Arch Linux

Nathan

Member

Registered: 2008-12-27

Posts: 34

A small, cheap portable Linux-abled device?

I'm searching for a small device that can run linux and just in general be helpful, somewhat like the a Jornada 720 or a Mobilepro 900/900c. These devices are fine, but they're a little underpowered and have some features what I need. The main things I'm looking for:

Full-ish qwerty keyboard (i.e., not hit-with-your-thumb-keys)
A screen, preferably color
Wireless or a PCMCIA slot for wireless expansions
Sound would be nice, a headphone port at the least
A built in CF/SD/something card reader would be cool, but not required
And of course, Linux, and most (all?) of these things supported

I'm really just looking to see if there are any other alternatives to the Jornada 720 and Mobilepro 900/900c. I had a Mobilepro 900c but it's out of commission and neither are really completely supported by Linux (no sound, spotty X support although I don't really use X). Anybody have any good alternatives that can provide this kind of functionality? I'm really just planning on using this for typing stuff on the go, reading documentation, SSH, coding, interactive fiction, and CPU-light things of that nature.

rwhite

Member

Registered: 2008-06-28

Posts: 24

Re: A small, cheap portable Linux-abled device?

you could try the open pandora http://openpandora.org/
buy it is not exactly chep $300

rok3

Member

From: NJ, USA

Registered: 2008-03-09

Posts: 44

Re: A small, cheap portable Linux-abled device?

I have always loved the Nokia N810. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nokia_N810

Of course the keys are a bit on the tiny side so that might be a deal breaker for you.  They start around $250 online.

iphitus

Forum Fellow

From: Melbourne, Australia

Registered: 2004-10-09

Posts: 4,927

Re: A small, cheap portable Linux-abled device?

netbook?

They're cheap and include everything you mention. The eee 701 is tiny and very cheap. If that's too small and underpowered, I'd suggest the Asus 900A/900HA models. My girlfriend bought one recently and it's a pretty good bit of hardware.

The 900 series has colour 8.9" screen, card reader, 1.6GHz atom, either SSD or HDD. Linux supported, and may also be bought with Linux pre-installed. Wireless included, you can get some 3G models too. Bluetooth is on some.

If you're coding, you could get away with compiling on a netbook too. My i686 (and primary) dev box is only a 1.4GHz Pentium M.

Last edited by iphitus (2009-01-31 08:36:10)

szymon_g

Member

Registered: 2008-11-24

Posts: 36

Re: A small, cheap portable Linux-abled device?

as rwhite wrote, try OpenPandora.
you can also try a G1 Android-powered phone