I can't add much to what others have said. My usage is different to yours. My N900 is a replacement for a Palm TX (I want a TX with better web features). I use the PIM apps and he N900 versions are OK but not a patch on the TX yet.

The screen is a bit small for my older eyes but the quality is good and the zoom is easy. I like the keyboard more than I expected to (but it can be awkward). It's much lighter than the N810 - which I thought I would use a lot but the PIM apps weren't good enough, so it stayed in the drawer a lot.

My main reason for posting is to say that I've had no problems in the week I'v had it. (touch wood!)

Rgrds

Peter

Hey... thanks for the nice words. I know we don't often see eye to eye, and I'm glad that's okay.

Knowing you a bit from being on the forum so much and reading what you said... I would personally recommend you waiting at least another two or three months before making your decision if you can.

The first major firmware update is probably going to render at least some of the negatives and positives about the current firmware moot, one way or another... and I think waiting the extra time will let you skip the awkwardness of early device syndrome, but also lets Nokia work out the hardware bugs, if any.

If it's a now or never sort of thing... I would tell you to wait for Maemo 6 and the hardware it will run on instead.

FINALLY got a chance to play with a N900 today. It's a very nice device, feels solid, awesome build, the screen is cool too. Playing with it, felt like a natural progression from Maemo 4 - I still love the living daylights out of my N810 - and compared to my iPhone 3G... I can easily consider the N900 an option now... almost...

The phone is snappier than I expected on websites and the smaller screen didn't really bother me. I thought that it being a bit "chunkier" than my iPhone would bother me... it didn't. Having access to Flash websites destroys my iPhone browser experience.

But in the end, it's the lack of a few key things that will eventually bother me... and I know that saying this next thing will probably get me flamed.

The whole idea about "openness" is great in theory, but not in application when honestly a few apps would eventually be missed by me on my transition to the N900 from the iPhone.

Where has become almost essential to me. Instant location fix, I can locate cheaper gas in areas I'm not familiar, get my coffee fix... quickly find out the weather without having to input a thing. The GPS on the iPhone ain't the best, but it locks quickly. The GPS on the N900, my friend was having problems because he last locked almost 150 miles away last in Atlanta, GA and it took a while... shades of N810 again. I want to avoid that.

Power Pros and The Deep Pinball are my only two games that I'm addicted to - both are 3D, and only the pinball requires multiple touch, so that means it won't happen on the N900. I would actually miss those games - I play them when I'm bored, in transit (and not driving) and sometimes just to avoid talking to people.

TiltShiftGen, Snapture, Bing (yes, I use this), Convertbot, CNN, Epicurious (love to cook), Air Sharing, Priceless Picks, textPlus (free text messages), Bento, Alias Sketchbook (I'm a designer, sometimes I get ideas), Trapster and AS3 Reference are the apps I will honestly miss the most also.

Sketchbook could EASILY be replaced by Xournal - in fact, going from the N810 to the iPhone, Sketchbook replaced my Chinook/Diablo install of Xournal. Trapster... I could slow down (pfft, yeah right). AS3 reference... I could bookmark the Adobe reference website. But the rest - especially my reliance on textPlus might be a problem... but even then, I could switch to DialCentral and just use the Google Voice SMS feature instead.

But so far, I'm just still not seeing the kind of software that would compel me 100% despite the N900 being an "open" platform. I won't have the apps that make it easier for me to do a few things that I actually have begun to rely on my iPhone for - find cheap gas, find me (quickly) and above all, connect to a few online services without having to log in like I would if it were a website. Open is great... when it delivers.

But... it's damn close. I'll remain patient, my contract runs out VERY soon, and ultimately I will have to think ahead as to where I will go instead of AT&T. T-Mobile will have a cheaper per month price for me than my family plan with an iPhone and another line.

And to dispel one thing... each app I listed here was either free or under a $1 when I got it. Evernote being on the platform, as well as Skype, and SIP works out great. So does DialCentral. But there's a serious need for some other things that are location aware that are seen as "widgets" (not screen widgets, but lesser used functions) by most of you, but I'd need them to convert fully without being somewhat handicapped.

Awesome phone, appeals to my tinkering ways... just doesn't have a few things that I need the most at the moment I needed it the most (right now).

Good work Nokia, great phone/platform. Now, entice those developers!