Why to buy (or not)

I got the N900 because my phone had had it and my Z was getting really old and worn. I had to get a new phone and the N900 was the best option at the time. My advice is as follows: if you are up for a new phone now and don't see anything else you like better, and have acquainted yourself with the feature set of the N900, get one. If you don't need a new phone now and multitouch and/or portrait mode is very important to you, wait.

I can tell you i'm happy i have the N900 and there are a few aspects of it that may not be carried over to the next generation that i would miss:

• Transflective LCD display (possibly going to OLED...but not that likely, i suppose)
• Resistive (stylus friendly)
• Keyboard (i suppose there will probably be some model with a keyboard, but maybe not the next one)
• No DRM.

I also suspect the IR port will go away, but that's not a big deal for me.

Here are some things the N900 doesn't have that i would like to have and could possibly be in the next step device:

• Magnetometer (compass)
• Better camera sensor/flash design
• USB host-type support
• More hardware buttons
• Bigger screen
• More keys

Okay, so the only one that seems likely is the compass, but the others could happen at some point, in some Meego device, but probably not all in the same one. I really wish the N86(?) camera parts were in the N900, because i think that would truly be "good enough" for most people as their only camera. As it is i still find myself thinking about buying a cheap P&S to replace the A95 that died a while back. I don't need A95 quality shots but the N900's aren't quite good enough.

If you already have an N800 and don't want/need a new smartphone, i don't really see the draw of the N900. If i didn't want a convergence device, i'd still prefer the Z over the N900.

Breaking News: Ovi Maps less broken after latest update

Unless i ended up in some mode i've not been in before, the latest update fixed the network prompt spamming problem that Ovi Maps had. It was very refreshing to be using the app today and have an unobtrusive banner pop up that said "One or more networks may not be available."--and that was all.