I have only had my N800 for a week, I am not a linux expert and really haven't delved that far under the hood (nor do I expect that I will). But, I have installed a couple programs (very easy), encoded a couple movies (took a little work to optimize the encoding settings) and I am actually very impressed with its performance. Yes, it isn't perfect, but what software / hardware solution is? However, for $250, I have a very close proximity to a desktop browser, I can access the internet via Blue Tooth / PAM anywhere, upload and download files, along with having access to an ever increasing list of compelling applications. The next firmware upgrade should only help to improve the products' functionality and stability.

As a side note; my 5-year old son also loves it. I have added some of his favorite cartoons to his own memory card, which I insert when we travel. Over the weekend he was more than content watching cartoons, while we were stuck in traffic.

Just another point of view...

Cheers!