...I share your enthusiasm about the tremendous potential of the n900. But, remember that as the intro device for maemo 5, the n900 represents only stage 4 of Nokia's 5 stage plan for positioning maemo as a platform that would garner widespread consumer acceptance. This is probably why Nokia is being so low-key about the launch, and possibly why Nokia is not in a hurry to get carrier agreements on subsidization. I think a lot of us were surprised that telephony was included in the stage 4 device (many of us were expecting it in stage 5). But in retrospect, the decision to introduce the phone capability in the n900 makes a lot of sense in the context of the roadmap. If stage 5 is supposed to culminate in the uber-devices meant for widespread consumer adoption, then Nokia would have to introduce telephony in stage 4 in order to iron out the kinks. That way, the stage 5 device will have a more polished phone experience for users that are expecting the device to be, well, a cell phone with all the usability and features they have come to expect. I think a lot of people may be frustrated by Nokia's seemingly tepid marketing support for the device, but it does appear that Nokia is making a huge bet on maemo being a large part of the future of the company. In that light, it is not surprising at all that Nokia is proceeding very cautiously--I don't think they want to excessively hype a device that isn't meant to be the be all and end all. I think qole is right on this, word of mouth, enthusiasm and feedback from the early adopters (i.e., us) will lead to more widespread consumer adoption when the stage 5 devices come along. This is not just in terms of telling all our friends about the n900, but it also goes for participating in the maemo community: as with the earlier maemo stages, even regular users can provide input in terms of what applications they want, what's working and what isn't. The developers in the community through their dedication and talent show us what is possible. The community thus ends up improving and polishing up maemo even further. With all that being said, I am still very excited about the n900. I think we are all going to have a lot of fun with our devices over the next couple of years.