sure...
I can check in now and again and make sure all is going smooth.

hmm..thinking on it..
off the top of my head...
even older was the htc hd2 ..(highly linux hackable) from 2009 (if memory serves...) with no qwerty...not sayin' the specs were any better...but she was one hackable device...(think the xperia is little closer to what we would want anyway...so just dismiss my trip down memory lane...)

true, but:

June is a very long time to wait, a lot could happen meanwhile.
but
- if it actually occurs
- then 2 batteries can run it for 10 hours.

Hacking batteries and chargers requires a little thought,
but infinitely easier than hacking
baytrail or android cr@pware sideload-circus events.

hahahaa
found this...
http://www.strangehorizons.com/2004/...5/badger.shtml
smart(dead)badger (how smart was he then?...hmm..) running linux
wonder if it can be adapted for dead raccoon ...
don't have badgers here...

hm...a smart with qwerty keyboard ...since 2009...

Motorolla-
Photon Q 4G LTE,
Droid 5,
Droid 4,
Droid Pro,
Flipside

Samsung-
Captivate Glide,
Galaxy Pro,
ATIV Q (convert-tablet-esque beastly gutsy b-tard, no gps tho),
Stratosphere I405 4G,

Sony-
Xperia Pro

Blackberry-
Bold 9930 / Bold 9900 ,
q10

LG-
Enact,
Mach,
Optimus F3Q,
Xpression C395

HTC-
Desire Z,
hd2 (old ..but epic for it's hackability ..the galaxy pro being another with such promise..)

Dell-
Venue Pro


there are a few "possibles" ...
There aren't a ton of qwerty keyboard smarts out there anymore...being produced anyhow...making the hunt pretty easy....
actually digging and seeing how they stack up against what is needed is another matter.
Some here would admirably run linux...some may not be suitable...research is required..
But I think throwing every qwerty-keyboarded unit into the fire of scrutiny is a good idea...

I'm sure I'm missing some...
anyone comes up with a new one for interrogation...
toss it in this thread for scrutiny...

but running x ...welly-well-well...that is another matter.
Frankly ..I suggest getting an n800, n810 or possibly an n900...
I hear they do x purdy good. (or wait for the neo..or get the whole nxx0 set now with boxtops from your favourite breakfast cereal! don't delay!...send in today!....)

So we got a list...
and so now...
by educated (I'm assuming everyone in our forum is pretty much that)
and illuminated peoples of learning such as we... account ourselves ...
let's tear them apart ...
one by one...
which ones are not suitable...
and which ones make the required grade...(if by a hair ...or by leaps and bounds)...
and throw in..brief explanations why "_ _ _ _" is a good choice...
and we can as an informed group ..
vote and..
separate wheat from chaff...
and get a short-short list of viables.

By the way, one of the things that made fennec suck for me was the fact it brought system to a grinding halt.

In part, this is caused by new tabs, as for some reason (at least in my case) fennec preferred creating new tabs for almost every new link you enter. After I changed the behavior in about:config, I must say it is much more usable and does not 'freeze' device anymore, unless of course I'm opening a complex page.

@endsormeans: yep, taking any hw kbd device into account is a good idea.

I have Linux Deploy on my (rooted) tablet and have debian installed on it. There are 3 choices for display:

VNC
X Window System
Frame Buffer

I've only really used the VNC option (which means you also need to install a VNC client as well). You can run a full desktop (mine boots into LXDE) and practically all the programs that Debian provides. Since my tablet only has 1GB ram (and slow by today's standards) I don't really do much with that debian installation, but I have installed and run stuff like the Gimp, Battle for Wesnoth, LibreOffice, etc. It's obviously not as good and efficient as being able to run linux natively on the tablet but it is surprisingly usable on the occasions that I need it. Plus my tablet being one of the Asus Transformers with a docking keyboard and touchpad makes the user experience a whole lot better.

But the important question here is: why is it not as good and efficient as running Linux natively?

Is it RAM? Because at some point that stops being a problem. With phones now regularly having 4GB of RAM, soon we will reach a similar-to-desktop situation where my entire operating system fits in RAM, and all the applications I use on L3 cache...

Is it 3D acceleration? That is not only fixable, but also most other "Linux native" mobile environments have the same problem.

Is it integration with the host operating system, or because you actually prefer it over the host environment? That's the only reason I currently have for preferring a native Linux environment, but even I myself admit I don't see this idea flying with many people.

The best choice at this point is a portable x86 device and running a regular linux distro on it. Make sure it has a 64 bit efi and that drivers are well suppprted. If it is an older device make sure it doesn't have a gma 500. There are internet threads showing how it can be done. I recommend a newer x5 based device.

list device possibilities please.
Personally I am keen on x86 ...(keepin it simple ..keepin it real...)

On this splinter topic...
samsung is working on the possibility of a smart with the new intel running dual full blown operating systems...
very interesting since part of their concept is doing this...
http://static.cdn-seekingalpha.com/u...03941842_0.png
from here..
http://seekingalpha.com/article/3214...nes-are-coming

but that concept is "coming"...
what is there currently on the market that has the "oomph" to run full distros in the palm of the hand?
I would like to see a list of viables...