The only Nokia store I've ever seen was in Heathrow, so I can only speak in regards to my one visit to that one shop. That said, the one employee there demonstrated an impressive wealth of knowledge in regards to the the N810, one that encompassed nearly everything printed on the little info card attached to N810's display stand.

They're retail employees. Their training is far more focused on running the register than it is on the features and top secret release details of not yet announced devices.

The low paid, hourly wage employees answering email messages aren't going to do much better. They're likely doing their best to quickly match incoming email messages with the ready-made replies they've been given. They're not privy to inside information about unannounced products.

Also remember, this is Nokia, whose customer service agents refuse to acknowledge that any Nokia device, tablet or phone, has ever been discontinued. Even if the front line folks have been given training on a new, soon to be released Maemo device, the first, middle, and last part of that training likely stressed that the new device doesn't exist until the day it suddenly does.