, if you want to experience the joy of building something yourself and modifying it until you’re happy, or if you or a family member wants to learn programming without breaking the bank, the CrowPi-L offers high quality and excitement at a relatively low price.
If you have a little one that you want to introduce to this world, then check out the best coding toys for kids to inspire them.
If this product is not for you
Windows laptops are not worth the fun at this price. Instead, it’s all about Chromebooks. Chromebooks also have a longer lifespan than Windows laptops, and can last up to 12 hours of use in some cases.
As for which ones are worth it, well Acer Chromebook 314 (opens in a new tab) that’s what this review was written on. It has a crisp screen, boots in about five seconds thanks to an Intel Celeron N4000 and 64GB of eMMC storage is a boon.
If you can spend a little more, then stylish ASUS Chromebook Flip (opens in a new tab) where he is. The RAM has been upgraded to 8GB and the Intel Core m3-8100Y processor flies. You can even turn over more to use it as a tablet if you want to watch movies, TV shows or YouTube. In this respect, it is ideal for children.
