Yeah, not to go back on topic or anything...

Anyway, I know this has been said ad nauseum, but just want to remark that I, too, consider a near-universal portrait mode a must. Android -- even from the outset -- did that rather well. But it lacked a text entry mode for portrait, which was really irritating. Sure you could turn it and flip out the keyboard and use two hands -- no doubt about it, that's really easy to do. But It's also pretty easy to reach into your bag and get out your laptop -- but for all of us here, the convenience (and inconveniences) of an N8x0 are worth not having to do that. Especially for a device intended to reach a broader audience -- people who aren't willing to inconvenience themselves for the benefit of their devices -- that's an unacceptable limitation.

At least the iPhone only allows landscape where it has a landscape keyboard. It never fools you by allowing landscape and then not having a way to enter text. I think if the N900 does this, it will be a big mistake. I suppose, then, from the outside, until there's an OSK, only applications that will seldom or never take text input should be portrait enabled, like the media player, phone dialer, etc. And, frankly, that's a shame.

$800+ US ought to buy a whole lot of convenience for the user (especially since nowadays many other higher end smartphones can be readily acquired, albeit not necessarily new, but sans contract obligations for $500 or substantially less).