Something to say about the n900... Don't use xterm, don't modify it, don't install custom stuffs in there. Then good luck bricking your n900. It should be stable as it is. Doing such stuffs on android would lead you also to the same situation as with n900(That is if you can do most of it on android?). And about the apps well all I could say maps isn't everything on a smartphone.

Swear, tear and beat the crap out of nokia & I won't mind. But on n900? That's a different situation