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Inexpensive Handhelds for Linux?

Posted by Cliff on from the a-penguin-in-the-palm-of-your-hand dept.

Dr. Manhattan asks: "My PDA was stolen on a business trip, and I'm looking for a replacement. I've enjoyed Palms for their simplicity and long battery life, but I'm not afraid to program and I'm considering something that can run Linux. However, my budget is rather limited; $150 is all I can spend. Relatively obsolete tech is fine, but I'm looking for: good battery life (my old Palm could run for weeks on a charge; I'm hoping for double-digit hours), dual expansion slots, all of the onboard hardware solidly supported by Linux. Does such a beast exist in my price range?"

4 of 50 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Zaurus SL-5500 by n1ywb · · Score: 3, Interesting

    As an SL-5500 owner, I can tell you that the battery life sucks. 3 or 4 hours of use, a couple of days on standby, tops. Less with WiFi. It's too bad because other than that, it's a great device. The newer zaurii are much better in this department but out of your price range. Some of the older iPaq's have pretty good Linux support, I'm not sure about specifics. You're probably going to ahve to do some of your own research on this. Try google.

    --
    -73, de n1ywb
    www.n1ywb.com
  2. Re:Nope by NoMoreNicksLeft · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I waited for the PowerNewton. It never appeared.

    I waited for the iNewton. It never appeared.

    I waiting for the Mini Newton. It won't happen, either.

    Jobs hates anything that the other, unmentionable CEO might be able to get credit for.

  3. Re:www.fuckinggoogleit.com by Dr.+Manhattan · · Score: 2, Interesting
    Sure. What exact models should I put into Google/Froogle? Will your query pick up how much older iPaqs are going for on eBay? How many reviews list current prices and not historical ones?

    If you hit Google groups and look for "inexpensive handheld that can run linux" you'll see my (mostly unanswered) questions about it. I did STFW, and came up dry, but that doesn't mean that there isn't someone out there who knows more than me. Perhaps you are such a person, but you haven't provided evidence for that (yet).

    --
    PHEM - party like it's 1997-2003!
  4. get an MS Smartphone instead by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    Get one of these instead. Smaller than a PDA. Easy to write C/C++/C# code on. (Slowly) Network connected, for a fairly reasonable fee. Not too expensive if you sign up with a carrier. And you don't have to carry both a PDA and a cellphone. Works as an MP3 and DIVX player too, expandable up to 512MB miniSD (soon 1GB). The SP3i has a nicer joystick, but is a lot more expensive (no carrier lock-in/discount).