Golly, i do hope this idea didn't appear before.
I was reading one of the gazillion threads on n900 vs thatphone. And of course people were saying there aren't apps, there aren't that many accessories and so on.
Which got me thinking: companies aren't developing because they're not sure the n900 will be successful, and it won't be if there aren't professional apps (with all appreciation for the guys doing software for free here, i have to admit it's not really commercial-grade software). The iphone is everywhere, from geeks to blonde secretaries, and that makes it an attractive market
The n900 doesn't have mass appeal, and that can only hurt it. Reports of bugs also couldn't have helped. And i can't help thinking that at least part of this is because nokia bowed to the pressure of the hordes chanting "release! release! release!" a couple of months ago
Now, the damage is done as far as the n900 is concerned, but here's my advice to nokia for the next (maemo6?) device: don't rush it. Maybe give a vague "somewhere in 2011" to stop complaints about it being late (not giving prior announcement would be even better for development, but i'm sure sales will forbid that). Take your time to add polish and bling-bling. And advertise it like it's our saviour returneth. Sure it's unethical, but so is the competition
Hopefully that will draw enough attention to get mass adoption, which in turn will drive development and more mass adoption. Just remember: rushing a product out the gate is a sure way to kill it!