Laptop-like CrowView Note ready to work with Pi, phones and mini-PCs

Elecrow has launched an interesting project on Kickstarter that has the look of a 14-inch laptop but isn’t. It essentially brings a notebook experience to connected phones, single-board computers and handheld gaming consoles.

Single-board computers like the Raspberry Pi are obviously not as powerful as full desktops or laptops, but can be great for coding or creating documents, working through your emails, web browsing or watching online videos. But even though the board itself is pretty portable, you’d still need to cable up a monitor, keyboard and mouse and then power everything before you can get busy.

The CrowView Note will allow your Pi to go mobile without having to haul a bunch of peripherals. So what we have here is a 14-inch 1080p IPS monitor that’s hinged to a low-profile keyboard and touchpad. There’s a 5,000-mAh battery inside the body to power the Note and the computer board – though you will need to get yourself an adapter/bridge board to interface with the Elecrow device. The Pi can then boot and the Note used as a portable Pi station.

The CrowView Note will work with various single-board computers, such as the Raspberry Pi, Jetson Nano, Banana Pi and Orange Pi

Elecrow

And it’s not just Pi enthusiasts who can tap into mobile project working. The company reports that NVIDIA’s Jetson Nano Dev Kit is also compatible (again via a bridge), together with an Orange Pi, Beaglebone, Banana Pi and a bunch of other single-board computers.

If you work from a desktop-mode smartphone like a Galaxy S24 Ultra with Samsung DEX then you can plug in over USB-C and do your thing with more screen real estate to play with, and use a real keyboard and touchpad while you’re at it. It’s a similar story for mini computers – the setup is compatible with numerous operating platforms, including Windows, MacOS, Android and Linux. And gamers can cable up to a PS4/5, Xbox, Switch or handheld consoles and make use of the 300-nit display.

No CPU. No storage. No RAM. A monitor with a keyboard and touchpad that connects to boards like the Raspberry Pi or smartphones with a desktop mode

In essence, the CrowView Note is similar to Elecrow’s second screen we reviewed last year, but with its own keyboard and battery. Like that crowdfunded device, the company has taken to Kickstarter to fund production of the Note. Pledges currently start at US$130 (plus an extra $5 if you want either a Pi or Jetson bridge).

The usual crowdfunding cautions apply, but if all goes to plan with the already funded campaign, shipping is estimated to start from November. The video below has more.