even i have voted for the first option.. N900 is one of the best devices i have used.. who cares what world says abt N900, its a computer that has changed my life and has especially replaced my pc browser..N900 is my life now..

Most of the time i dont even know if "uppgrades" even are new features. This i mean in a broader sense to include all phones and pcs
- I have turned off windows uppgrade btw. since there have been problems with them and it is also recommended to do so in professional installs.

I have never had any problems with calls and sms.

Well I just was backing up some files from my N900 via gftp's SSH2 ftp
connected to my Linux machine with WLAN when a phone call came in.

Seriously: you cannot fit this usage into one of the patterns that you
mentioned. ;-)

But I voted number 1.

(I wonder how those iPhones or Androids would be doing the above?)

I like to do things just because I can, not necessarily because I have a need to...there is no real reason to run (k)ubuntu on the N900, but I do it anyway because I can. Same thing with x-plane...Sure, I have the desktop version on my computer, but there's something very satisfying about getting it running in PreEnv (not to mention the ability to fly a plane while flying in a plane - I took my N900 on my last flight for that purpose, but also to watch a few movies, experiment with GPS [I found you can get a fix at 30,000 feet by pressing it up against the window, but it's unreliable], test ideas in python when they come to me, and work on a sketch of my cat in mypaint).
I recently set up port forwarding on my home desktop; now when I'm on the train I can mount my home folders via sshfs and stream music - to the default music player as well as VLC. I used my N900 for internet at home because its 3G connection was faster than our dial-up, for all operating systems (Mac included - I have yet to get OSX tethering working with an Android phone, but with Maemo it works right out of the box!)
For a few days at work I didn't have a computer to work at, so I used the tv-out and extkeyboard to make the N900 into a miniature desktop, which seemed to run better than the netbook I have now. I would still do that but we don't have the monitor with RCA anymore.

For me, the hardware KB is a godsend, I sms a lot.

I went from a Motorola K1 to the N900, as I wanted a mobile email/web/rss appliance - it fulfills all those requirements, and takes decent photos too.

I have to agree - I don't sms, but I use google talk/skype a lot. My Tmobile Comet's on-screen keyboard is just awful in comparison,even with Swype.

I use my N900 a lot, but only slightly for actual phone calls, probably only 10 or 15 minutes a month average.

I use my hardware keyboard a lot mainly for Twitter and for sshing into my Linux servers. Also for VNCing into my mythtv server to schedule and manage recordings whilst the missus is watching soaps - I find the zoomability of PresenceVNC to be an absolute killer feature, and one
that I have not been able to replicate on my Ubuntu laptop.

Other than that it's just the general amount and all round beastiness of the hardware - stereo speakers and the 32gb onboard storage - coupled with a 32gb microSD, means I can a fair bit of my music about.

Managed to track down a spare LCD monitor at work with a composite in which works great the TV-out along with a fullsize keyboard and mouse when the N900 is "docked" - killer

The flexibility of the N900 is what keeps me with it. Only wish I could have gotton my hands on an n950.... maybe I should tweet Quim and see if there's any left!

I am also interested in kubuntu, i am just waiting for it to be able to do phonecalls, then i will also try it.

How did you manage to do that? what type of programs did you run and was there any limitations that you think could have been handled in a better way in maemo?

And here's the link to the other post where I have posted a photo of my N900 hooked up to an lcd monitor running Twimgo