Frankly, I can't imagine how anyone could buy one of these devices without first realizing that they are not quite ready for consumer prime time.

This assumes that you did a little reading about the device first, perhaps here, before buying. If you did, then you walked in with eyes wide open.

If you just happened to walk in a retail store, and sight unseen and without any prior research, bought a N810, then your rant would actually mean something.

It would appear that you are computer literate (you work on a help desk); therefore you should have been able to make a buying decision with the foreknowledge of what you are getting into.

On the other hand, I almost buy into what you state regarding how Nokia markets the devices -- these are an early adopter, some assembly required, not for computer neophytes, type of product. Nokia, by limiting the distribution of these devices, is as much as admitting that so perhaps they can get something of a pass for not putting a big warning label on the box.

Having said all that, I like the device and the promise of it and will be building software for it.