I just want to chime in and recommend against the HTC Hero. It really is outdated, basically it is using 1st gen iphone hardware in a really pretty package with a slick(but slow) OS. The Creative Zii is really where it's at wrt the future of Android. Imagine cramming that awesome processor into a Hero with HTCs custom UI on top. It would be, bar none, the best smartphone. Until then, I think getting it is a mistake.

As for the Open Source argument, well first of all all these devices are running on open source linuxbsd. They all use Open GL, they all use an open source web browser(webkit). Compared to windows mobile, all the current smartphones are much more open.

Android is by far the most open and the iPhone is the least open, but they are all built on open source technology.

I downloaded the WebOS SDK to see what it is like in the emulator, and I love the interface. I would say it is better than android and much better than the iphone. Apple basically has no multitasking, the n800 has really crappy multitasking, and WebOS is perfection. It is really just so nice to have all those "cards" open and just flick through them.

The only things apple has going for it is the app store and better hardware. The Pre has some hardware issues, and the lcd is smaller than the one on the iphone. If the hardware keyboard was as good as a crackberry, the small lcd would be fine. Unfortunately, it just isn't.

I found that I typed best on android though, the predictive text is really great. I picked it up for the first time and just started hitting it and all i got was gibberish, but the predictive text guessed the right word even though I missed every single letter, and even before I finished typing it!

It is really unfortunate that the n800 has basically become a brick now. The LCD is just gorgeous, and every single smartphone in the market is a downgrade. Of course, the silky smooth scrolling, zooming, scaling of web pages on the other devices is a huge step up from the clunky, jittery, jaggedy, frustrating experience on the n800.

I am going to get an iPod Touch in September when they do the refresh. I couldn't imagine myself saying this a year ago(who wants to browse on a 320x480 display?), but right now there aren't any real viable alternatives to the iPhone. I will wait until there is an Android or Palm device that is actually as good as the iphone, and hopefully from sprint or T-Mobile so I don't have to pay AT&T any more money.