Hardware

Lay beneath a sky the color of a television tuned to a dead channel, bringing down the E Corp mainframe while our panzerboy and solo drive the battlewagon to the extract.

...Or pretend that's what you're doing while you run cowsay.

Maybe you can remotely control you actual server and do stuff? Seems kind of hard to use on its own but could be convenient for updating apps and checking stats on a homelab.

Then again a normal phone could do that

TBH, I think it's mainly a toy. Something to tinker with. It would be fun to have, but I'd never have a reason to use it.

Coding :-)

i would say retro gaming but the design is very backwards

TBH, I think it's mainly a toy. Something to tinker with. It would be fun to have, but I'd never have a reason to use it.

Maintain eye contact in meetings while texting in the front pocket of your hoodie, of course.

But in seriousness, if you have a smartphone, you already have access to a terminal, a relatively powerful local processor, connectivity and plenty of remote options, but it’s also likely much more expensive than a pi. So the reasons are IMHO:

1. Hackability (full access to hardware capabilities)
2. Physical keyboard (assuming good build quality)
3. Relatively low price
4. SFF native linux
5. Novelty/cool factor

Edit: answer seriously

3-4 hours