I recently discovered that I may actually be able to get a fairly nice Christmas present (albeit with nothing else). Hopefuls include the Beagle Board and the much less likely eee 901. The latter is very much less likely because I am getting a (free --gotta love having connections ^,^) full-size laptop, and although I could easily put it to use far more than the slightly-improved Thinkpad T30 I'll be getting, justifying such a large monetary purchase while already having an actual laptop is slightly less doable (to myself and to those involved in purchasing). Since I'll have this full machine, I figure something like small and portable would be ideal, such as the Beagle Board (after I have my way with it, adding battery and a monitor, of course), would be nice. But since purchasing the Beagle also requires purchasing other stuff and can add up, one alternative is something pre-assembled but hackable, like the Pandora (keep dreaming...) or the Cowon S9 now that it's on US territory.
So, does anyone have experience with Cowons? Any input is good; hacking and putting Linux on it is better.
And while I'm at it, does anyone have any other suggestions as far as portable equipment goes, for hacking or surfing or whatever (I'd like it to have or be able to put Linux on it so I can make it do whatever I want regardless of it's original purpose)