(Phys.org)—Hey, kid, want a tablet that's capable of Linux and Android dual booting for one hundred bucks? The smart kid will answer, ok what's the catch? The catch is that, even if things go very well, it won't be on the shelves before next year and that, to reserve this open source rendering you have to go through the crowdfunding site, indiegogo. The tablets are called PengPods. The goal is to eventually bring forth a line of both Linux/Android tablets and also mini PCs. All devices are designed with an Allwinner A10 or A13 processor. For delivering the best of both worlds, Android and Linux, they run Android and boot Linux from an SD card. The advantage is said to be that the Linux enthusiast does not need to jump through hoops to have Linux.
The PengPod tablets will offer simple dual-booting by having one of the two operating systems installed in the device's internal memory and the other on the SD card. An active community, according to the PengPod creator, is working to make the devices better and better.
Say hello, for example to the PengPod 700, a seven-inch capacitive touchscreen tablet, with bootable Linux SD Card, built in camera, one USB port, headphones, and built in speakers. The seven-incher was placed as an earlybird special for 99 dollars but it has now sold out. The estimated delivery is presented as January 2013 The PengPod 700 is now listed at $120.
The PengPod 1000 is a ten-inch capacitive touch screen Android tablet, which will also run with Linux from an SD Card and is listed at $185.
Every PengPod device is capable of running from internal flash or booting from an SD Card. PengPods use a Linaro root file system and have access to most standard Linux packages available for ARM, with software including LibreOffice, XBMC, VLC, LXDE, KDE, and Gnome.
The KDE Plasma Active interface is used to make the Linux version touch-friendly and the Android version uses Android 4.0. The effort continues to raise cash at the time of this writing via indiegogo. When we last checked, the project had raised $11,313 with 20 days left to reach a $49,000 goal.
Neal Peacock, the software engineer behind the tablets, is on a mission to satisfy Linux users who would prefer a tablet running "real" Linux, which is the idea behind the PengPod tablets. "Our goal is to build a powerful, True Linux Tablet, one free of Google and Android's restrictions, at a reasonable price," according to Peacock.
Peacock has discussed what he wants to do with the money raised. "We intend to fix up the tablet related features, offer a central repository of A10 specific packages and create images and guides to make these devices even better. All these efforts will take time and we plan to use the proceeds from indiegogo to fund the remainder of the software work and maintenance. "
Based on how much is brought in, he is also considering offering prizes for developer teams "implementing community goals, adding more devices and maybe even other processor lines to our support list." He said that many of the tablet-related packages created "will hopefully help create a true Linux based tablet movement."
Explore further:
Raspberry Pi will roll with Android 4.0
More information: pengpod.com/pengwiki/index.php?title=Main_Page
www.indiegogo.com/pengpod
