I'm seeing something here that is new at least in my country and might add an interesting aspect to the discussion around HSDPA in the so-called N900:

The major carrier here announced today they'd bundle a "Quantum Q10air" (which reportedly is a rebranded ECS G10IL with built-in HSDPA/HSUPA) for €0,- if you sign up for a 2 year data contract. The nice thing is that the hardware is in no way locked to the carriers network. You can use any other SIM card if you want (as long as you keep paying the monthly rate, of course).

What I find interesting here is that they

• start using the traditional "free hardware if you sign contract"-model on data only (the contract is a data plan and does not include voice)
• don't even attempt to lock you to their network, neither by technical means nor by legal terms.

If they'd continue to do this, I'd expect a HSDPA-powered tablet (no matter which brand) to be a hot candidate for their line of subsidized devices.

What I'd like to know is if these offers are popular elsewhere or if providers either dont give this kind of hardware for a contract at all or require you to use their networks.