Heh. If you're implying I'm not hardcore enough to deserve being a tablet owner, well then, you're not the first to tell me so.

I believe most of those devices didn't exist in February 2007 when I bought my N800. Other smartphones did, I'm sure, but I've never followed the cell phone market. I make very few phone calls, and almost zero when not at home or at my desk at work, so mobile phones are intrinsically uninteresting.

What has attracted me to the Internet Tablets:

• They have WiFi. I spend probably 95% of my time at work and home, both with WiFi.
• They have full, not mobile, web browsers. I've suffered Palm broswers. No more.
• They have large screens that allow web pages to be viewed in a natural, desktop-like manner. Clever zooming tricks and gestures are attempts to hide inadequacy. I don't zoom.
• They fit easily into a pants pocket. I carry a tablet everywhere.
• They require no hacks or tricks to get to a command line. They even ship with Perl. A readily accessible command line and easy scripting is happiness.
• They run Linux. This raised the chance that when my N800 stopped being officially supported, unofficial patches might be available from someplace.
• They run Linux. This increased the chance that given a problem with my tablet, I might be able to poke around and figure out a solution.
• They run Linux. More open source software. More C. Again, happiness.

They're all too closed, so they're out. Meanwhile, it's too early for me to pass judgment on any upcoming Maemo device. I'll need to at least see an official announcement with further details first.

I hope that a future Maemo device will suit my needs, and if one does, I'll almost certainly buy it. At least, I'll buy it after it has received a few price drops.