apt-get -d install PACKAGE-NAME

check in var/cache/apt/archive for the deb

Honestly, from being on meego irc for about a week during the changeover, the biggest reasons for the switch to rpm are:

the lower level stuff is already rpm
they plan to use open build service(OBS) which works a little better with rpm
zypper


all in all, most of these moves will make it easier for DEVELOPERS, which is a good thing IMO. Right now packaging for maemo is more tedious for *some* developers than actually developing. With OBS you will basically just upload your stuff and it will be packaged for you.

As an end user, if you like apt, you will like zypper too. The commands change very little:

zypper install PACKAGENAME
zypper remove PACKAGENAME
zypper search PACKAGENAME

http://en.opensuse.org/Zypper/Usage/...lling_Packages