That's really interesting. You are right. As far as I remember, though, I've never seen one in a shop. I'm going to go to the electronics store today, so I'll have a peek for them. I know that they sell routers and and things (and in fact I will probably buy one of their routers today). Hmmm... Definitely something to consider.
Edit: I take it back. Should have did some poking around before I posted. NEC sells the Lavie model in Japan, which I have definitely seen. Looks like they are filling in that middle tier that I like as well. I wonder how well it supports Linux...