I like your post but there are a few points that you are exaggerating on. First of all you don't even own an iPhone so I don't think you're in the position to compare...don't you think? You must have used both devices for some time to make an accurate comparison.

Either way:

Surely you are kidding about this point right? Resolution is lower but I don't think this was ever a problem when using the device.

Jailbreak and you can multitask as much as you want. In fact, I do that on a daily basis. The point is correct though. You can watch the iPhone battery evaporate if you leave things open.

Except that you can install anything you want on the iPhone if you jailbreak. Let's also remember that you HAVE stuff to install on the iPhone as opposed to 2 weather widgets on the N900. I doubt any other device out there beats the iPhone at this right now.

Agreed. The screen on the N900 is pretty damn good for a resistive screen. The color temperature is extremely warm though and that might bother some people. There's also no replacement for a good hardware keyboard.

That can't scroll a page smoothly and crashes quite often. Flash is here, it works but it's not pleasant. That was to be expected looking at the hardware.

This goes back to your original software point. What can be replaced with 3rd party software as of today? Who says it will be any better? Just because you can replace doesn't mean it's a good thing. I know the phone just came out but Nokia doesn't get to play in their own sandbox. They have to play on the playground with everyone else. If they release a device that has a long list of shortcomings they will be punished by the market, not praised for advancing on their own internal roadmap.

You make some other points about how smoothly the N900 works with music etc. That is completely laughable. The media player on the N900 comes nowhere close to the iPod. Also, the iPod/Phone doesn't even flinch if you play music in the background and do something else...say browse the web, play a game...you name it.

Is the N900 better than the other Maemo tablets before it? I would say it is and by light years. Is it better than other devices on the market? I would say it excels at nothing. Lots of features, all unpolished which is perfectly fine for 'enthusiasts' but not for the reality of the market where you have the Droid, iPhone a myriad of HTC devices and so on.