Inexpensive Handhelds for Linux?

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?"

Comments

here's a suggestion

[Jane_the_Great]

I'll sell you yours back for $100.

linuxdevices.com

[tchuladdiass]

linuxdevices has a fairly comprehensive list of what is available. Unfortunately, you'll be disapointed. Your best bet might be to get an older Compaq iPaq and put Familiar on it. But the Compaq's don't have a built in keyboard, and the SD slot might not be supported under Linux.
To get a device you'll be happy with, it will cost from 300 - 800 dollars -- i.e., one of the Sharp Zaurus lines. They have built in keyboard, good display, sd & cf slots, etc. But support from Sharp is lacking -- they keep on discontinuing models, they totally screwed their community (by pulling the plug on the community development site). Of course support from zaurususergroup.com is good. But again, they are out of your price range.

Or, you could hold out till Palm comes out with their linux-based distribution. You might even be able to upgrade to it on existing arm/xscale based palm devices (which again might be out of your price range by a couple hundred).