It seems that Linux users will finally be able to join the ranks of tablet users. Spark is a new tablet from KDE, the free software community behind the Plasma series of Linux frameworks. The tablet’s operating system will be KDE’s Plasma Active Linux framework.

The tablet, which will retail for under $300, sports a solid set of hardware specifications. It includes a 1 GHz ARM processor, 512 MB or RAM, 4 GB of onboard storage, and a 7-inch capacitatie multitouch screen. An SD card slot allows for augmentation of the device’s on-board storage.

The new tablet was announced by KDE programmer Aaron Seigo on his blog. Seigo hailed the Spark tablet as “the start to an even bigger flame.” For the first time, he said, members of the free software community “have a device coming to market on our terms.” He promised the device would be “more than an application bucket that sees [users] as a consumer.” And in a not-very-subtle dig at Apple he said, “best of all: there’s no walled garden to get locked into or which can be taken away.”

There is no information on the Spark tablet’s release date. We’ll let you know when more information is available.

What do you think of Spark? Is it something you’d think about checking out? Let us know in the comments.