In regards to returning the device because of not trusting Nokia, I can comment on the why.

I have a hard time believing at this point that, if I were to drop my phone without any significant damage and later have the USB port fall out, that my phone would be covered under warranty.

For a failure that basically makes the device unrepairable by a non-expert, I couldn't see taking the risk. I considered the DIY prevention but really, voiding my entire warranty to possibly prevent a problem that shouldn't occur in the first place makes no sense at all. Who knows what might be failing on the N900 in 8 months when something this basic is already failing? Why should I void my warranty and assume risk that Nokia already assumed? It'd be like choosing to buy a second limited 1 year warranty against defects for no reason at all other than because you don't think your first one is good enough. In that case, you should just have not bought the first one.

That, in essence, sums up my decision to return mine. I'm hoping for a redesign because it was a HARD decision to return it and I'd buy it again if it was fixed but ultimately, I need to know that I haven't just tossed $500 in the blender hoping the bills wouldn't get too torn up to tape back together.

No need to be hard on anyone just because they think it's a good decision. And there's definitely no reason anyone should have to be so gentle with a mobile device. I'm sure we all saw how durable the N900 was from the tehkseven videos (http://www.tehkseven.net/news/nokia-...-pocket-tests/). I tend to expect all components on a device to be roughly the same durability. If my phone could be dropped from head height and be just fine, I would expect to be able to charge it since... you know... dropping it is abnormal but charging is. Also, any designer who decides that trying to plug a USB port in upside down by mistake is abnormal, he's kidding himself. Trying to plug a USB device in upside down is the second most common thing to do with it. (Yeah that was a joke but still). For americans, how many times do you try to plug in a polarized 120V plug into a jack upside down just to test it rather than look at it and decide to plug it in the correct direction? People expect to be able to do that and I can't see anyone saying it's wrong. Engineering against usage patterns is wrong.

Just my two cents.