After reading through the seemingly endless rants and flame wars, I think everyone needs to take a step back. First off, to set the stage, I have the N900, I love my N900, I did my research as best I could before buying it, but was still surprised by how unfinished it was. Thankfully, with the help of the good people on this forum, I was able to get the phone to my minimum requirements, and I am hopeful that future changes will make it all it can be.

It used to be choosing a phone was fairly straight forward, there were not that many things to consider, but those days are long gone now. While doing my homework there was very little information out there. Here in the US, unless you live in NY or Chicago, there was no way to see, touch, and play with the N900, so you had to make a leap of faith at some point. For me, that worked out but my hard requirements are not that demanding. We all need to make a list of what we really care about and then prioritize them, and the N900 is not the right choice for a lot of people. For those who feel it is sacrilegious to talk about the IPhone, please chill. The IPhone is a great device and for a large group of people, like my wife, it is the best option. I have several friends that have the IPhone and I truly believe it would be a mistake for them to switch to the N900.

The key points that pushed me to the N900 were:
1. I wanted an open and unlocked phone (Not an option in the US with the IPhone)
2. The Android platform requires you to accept the cloud concept and I can’t.
3. I refuse to sign another two year contract with ATT and the N900 works great on the TMobile network without a contract
4. I wanted a great browser. My last phone was a Blackberry and the browser was dreadful, the Iphone is better, but can’t hold a candle to the N900

The above list is unique to me so I would not suggest it applies to anyone else, but the point is everyone needs to assess what matters to them. Also for me, I don’t use Exchange, I don’t listen to music, I like to play with features like assigning ring tones but most are not critical “must haves” to me.

For those outside of the US that claim we Americans think the world revolves around us, certainly there are some ugly Americans that feel that way but don’t think for one minute that Nokia is not concerned about the success of the IPhone. For all those that slam the App Store, do you really think Nokia would complain if OVI could start generating buzz and cash flow like the App Store? Nokia, Apple, Google, etc. are all businesses and they need to make money to survive and grow. I suspect that many on this forum have deep Linux roots, and while I run Linux on my desktop and love Linux, and truly appreciate all the hard work that went into Linux, that is not a business. When I have trouble with Linux I can’t really get mad at anyone, because I did not pay for it. I understand it for what it is, roll up my sleeves and try to find a fix. With Maemo we have the intersection of two worlds and that is causing some turbulence. The “community” at Maemo.org is fantastic and I think it is unfair for this community to be taking the hits for the short comings on the N900. I did not spend money with the community, I spent money with Nokia, and when one spends money, there is a reasonable expectation that one will get what one paid for. That said, I don’t regret spending my money because I still believe that most of these issues will be addressed with future releases and updates, but for those that want a polished device that just works, with lots of apps, great support (For those in the US, Nokia has virtually no presence in the US, not a judgment, just a statement of fact), then maybe the N900 is not the right choice for you. It is really great that we have choices, competition drives everyone to reach higher and there will never be one device that is perfect for everyone.