the n900 is the only electronically device, that i bought 2 times just to be sure that if it will disappear from the market one day, i still have another one.

the fact that nokia didnt advertise it probably, is one big part of "why it failed" in your eyes. in my opinion, it was more like a test device and its much more than any other phone so people didnt want it maybe. also it had some problems at the beginning and not everybody likes the landscape view all the time. (i actually didnt like it as well at the first time)