I agree with your observations....although I also have to say that from my perspective, being emotionally unattached to any particular mobile device (I don't own any, the N900 will be my first), part of the problem is that a teamsport-like rivalry has devolved into uninformed pissing-contest between fanboys of the various brands.

I don't know the best way to counter or defuse such a dynamic.

Perhaps the best way is to rise above it - don't engage the marketplace on that level. The N series tablets are still very much in pioneering territory...nobody has 'perfected' this class of device yet, so the standard has yet to be set. The 770/800/810/900 are serious attempts at progressing development of this area - I think they are on the cusp of what will become the standard device for communication (the concept of a 'phone', smart or otherwise, will die off). Sniping at earlier models' faults is pretty frivolous and childish....but that's the level the 'debate' (if it can be called that) has sunk to.

Ultimately, I think it truly is up to us, the OSS community - with nokia dev support, to drive the utility of these devices through the roof. Apple has an idiotic scheme for participating in development...their marketplace is flooded with bull***** 'apps' that are nothing more than toys for gawping *****s. We have a vastly superior platform to harness. For now