That would be a great idea. I could care less about cellular reception. However i'd also be worried about the price. If they do release something like a N820 i'd imagine it would be around the typical 500$ range.

Theres three things that I hate about the N900(resulting in me not getting one) 1. Forced to buy a cellular plan. Most people won't mind but i'm a guy who hates having to pay for something for the next two years. I'd rather just pay an upfront fee and not having to worry about paying a cent for as long as I own it. 3. Small screen. I was really shocked that they stooped down to an iPhone sized screen. There goes all my movies, and browser experience.

I love the N810's large screen. Yes it could even be a little larger. Resolution isn't everything. Its also the size of the screen that decides if you can enjoy it for certain features.

Price. I did say that i'd rather pay upfront than pay a monthly fee for the next two years so if you weren't forced to buy a cellular plan than 500$ upfront wouldn't be that bad but 500$ with forced plans? Come on! This is a mobile media/internet device. Maybe the price will go down but I won't even consider a N900 in till the price goes way down or they release a version that doesn't require a monthly fee of any kind.

A N820 would be great. No cellular reception or at least a version that doesn't require cellular reception is the key feature that would make me buy one. Than again i'd probably prefer a N900 with no cellular reception.

Just bought it and happy so far...little unstable but no big deal for me...I am used to bleeding edge.

You aren't forced to use the cellular reception, nor are you forced to buy a cellular plan. You can always buy an unlocked device, and then skip getting a cellular plan, if you don't plan to use it anyway. However, that might be a costy option.

Inside: OMAP3, >=256MB RAM, internal SD or microSD slot, WiFi, BT, HSPA modem.

Outside: N900-style keys (but at least 15 more of them), 4-5" screen, full-size stand, home/menu/ESC/fullscreen hardware buttons, externally accessible card slot, stylus. In a perfect world a second, host-mode USB port.

High resolution camera, cellular voice, accelerometers, FM rx/tx optional.

Really? I probably should have asked before I made the assumption. Still, I find 600$ for a mobile internet/media device pretty steep. Especially seeing how you can get a high end net book for for a lot less.

Wait, so you can buy a N900 with even messing with cellular service? Or do I have to sign up for one then cancel it. Which in that case its a hassle and expensive. I don't even want to mess with cellular reception of any kind. Including having to deal with somehow not signing up for one.

there you go!
when my n810 eventually gets retired i'll be willing to spend more than i probably should on features like those, just based on my experience with the n810.
if nokia won't build it someone else will, though maybe not as well. nokia made money on the n810 without much advertising, so there is a big market for it.

Of course.

Why would you need to involve telecom in that scenarion at all?

I pre-ordered my N900 unlocked from Dell $453 shipped. Still a little more than I would have liked, but close enough.

I plan on using it with a pay as you go plan initially, we'll see from there. I figured at that price, I could re-sell it pretty easily IF Nokia (or someone else) comes up with a reasonable tablet sized device in the near future. Probably shouldn't lose too much money on it that way. Or I may just keep it, even if it isn't quite what I'm looking for.

this would be perfect for me