Sorry for asking a question that I could probably answer by searching this forum, but can someone please tell me the current state of affairs regarding full support for portrait mode?

Has Nokia announced that they will include this in an upcoming firmware upgrade (coming tentatively when?) or is it possible that it will never come to the N900 (in which case I will probably wait for Maemo 6 devices)?

Many thanks!

No.

That is possible, yes. If pervasive portrait support is an absolute must-have for you, then the N900 is not for you, at least right now. It's unknown what the future might bring.

Why does people want the portrait mode so bad? I don't even like to hold the device in my hand that way around. Plus there's no keyboard that way!

well thats your preference isn't it. Some of us want functionality that does allow single handed use (on screen board obviously) and I fail to see why someones requirement for portrait mode is any less important than yours for other aspects and requirements of your own.

Nokia should have included this along with a whole list of other things (that have been discussed a squillion times before). Since the pretty weak f/w update start Jan nothing. I'm personally starting to wonder whether things really will improve.

I just want to be able to switch between songs in the media player with one hand....