Actually, Amazon has N810's for as low as $53 used, $139.95 new:
http://www.amazon.com/Nokia-N810-Por.../dp/B000Y4AH3C

How could they possibly be new if the device was discontinued years ago?

So, there is still no android (read:cheap) tablet where you can wipe android and install a real Linux+KDE instead?

Yes, I've thought of that. Every once in a while I do another search. It seems the general problem is the closed nature of graphics accellerator chips. Chip manufacturers don't share and the end result is a device with no accelleration. Same seems to go for a few other hardware bits as well. It's a problem for people making custom Android versions too... unless they can re-use existing binary blobs, they lose capability. The Neo900 people are planning on using binary-compatible chips so they can keep using the existing binary blobs in Fremantle for this reason.

Then again, the new Android devices are so much more powerful than the N810 that I'd probably not notice the lack of HW accelleration. I'm still thinking about it... After this N810 resurection project is done, I'll probably do another search... see if I can find a cheap tablet with a HW keyboard (not that many devices around) with a decent community of people hacking something Debian-like onto it.

I'd love some kind of dual-boot device, Daily-use Linux and the option of running Android if I really had to use some specific Android app. It's not that easy though... even the N810 is not particularly finger-friendly, but it works very well with it's stylus. A fancy new capacitive multi-touch screen won't have the same touch-resolution, which means the OS needs to be something like (shudder) Unity, and that means I need graphics accelleration... sigh.

Yeah, I've been thinking about it. If anyone knows something I've missed, let me know,

David...

I thought about it but I'm swamped by the infinite amount of tablets flooding the market (and none of them small enough to be an n8x0 substitute).
I hear that reverse engineering of the mali 400 is going strong, there's the pengpod but it doesn't convince me 100% (even if for me an hardware keyboard isn't an absolute necessity).
Keep us informed if you find something.

delete. wrong post

From what I understand...they were brought in from secret U.N. stockpiles that were thought to be needed if/when in the distant future the competing brand-name manufacturers forgot how to make decent tablets due to humanity's diminishing I.Q.s from apocalyptic radiation poisoning or a brain-eating fungus from space. No one expected the devastation to originate from Wall Street and spread from there

Could try ripping the old board out and messing with a more modern board in it's place....the neo8x0 ..can't say it would be successful or cheap... I do love the n810 physic. attributes...the comfy keyboard and the screen size....not too big...not too small...goldilocks just right.

+1, N810 still best for me too.