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The Zipit Z2 is easy to flash with Linux, has a MiniSD slot for additional storage, built in Wifi, Querty backlit keyboard, 320x240 screen, 312MHz ARM chip.

People making custom distros for it have already managed to cover all aspects of the machine's hardware... lid switch, backlight adjustments, etc... I bought mine on clearance at Target in October, and it's an adequate pocket Linux box for me while I wait for my Pandora. Here's a sampling of what people are doing with it:

http://zipit.rootnexus.org/
http://hunterdavis.com/archives/category/zipit-hacking
http://www.irongeek.com/i.php?page=security/zipit-z2-hacking-userland-side-track
http://www.karosium.com/2009/07/zipit2-clock-email-twitter-monitor.html
http://www.openzipit.org/
http://www.hak5.org/?s=zipit&x=0&y=0

It sure looks like my Zipit. http://www.zipitwireless.com/

Zipit Z2

But what I've always really wanted in my pocket was a little debian box

If your local Target still has any, grab a Zipit Z2 (warning: horrible flash and music). My girlfriend got one on clearance for $12.50; I got one for $25... We're running Debian on one and Angstrom on the other currently. Check out this guy's tutorials. It's got a 312MHz ARM chip, wifi, querty keyboard, MiniSD slot, and a 320x240 color screen. I'm currently attempting to tune Angstrom to the point that I get all the stuff I had on my old Zaurus.

Also, you may want to check out the Pandora, which is nearing release. The unofficial blog has a lot of recent info. I was about to buy an N810 when my OQO died, but saw that the Pandora was getting less vapory and pre-ordered that instead.

The Zipit Wireless Z2 has somewhat similar specs(no bluetooth, and only miniSD support) for only 49.99 new, a bit less if you hunt around. The default firmware is absolutely worthless(IM only, and demands that you pay a monthly fee after a couple of weeks of use); but the device runs linux, and there is an openembedded port http://linux.zipitwireless.com/ and http://openzipit.org/

Not quite as good, and not an out of the box ready to go kind of thing; but pretty cheap for a PXA270 platform that plays reasonably well with hobbyist linux. The product in TFA looks like a fun toy; but the zipit has the advantage of being almost as good, 1/3 the price, and available now.

The Zipit2 has a 300 mhz system with 32 megs ram, 8 megs flash, miniSD card slot, has b/g wireless(does WPA), and can run OpenEmbeded Linux. It also has JTAG and serial pads inside, and I think someone is working on getting USB out of the weird connector on the back. The keyboard is chiclet, but it looks about the same as this thing. Honestly, the whole thing looks almost the same, except "business"ified.

The big plus? You can get it on amazon for $50 bucks. It was $150, but they separated out their IM/SMS service for kids into a separate subscription thing.

You can just go to the sourceforge project and put the OE boot image on an SD card, or the company set up a wiki with all the GPL bits, but the wireless chip doesn't have a GPL driver. Still, probably more support than the mfg of the device in the story will provide.

No bluetooth, though.

Maybe I will look into getting a Zipit 2z.

What a painful and useless website this product has! Looks like it was desgined by a fourth-grader. Someone, please beat their web staff with a clue-by-four.

Since you've got one of these gizmos, can you give us a quick rundown on what it is and why you find it useful? 'Cause I sure can't figure it out from their site.

Ordered mine last November and still haven't got it. Getting worried too as the email they sent said it be in before the 15th of this month and the website doesn't seem to do anything when I put my confirm number in....

I want to play with the damn thing:P Maybe I will look into getting a a Zipit 2z. I have the first generation and the second one looks very nice.

I always wanted to run a custom Linux firmware on a Linksys WRT54G, but when I went to several stores, all I saw on the box was the model number, not the version number. Some versions are compatible, others have different hardware and are not, but all the boxes look the same. This is rather strange considering most versions (presumably the free software compatible ones) already run Linux by default! Why don't companies proudly advertise the fact that they run Linux and that it is hackable? Those are useful features! The same goes for zipit wireless messengers. All run Linux, but the manufacture released a new version that cryptographically locks out the ability to load the device with a custom firmware, so you need to modify the hardware if you want to use these neat and inexpensive little computers as pocket web browsers, ssh clients, ogg players, or other cool things like that. By default they are only useful as an IM device. Why do companies go out of their way to stop their users from improving their own hardware and in the long run, doing free development work for the company? Why don't corporations want essentially unpaid dedicated employees?

I also would love to have a media player that runs Rockbox, but various hardware is in different stages of rockbox support. It seams like there would be a significant market for products that advertise the fact that they work with free software firmwares right on the box. It's a shame that many industries view "proprietary" as a feature, as something developed uniquely and innovatively by one company. Anything proprietary should instead be suspect of being buggy because there is no way for the public to verify it's security, it probably has poor support for open standards, and it's probably feature limited and uncustomizable.

This is a message for all the kids living in any Theocracy, whether it happens to be in Iran or the USA:
Do you think your parents are spying on you and taking Draconian measures to mold you into a little puritan? Want to be free to learn about the real world and maybe even use your own body as you desire? Do you want to learn about evolution, but have fundie nut parents trying to censor your entire environment? Don't want to loose your legal home (which includes perhaps your only access to food, shelter, and healthcare?), and risk getting jailed for leaving it? If you are reading this, you probably have some place where you can access the Internet with minimal restrictions. Maybe you are lucky enough to be online at a friend's house or library. Maybe you hacked the filter at your public school or church. If you want to expand your access and keep your freedom, you will need to take some precautions. To get around any logging or filtering software running on a local machine, I suggest getting your own computer. Try ebay. If you can't afford a full computer, and just want to chat, I recommend the zipit, it runs Linux, so you can modify it and add features like encryption. If these are not viable options, you should use a Linux (or BSD, or OpenSolaris) bootable CD. If you suspect that there is network based monitoring, you should use gaim-otr or gaim-encryption for your chatting and gpg for your email. Learn to tunnel your network traffic through http, ssh, and other protocols. If you are using someone else's PC, you should also check for a hardware keylogger. Use the presumption of your ignorance to your advantage. Play the naïve little kid. If you get caught trying to circumvent censorship and spying, act like you have no idea what you are doing and just got lost. Act like the computer is broken and you are confused and frustrated.

A brief message to the parents: Kids like sex. Kids are curious. Remember back when you were a teenager? Wouldn't you have really liked a (select gender based on sexual preference) about ten years older than you (someone in their 20s), to fuck? As illegal and "wrong" as that is, it's what we've evolved to desire. You become sexually mature as a teen, and you want the most fit sexual partner. People older than you are probably the most fit. As you get older, people younger than you are probably the most fit. All the technology in the wold will not change this. It's human nature. Your irrational fear of pleasure is no excuse to stunt your offspring's intellectual growth. Do you really want to keep them from accessing the biggest store of human knowledge ever amassed, just because you don't like the idea that they might actually want to enjoy sex? Or...is it worse than that? Are you a religious asshole that wants to keep your kid from learning about science? If so, you are the reason why your nation is going to plunge deep into a second dark age of technological decay and theocratic war. Thanks a lot!

I run linux on my Zipit Wireless Messenger, on a cluster of twenty old ibm thin clients, my laptop, and two servers -- and of course my old dead pet badger.

Windows CANNOT claim the same flexibility. WindowsCE may [may] come close, but for a truly minimal footprint, you're forced back to DOS.

Regarding aging equpiment, the situation is simply put: linux makes old hardware useful again.

i went to the site, it seems it does have a section to put your wep key in.
http://www.zipitwireless.com/setup.html

For $99, this thing is a good way to experiment with embedded linux for those who are interested. I haven't gone out to get one myself, but I've seen one with a serial header soldered on (for flashing the ROM with better linux goodness than what is provided). It's rather small, has a wireless connection, and has decent battery life.

The downside to the whole thing is that the device does not fully conform to the LGPL (there's some issue surrounding linking), but most of what they've used is available

How's about a Zipit device? They're designed as a portable wifi box, but they run Linux and can be flashed with arbitrary code. They're cheap as chips, and you can edit your notes in your favorite editor and then trivially transfer them over Wifi. The only thing to watch out for is the keyboard - it's kinda cheap and the soft rubber keys aren't to everyone's liking, so have a look at it first.

Just saw this product (don't remember where from), but the details are EXTREMELY sketchy. It's being sold exclusively through Target (apparently online only).

http://www.zipitwireless.com

I ordered mine today so we'll see what it actually is. It's supposed to use WiFi to connect to multiple IM services with no service fees. I'm not sure if it's via proxy or direct, and what kind of support it will have for non-open hotspots. I've also heard rumors that it will eventually get a firmware update to stream audio to it. I'm doubtful though!

I'll post a full report when it arrives. No affiliation with company (and I don't even believe it will do what it claims).

--D