Is Nokia late with Maemo?

Of course.

And N900 is just a mobile computer (good mobile computer!) with some phone functionality, to introduce Maemo to a wider range of developers in a nearer-the-consumer edition kind of way, because Nokia is late. N900 is a tool for people to get creative and crakin' on Maemo.

But Nokia being late does not change the fact that N900 was never meant to be a complete, flagship smartphone.

Blame Nokia for being late, but don't blame N900 for being something it was not meant to be.