I personally think Maemo 5 is a great OS, by far the nicest one I've seen and used compared to other phones. But then again, there's always something more that I think could be done to it - I just don't think Maemo 5 has reached its full potential yet. Which in this case, its successor could very well be MeeGo.

Rather than saying a stepping stone, I'd think more like a piece of a pie or pizza or whatever you prefer. My gut feeling says that MeeGo will have the experience of Maemo 5, if not better. Who's with me on this?