I've been following this thread rather closely - btw, Transformers rule - but as far as it stands... can I just simply ask for somebody to break this down to me a bit better than it has been so far to me?

Reason I'm asking... mind you... I've had prior phones that were subsidized that were not crippled or even branded over than a startup screen from all I could tell.

So why is this a problem with the Maemo branded phone? Am I missing a shift in how phones are marketed now?

Feel free to treat me like some 3 year old dummy (which isn't too far from the truth). I just don't... quite get the concern from the standpoint from the carrier.