The N900 was released way before Ovi Maps was turned into a free product. You always had to pay for a license in the 2 years I have been using it. The fact that now you don't for certain Symbian phones is a bonus that users seem to be taking for granted now.
Nokia promised free maps and routing and they gave us free maps and routing.

Buy Sygic if you want turn by turn or get a cheap Symbian phone that has it bundled for free.