I got mine about a week before Nokia announced they were dropping Maemo and moving over to MeeGo, so about the same time as you, I guess. I have to admit that I was gutted at that point and felt really let down. But because the hardware met all my requirements (esp qwerty kb) and I hadn't used any other smartphone before (other than the iPod touch, which is pretty much iOS anyway) I decided to stick with it.

I've found TMO to be the most pleasing aspect of the N900 and Maemo. It seems to be that there is nothing that can't be solved by the incredibly clever and helpful guys here. The phone is a real hobby in your pocket, and I'm no power user, for sure. I've been particularly impressed with the rapid community response to 'tricking Flash 10.1 in microB' and 'getting the FM transmitter down to 87.5FM'. There are loads of lists here declaring which are the must have apps and mods. twaelti seems to have most of the bases covered regarding your specific gripes about your perceived limitations of the interface. Some of your gripes do seem rather minor in the greater scheme of things, though? And it is too easy to complain because one device does not do things exactly the same as another device from another manufacturer, when the market expects differentiation. The point made about using the keyboard for searching is a good one and I like the way I can search contacts and music by typing the first few chars. This is a nice feature to be applauded, not lambasted as somehow inferior.

Following from marlon, is there any alternative? Not for me right now. I had thought that the N8 with a slide out keyboard would have been something I'd be interested in, but now the E7 specs are released I've cooled off. I don't think I'd want a phone without a keyboard. Maybe when the N9 comes out, that will be a credible alternative? It will be interesting to see how MeeGo shapes up. If it's anything like Maemo 5 with the corners rounded off, I'll be very interested indeed. How about you Loggy1948?