I own both a 16GB iPod Touch and a N800. They are quite different beasts, despite the perceived similarity. The iPod, despite its "apps", is essentially a single purpose entertainment device, and I wouldn't treat it as the computer that I treat my N800 as.

If I was to take either device on the road as a replacement for a laptop, I wouldn't think twice about ditching the iPod in favour of the N800. In fact, despite the fact that I have been a mobile device user since the 1990s (I even own the original Palm Pilot!), it wasn't until the N800 that I crossed the Rubicon and trusted a mobile device to a point that I left my laptop behind on a week-long trip. That was a leap of faith, and the N800 proved itself on that trip. I have a spare battery, bunches of SD cards of various sizes, and for anything major I had instant access to all my data via the internet (ssh or openvpn).

I recently organized a massive, annual international conference (http://foss.in/2007), and I can count the number of times that I actually used my laptop during those 5 days on my fingertips. Most of the time, all communication and organization happened via the N800. It just worked.

You have to understand that much of the Apple appeal is glitz related. For example, the famed "spread finger" action to enlarge a picture - you may not realise it, but you dont have to do that - you can just double tap the picture. But yes, it looks more dramatic to do it with two fingers (certainly when SteveJ does it on TV)

The difference between the iPod Touch and the N800 is best summed up this way:

The iPod is a neat consumer gadget.

The N800 is a computer.