I loved this advertisement. Presents the thing as having rough edges, as it has been conceived, and talks openly about being open-source and open-ended --- I loved this!

I am sorry to bring up comparisons to the competition, and I hope you don't feel it's lame to do so. But think about whatever marketing there is of Android phones. Do they advertise it as an open-source system? No way. It's just "Goggle's stuff... and it runs Linux, but you won't even notice." And the iPhone: The thing is just a cute slab with really smooth edges, and is absolutely complete. A "perfect solution".

The advertisement puts the "smooth and complete solution" as BO-RING. Just what it is. The N900 is a crazy stuttering genius that turns into a digital Shub-Niggurath and hurt people with it unharnessed power!

I loved the obvious Marshall McLuhan reference. Feels very good to know that the people involved in the N900 and its marketing are thinking on these terms.

Now is it good for the market? for the American market? Is that the thing people want? I don't know. I don't think they are trying to fulfill some obvious role that people are expecting them to. I think they are trying to give the next step, they are going for the higher path of teaching people what they want, setting the trend. I am all for it.