No, he can give delivery estimates - there are many factors outside of anyone's control. He is also the retailer - the final point on the supply chain.

Let's say his eror factor is 1% (that's probably being generous). Now scale that up from a single delivery to one place to millions going to thousands of destinations each with many supply processing and handling points in between. The estimates are all them completely different and billions of times more complex to make and feature many more other companies, processes and factors.

It is simply not fair to expect Nokia to be able to predict the quickest time a particular retailer in a particular country can get a device to you.

That's fine for you, but I would rater have the device as soon as possible.

Tell you what, I will personally give you a guaranteed delivery date. How does that sound?
If you have genuinely got a pre-order with a retailer and the facility in place to pay for it, I will give you a delivery date. If the retailer happens to deliver it earlier, you just have to promise not to open the package. Deal?

There's your fixed date. If you don't have it by my fixed date and have satisfied the conditions, I will pay you £500 (or the equivalent in your local currency)

Yes, given those circumstances, you will have received your N900 by 27th July 2011. I expect to see your excited unboxing video on that date. Enjoy!

I agree that that is the case for many people here, being used to a closed delivery cycle and wrongly believing that these closed cycles are actually open. It reminds me of all the FUD fuss that is made whenever there is a public argument between two prominent groups in the open-source world. Such a big thing is made of them by the closed supporting press that they are made out to be the end of the world and good reason for no-one to trust either group.
The reality is that the groups are arguing out the best technical solution for a problem and eventually form up behind whichever idea is proved best. Exactly the same thing happens in the proprietary world, except it is all done behind closed doors, no-one knows about it anda weaker solution can come of it as the participants in the discussion are far fewer.

I do not believe that at any time previously so many people were directly involved in the development of a mainstream phone. Instead of a hundred people behind NDAs, you have thousands of people participating and arguing what would be best. I would like to see Motorolla, Samsung, HTC or even Apple (!) come anywhere near the openness we have had with the development of the N900.

As f9or lack of feedback, places like bugzilla and the development mailing-lists are where you will find technical nitty-gritty rather than the high level almost consumer stuff you will get on here.


Of you would rather be treat like mushrooms, go to a closed system, there are plenty of them. This is very different from what anyone else is doing and if you are expecting the same as everyone else, you are in the wrong place.