Got an N8 for my wife, and got way too bored with my N900 (after more than a year, a new personal record of longevity for a phone in my hands ) I would have had a N8 myself, but I want a phone with HW keyboard. So, while waiting for the N9, or whatever it will be called, if it ever comes, I got the Samsung Wave S8500, since they are laughably cheap right now and the HW is top notch (no HW keyboard though, but I get to try Bada). Android is not an option for me, don't like it, except for the SE version of it..

The Wave still only runs Bada 1.0, but an upgrade to 1.2 is coming any time now.

So which is best: N900, N8 or the Wave? and what OS is best: Maemo, Symbian or Bada?

Overall the N8 is the best phone IMO. The camera and OVI music store and superb sound/music quality is enough to push the other two out of the water. I do get the same sound/music quality through OVI with the N900, but it is not as integrated. With the N8 I can just download already paid music on demand. The phone functionality is better on the N8 as well. The Samsung is not bad at all, but the N8 is better. As a phone, the N900 falls through compared with the other two. The sound quality on the Wave, is in fact just as good as the Nokias, but the earplugs are horrible compared with the ones that comes with Nokia. They say there are better earplugs on the market than Nokia's, but so far I haven't found any, maybe it is my ears? IMO the only way to get better sound is to use high quality real headsets.

All three runs true multitasking. The N8 and N900 are more or less identical here, only slightly different ways of operation. The Wave is a bit more flaky and inconsistent, not very well thought through in this 1.0 version, but at least it has true multitasking and switching between open apps is easy enough.

The screen is incredible on both the N8 and the Wave, but more incredible on the Wave (better resolution and SAMOLED).

The internet is best on the N900, neither the N8 or the Wave can compete here. IMO, for true internet experience you need a HW keyboard as well.

The OS: Bada is nice, it really is. Everything is smooth and fluent (1 GHz processor helps as well I guess), and things are easily accessible. Symbian^3 is a bit more clunky, but still it is better overall through more and better functionality. Both OS'es will see continuous upgrades that will fix most of the quirks, and both will become better. Maemo is nice, in fact it is brilliant in its simplicity of design, but needs more (a lot more) refinement which it will never get.

The build quality looks to be similar on the Wave and the N8. Both are Aluminum slabs that somehow raises the quality feeling, although I'l bet the actual strength of the N900 is in fact larger.

Apps. I don't care for apps. They are either games or complete nonsense, and I don't play games. Some GPS related apps are nice, like GPS loggers and so on, and they exist on all platforms. So, not qualified to say anything here.

Bada is a pleasant surprise. In a way it's like Samsung's version of Symbian. It is still new, and with some quirks and limitations, but overall better than Android IMO. Bada is a platform and can run on any type of core OS, or kernel. I think the Wave use OpenBSD. Cheaper phones will (already does?) use RTOS from Samsung. This means Bada is scalable from the cheapest to the most expensive. A true mobile OS like a true mobile OS should be? I think so. Symbian^3 is still a bit clunky, but will only get better and better. Functionality vise it is way ahead of anything else, and the core OS is more adapted to mobile devices than anything else, except maybe WM? Maemo is superb in design, but is left out in the cold before it could mature and be polished.

N900 is best for internet, but that is all it got unless you are a hacker of course, then nothing else will do. The N8 is the best of the bunch, but the Wave is a steal at the prices it goes for in some places, and Bada is cool and definitely made for the future.