Okay, here's the response I received from my e-mail to Amazon, which is below that:

Hello,

I apologize for any misunderstanding about the delivery estimate.

We rely on the manufacturer for release date information. Our most recent information was that "Nokia N900 Unlocked Cell Phone/Mobile Computer with 3.5-Inch Touch Screen, QWERTY, 5 MP Camera, Maemo Browser, 32 GB--U.S. Version with Full Warranty" hasn't been released yet and the expected release date is not known. We'll make sure to update our website listing when we know more.

Once this item has been released and we receive copies, we will be able to ship it to you. It is not uncommon for there to be a delay of several weeks between the release and distribution of a new publication.

When your order is shipped, you should receive an e-mail message confirming the date, contents, and method of your shipment. As per our standard policy, we do not charge you for items until they enter the shipping process, so you will not be charged for this item until it is available and we have shipped it to you.

Regarding the rebate, As mentioned on the website, your order must be placed in between November 16, 2009 - December 31, 2009 to eligible for rebate. If you want to take the advantage of the rebate, you may cancel this order and place an new order.

To cancel your order, go to the URL below and click the "Need to cancel an item?" button:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/css/summar...616534-5329061

If you have any further questions, please visit our online Help department:

http://www.amazon.com/help

We look forward to seeing you again soon.

Please let us know if this e-mail resolved your question:

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http://www.amazon.com/rsvp-y?c=acadatgh3253806170
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Best regards,

Madhavilatha A.
Amazon.com


---- Original message: ----

---------------
11/21/09 12:12:18
Your Name:John Bigelow
Order Id: 103-3616534-5329061
Comments:I have a few questions regarding a pre-order I have for a Nokia N900:

1.) I pre-ordered this phone on Oct. 20 and the $50.00 rebate that Nokia has available requires a purchase date between Nov. 16, 2009 and Dec. 31, 2009. It is my understanding that when my receipt is issued by Amazon, the "purchase date" that will be printed will be my pre-order date of Oct. 20, thereby rendering me ineligible for the rebate with Nokia. Is this correct?

2.) If I would be ineligible for the rebate as outlined above, and I wished to cancel my existing order and enter a re-order, the "ship date" changes from "Delivery estimate: We need a little more time to provide you with a good estimate. We'll notify you via e-mail as soon as we have an estimated delivery date" on the existing order to "your items will arrive after December 25, 2009" on a new pre-order. Does Amazon maintain a shipping "line", meaning the people who pre-ordered first will get the phone shipped to them first? Did Amazon not order enough phones to cover any potential pre-orders? I am confused by this Dec. 25 date and will not re-order if I then will have to wait many weeks past when I originally would have been shipped the phone. Please advise.

There is a lot of conflicting information posted on various message boards regarding these topics and I would appreciate it if you would answer my questions above to the best of your knowledge and Amazon's policies.

Thank you for your time.

Generic. Only answered one of my questions (about the rebate). So I changed my shipping from 2-day to overnight and it changed the shipping estimate from "we don't know" to "after Dec. 25." I've about had it.

$50 is $50 though. I cancelled my original order and re-ordered, taking the chance that "there are no lines in the pre-order." By Amazon's definition/printed receipt of when the purchase/order happened, even if this damn thing ships in January, I'll still qualify for the rebate since my new order was between Nov. 16 and Dec. 31.