I don't know if you see me as one of these, but my issue is not with future devices, it's just with the notion that the Linux device that will be announced "in the weeks to come" (to quote Conversations) will be only given to developers, and never sold as a regular device.

I totally believe they had the hardware ready by late 2010, but then decided they should wait until they could release something that had a really innovative software running on it. That probably means better integration with Qt development tools and with MeeGo, if not even running MeeGo itself instead of the hard-to-explain chimera that was being planned for a long time. That is what they will release now, the successor of N900, but after all the adaption work to run MeeGo, the same work that is also being made to run MeeGo on the N900. Maybe they also took the chance to give it a better camera and enhance other easy-to-change components.

So this is why this "old" hardware will only be released now, because they were battling with software and UX design, etc, to make a real revolution, and not just and upgraded Maemo 5, a "next step".

You people seem to think that Nokia would be somehow ashamed to sell 2010 hardware, and so they would give it to their privileged developer friends who wouldn't mind using outdated hardware as a gift in return for the development of applications that would be only really be used by "commoners" in a future MeeGo device released 3 or 6 months from now, based on some of the same hardware of the first WP7 phone that is bound to be released soon.

Well, I think that is just wishful thinking. You people want to believe there is this group of special consumers called "developers" that will get a treat from Nokia because you are so dedicated and knowledgeable and nerdy and all... But that will not happen. As you have put very well, money talks and BS walks. Nokia is not ashamed to pick up an outdated hardware that they put some extra work on the software and sell it like a normal "new" device to developers and "consumers" alike, just like any other product. Maybe making it available first to developers and to "selected markets" as happened with all previous NITs, both for strategic and logistic reasons.

Do you think they had all the work to manufacture the N9, then made a few (97,000 it seems) that were stored in a warehouse, then abandoned the project, like, destroyed the printing plates or something, deleted the Gerber and CNC files, and now their factories are not able to produce this device anymore, and now they have this kind of rare collection of obscure devices that would either be burned or given away for free to our developer buddies?

I think this is all fantasy. A story that is nice to tell and hear, but bears little resemblance with reality. I think executives are very happy they managed to find a way to sell us old hardware that will be easier to produce, and will be lucrative because it will be sold as if it were a bleeding edge technology. Maybe they cut a deal to buy some now-"old" Cortex-A8 chips, for example.

And I will be happy to buy it, make no mistake!! But it will not be a special "for developers only" thing. It will be released as any regular device. "The N900 successor", maybe sold first to developers at conferences, and only available at Nokia stores and Amazon et alii a couple of months later.

After that there will be the first one or two WP7 devices... And eventually a second MeeGo device. It will be delayed for as long as the N9 and the WP7 devices are very lucrative.

Someone talked about Nokia not willing to compete with other **** phones... The fact is, as they have this **** phone ready to sell they might as well do it and make some money instead of losing it either trashing all the work or giving it away to hopeful development techno-beggars. They will not do this, they will pick up the thing, make a cool advertisement with some old 80s tune, and make you and all your non-developer buddies spend some money with it.

Then some day they will release a follower, yes... It will be the N9 successor" in Wikipedia. "Step 6 out of 5". Maybe a keyboardless version, like other Nokia phones have. The more it uses hardware from other models (WP7 phone) the better, that does make a lot of sense. But not a "consumer" phone after an obscure "developer" phone that will only be sold like this because of some accident. No. Two normal phones... The first using a project that is arriving late to the market regarding some of its specs, the second using more up-to-date tech. No privileges, no accidents, no interesting stories, no second-class citizens. Just normal business.