Exactly. Nokia deals with all this themselves. Just like Apple. Why waste resources?

It doesn't matter if they came out with a 16-core 900ghz super-charged killerwhale processor... the fundamentals are still exactly the same.

You can run more, faster, with a native program than with a virtualized or "interpreted" one on the same hardware.

Android is entirely about portability since Google does not do hardware (until the Nexus One). Maemo, and iPhone are not. You are also correct about the GUI.. which is why I *always* have a terminal screen or 10 open on my desktop at home.. I do most work directly in the terminal.

A GUI however, has become an end-user requirement. As long as the software and OS work.. the end-user doesn't particularly care if it's interpreted-driven or native or what.

Here's an argument to your portability however - In Maemo, I *can* recompile software for ARM and run it if no Maemo solution exists. In Android, I do not have this option at all - the entire application would have to be rewritten in java to work with the VM. Thus, in this example, Maemo is more adaptable to a users needs.

I enjoy programming in perl and ruby, and will probably learn python once I get the N900, because it is simpler and faster for me to *code* the apps in those than in C/C++ and compiling it. But - the drawbacks must be acknowledged, and a decision made, whether that is the best solution for the software you are writing or not. Forcing one solution over the other I dislike.. which is why Maemo is the poster child for total awesomeness in all the world, it can do both .