Very well put, Sopwith.
Had Nokia released a faster version of the N800 or N810 (big screen) with a marginally updated OS (even the one the N900 has) with a phone function, I would have bought it very happily. My N800 would be on a shelf next to my and my wife's pair of 770 NITs.

Instead, they want to spend years working on something that they just end up scrapping, because they spent years working on it... ugh.

Edit: Just look at how Apple does it: New iPad, slightly faster and add a camera. New iPhone, slightly faster and higher res screen. Both are a teensy bit thinner too. Not major updates, but people are clamoring to get them!