This is precisely why I'm not crazy these days about a system like the N900 (or many linux distros). I *love* the ability to tinker and have free reign over the system, but I'm somewhat weary of being forced into doing this in order to have a system that works as expected. This is one of the reasons I like Ubuntu. It allows one to tinker, but it also has a very good out-of-box functional experience. For a mobile device, I would take out-of-box functionality over a configurable system that had to be tweaked to work.

I'm hoping that Android tends in the direction of full-on customization rather than simple homescreen replacements. There is an impressive developer base, so I can see this trendline. One example, is ubuntu installed in Android -- a nice solution for those that need a little CLI love, or even a gui.

With Ubuntu Wayland on the way promising a competent touch-screen GUI, an Android Wayland client would be a fantastic solution to get the very best out of both worlds on devices such as tablets.