I was looking forward very much to getting an N900. So much so I bought one directly from Nokia rather than waiting for operators in the UK to include in their portfolios. Was the wait worth it? Disappointingly NO.

The device is well built, feels robust and has a great display. Unfortunately it is clear this device has been rushed out and the usual care and attention to detail we expect from Nokia seems to have been bypassed. Putting aside the bells and whistles that proclaim much the underlying device has some significant problems. At this point I can hear the developers going "idiot!", "nutter" and much more however for real market penetration, which a new device needs you can not afford to have a device purchased on the 1st, and dead on the 9th. After resets daily (4-8) the device shut off and would not recover. I am still waiting for a replacement! Seems Nokia are happy to take £500 of my money but in no rush to return it.

Enough of that however. What of the device:

It is not a good phone, it does not react and provide good basic user experience for POTS. Basics such as a search facility when entering contacts for a phone call are missing. I have over 2000 contacts. Can you imagine how long it takes to find the one I want!

Web experience is good, intuitive and simple to use.

Mail set up good however I am amazed the unit supports Exchange 2007 and not 2003. This is really a very curious omission for a device that is going to be attractive to the corporate market. Why!!!!!

Basic USB and sync capabilitiers are missing which make the use of the device a challenge. Whislt those of you who are developers, or techno types will probably accept this. The vaste majority of users will find it a bad user experience and taint the reputation of Nokia (with some justification).

For my part, there is much Synbian need to address as their platform becomes blooted and slow however my experience has always been of a reasonable degree of stability for new devices. Certainly more than for this device. Even the first R380s felt more like a phone. Keep in mind the phone is a very personal piece of technology. The users expectation is for far greater reliability and privacy. Any device that comes with a "bluescreen of death" reputation will not recover, which would be a shame in this case as I think the underlying platform and capability is their. It seems to be let down by premature release and inadequate testing and integration.

So, I have said my piece, let the hords come forth and call me all sorts of names for criticising their long awaited baby.