Let me recap on something important here. This specific step in the N900 device program is aimed at strong maemo.org contributors, mainly OSS developers but also many non-developers involved in other areas.

Free software development and community involvement should be fun and worth in itself. If it's not then don't do it. It's voluntary work after all and the choice is yours.

If someone needs to wait for a device program to evaluate whether the community effort is rewarding or not, then there is something wrong here.

The N900 through Forum Nokia has other improvements. Indeed, the FN store can't deliver to Russia, but basically the rest of the World is supported. Remember how painful this was in previous occasions. I'm fine trying to find solutions for the Russian citizens in that list.

I'm also quite amazed about the tone in some comments about the devices loaned to Summit participants. These are pre-production devices and 300 people got the priviledge to have them without signing any NDA before any regular customer, just for attending a registration free event! Core maemo.org contributors and developers presenting a session were given the chance to be there with travel and accommodation sponsored.

All this costs money. If you think it was easy to pull this budget in these times for a maemo.og actiity like this, then perhaps you need to think more.

Anyway, we keep learning and hopefully we will be more efficient next time.