Thanks ysss,

Il answer these questions as accurately as I can.

Demographics
- No Female participants (one can hope!)
- Age Range (19-35). Average age i would estimate to be around 25.
- 5 White, 2 Black, 2 Asian (South Asian).


Why was I shocked? I think I perhaps went in thinking that most of the participants would love and appreciate the concept behind Maemo - an Open, truly customisable device with a Linux OS that allows some pretty unlimited possibilities. What, in reality, most participants were expecting from N900 was a pretty flashy, up-to-date device that just did everything. I might not be giving them enough credit but I felt the general mood in the air was of frustration - Which I believe was mostly unfounded or unfair on N900 ( a 9 month old device ).
I'm the first one to raise negative points against N900 - even to my android and iphone friends but thats what I like about Maemo - I can openly write negative views on it but still stand by it as the only device thats on the market that meets my needs. I criticise its random reboots, its lack of a great mapping software, it's bulky weight and USB port problems but I also dont let these define the experience for me. You dont own a ferrari and complain about the lack of a good sound system or adjustable seats. N900 is not, as I understood it, built to be used by teens to socialise and grandma's to video conference with their grand kids with (as apple would have u believe facetime is).

The interesting perspective's I gained were around how everyone uses their device. Some dont have a clue about extra development catalogues, some have no clue that you are able to access the Root and modify files within it, and most did not follow TMO closely to be aware of the upcoming applications and mod's that the users here are working on (e.. Ubuntu on N900, USB Host most, NITDroid, Overclocking).

I think overall the views shouldnt have surprised me as they are not very different from people who use this forum - except that I got to hear these in person and debate and discuss them. One participant even went out of his way to demonstrate that resistive is a must - and a physical keyboard is essential for a device like this. Refreshing to hear people don't think capacitive is the only technology.

How has this experience affected me?

Meeting people face to face who own the N900 and want to talk about it has made me even more enthusiastic about this device. A strange solidarity is formed when you meet like minded people. It re-affirms certain beliefs that N900 in fact is a great device that with the right attention it can continue to wow everyone who sees it. 9 months from it's first release I can still proudly pull out the kick stand, rest the device on my desk and have people turning their necks to see what this device is. Evo 4G is not out in the UK, so the kick stand function along with a rich video playback codec library means I can always view and impress anyone around me.