[anthk]

In my case I'm planing to get one of these portable game consoles mimicking a Game Boy with 4 buttons which have some embeeded Linux OS with a GP2X GUI (the handheldGUI from the old GP2X consoles, now being universal) and OFC video players like Mplayer can be adapted/ported there (and ScummVM and a lot more). Then I will just grab a cheap pair of $5 headphones and call it a day. Video player, retroconsole and maybe a pocket computer with a USB host cable and a mini keyboard, a geeks heaven.

As current smartphones as ditching own the auio cable this is great: I can listen to music/watch some niche scifi series at lowish res (PSP like) from an SD and I can also have nice matches with some old retro JRPGs and plataformers for almost nothing. Tons of homebrew ROMs are perfectly legal to share, too. I own a 100% legal collection which can be shared over Bittorrent and give a lot of fun for both kids and adults, from XRick to Cave Story ports for Genesis/MD to Supertux Advance, this one being a 100% libre game. As a plus, the phone battery will last for longer.

Oh, and with a mini keyboard I might be able to code in EForth whil seating down on a bus as they often have some foldable tray to place laptops and the like. I can just use a book to rest the console and with a keyboard I'm done :)

Oh, and podcasts, too. It wasn't the original purpose, but this is libre software. If an $20/$30 can do the same as an $100 netbook, better for everyone.

As current devices will get a much higher price because of RAM and storage shortages, repurposing devices as computers (and with the right software) can create drastic changes.