So setting up: repositories, creating 4 devices, buying up URL's and paying thousands of developers, setting forth and designing, creating and manufacturing the N900 was part of some deliberate trickle of hardware because they couldn't "afford" to sell millions... and you believe that fully and can rationalize that expenditure of $300 million+ to go down a path that dead ends as it shall.

No wonder Elop wants it dead. The fact that it has felt a skunkworks project was intentional. So as it stands, the entire argument about Elop wanting it dead, the whole WP7 deal is moot.

The entire Maemo line wasn't made to sell millions.

There's no need to whine, ***** and complain any longer because it wasn't supposed to last as long as it had. And it's a diversion because it's a small selling - as per intent - device with a limited microcosm of support, devices (only one Maemo device released at a time) and when it disappears, it's nobody's fault. It was designed that way.

Is that what you guys truly believe?

A company that's known to support multiple OS's, makes dozens of phones and this is the one that wasn't made to sell millions. But the 5800 was. Wow. That's borderline delusional.

Okay. If you say so.

Gerbick, part of my actual job IS to set volume limits to the sales of some of my company's products. Before we sell them. Even if we will make money on them. It's a 13+ billion USD profit company, so not really the corner shop.
The fact that you fail/refuse to understand that a company would want to do that doesn't mean it doesn't happen.
Seriously, get over it.

Oh no... I totally get what you're saying.

I now cast doubt on the people that are arguing about what Elop is doing, has done because now they don't have a true platform to stand on... it wasn't meant to sell in record numbers because expected sales being capped at a certain level.

Even I have to eat tons of crow (read: show humility) due to my multiple points at mismanagement and lack of marketing in the past.

It was never meant to sell. So once this chapter goes dark, that was a decision made years ago. Maemo lived, did cool things, died due to management decisions.

So the N9... with that aforesaid, will sell whatever it sells. Nokia has no expectations for it. Meanwhile, they're gearing up with a $130 million dollar campaign to sink into Windows Phone 7.

It was meant to sell at the N9 stage. That's what the (in)famous step 5/5 was supposed to be. Elopcalypse changed that and now even N9 is not marketed or produced in mass market quantity. N9 is basically a freakish left over from previous strategy. Elop stated that the hardware and material experience from it will be used when designing WP7 phones. That intentionally leaked WP7 phone already showed a nearly identical design.

That's also the reason why I'm not planning on buying N9. Enough money wasted on Nokia's science projects.

Ah, the GPS... have you tried to get a location fix with the cellular radio off? :-b

I do carry a decent pocket camera most of the time, and I even take a bluetooth GPS with me when I expect to use it. I would never go for an external keyboard though (too inconvenient).

For me the advantages are having to charge and carry a smaller amount of devices. Cost is not necessarily lower, though it depends on the actual set I guess. An N810 + dumb phone or "mobile wifi" device is cheaper than an N900 though, even if you compare prices at launch.

The disadvantages are that the quality of the "integrated" component (eg GPS, camera, keyboard etc) tends to be rubbish compared to an external one, and that you're feeding all of them from a single battery so when one goes they all do.

At the end of the day it's a matter of preference :-)

Better compared to what? I am using 3G (where available at least), just with an external modem.

thanks for giving us an example of what is so exhausting on TMO
ppl read a post, or even several posts by different ppl, saying basically the same thing, and the reaction is... you don't know what you are talking about

EDIT: maybe this is all about admitting one is wrong.
or, even without having to be that extreme, has missed some of facts; btdt on the EPIC N9 announcement thread.
guess the N9 wouldn't be any different if it had a hw kbd; it would make some of us happier (those who won't be able to get a N950), some unhappier (those who wouldn't have gotten a FREE N950 ) and a nearly infinitely waste majority... not caring a rat's @$$

i'll leave it up to erendorn to go more into the microeconomic aspects if s/he feels up to it.

i'll simply add a remark; NOKIA's rigidity which has been denounced so often isn't just a NOKIA feature; most companies growing past a certain size become... big administrations.
budgets, head counts, IF LUCKY (!) a R&D dptmnt with its budgets & head counts...
it isn't quite as bad as the five years plans from the old USSR, but yes, it still makes for an awfully inefficient rigidity

unfortunately Maemo was still at this R&D stage even after the release of the N900.
maybe (MAYBE!) in a "more dynamic" company like iPotatos or Google one could have walked right into Steve Jobs' or Eric Schmidt's office and shouted out "I GOT THE NEXT BIG THING... let's just manufacture the N900 en masses!!!!"

@ NOKIA this was apparently not possible (any more?), @ least not 'til Flop sent out an e-mail to all employees asking them to come up with ideas... and replying personally to some 2000 answers he got :-o

maybe also the fact that they still could throw practically any rubbish at the masses & still sell millions of it (N97, anyone? or maybe the 5800 you keep bringing up?).


so why push out the N900 too quickly & risk a failure like the 7710 (too early, too buggy, not ready for the masses) and ruin the whole project?
Symbian was still selling well enough, wasn't it?

the 2nd N900 i bought recently was a 2nd hand still with warranty running 'til beginning next year.
the guy bought it earlier this year, spent the 1st week-end downloading all the FREE applications for Maemo he could put his stylus on... and put it back into the box
maybe he was hoping for MeeGo being... more user friendly? having more (free) 3rd party software applications (aka ecosystem)?

however, a few weeks ago he realized that wasn't going to happen (YET) and thus was on the market


sad story (with happy ending for me), but most potential customers either listend to some sales guy in the shop or to a geek friend (one of us, maybe?) and... moved on to an iPotato or android device, leaving the N900 on the shelf
alas

is the N9 going to be any different?
apparently not

Yep, and it works pretty well for in-car use I wouldn't do that as a pedestrian between tall buildings though...

Agreed, it is often a choice between "do everything, badly", and "do just one, but better". I prefer one device for my daily life, but bring a netbook for travel and a camera for holidays. And multiple/external batteries, often

Yes that's very likely. I think we are aware of the n9 marketing campaign just because we are looking for it. I can't really compare to the n900's one because I didn't pay attention at the time.

N900 was marketed in same way. Youtube videos, blogger stuff and viral marketing.

While at the time Symbian devices received what WP7 will receive now, ie. TV ads, billboards, ads on public transport etc.

More reason NOT to get an N9 *AND* NOT to get any Windows Phone 7, especially from Nokia. Don't need to promote these stupid end-of-life customer let-downs.