I had an Android device (HTC Desire) for some time now and would always chose Maemo over Android again.
I like the N900 + maemo so much more then the Desire + Android.
Sure it's an really good device with an great OS but not as good as Maemo imho.

You can respect him, but the literal value of that statement is zero. Of course, the nature of the statement is that it automatically discredits anyone who disagrees with it.

If you want polish AND decent multitasking, I think your only real option is..... Palm webOS. It's really slick, and pretty good technically too. The only minus would be the lack of apps, but it's not as bad as it is with Maemo.

Basically : If you want apps, get an Apple iPhone.
If you want openness, customizability, get Maemo.

Android is pointless.

With variance in the number of gigabytes and the name of the device, this is a FAQ for all Maemo devices. The answer is that it is not Maemo devices themselves that set the "maximum capacity" figures listed in their specs. It's the timing of their release dates in relation to the advancement of the flash card market.

What I mean is that prior to launch of each device, Nokia has tested and confirmed that, that device works properly with the largest appropriate-format flash card available on the market at that time. That tested capacity is then included in the device's official specs as the maximum supported.

However, Maemo is Linux, and Linux has supported 32 GB cards since 4 GB cards were top of the line. The N900 is no more limited to cards 16 GB and under than the N800 was limited to cards 8 GB and under. Regardless of what the official specs say, the N800, the N810, and the N900 will all happily work with 32 GB cards.

In fact, being Linux-based, Maemo devices will work with cards larger than 32 GB as well, at least, after a fashion. Maemo devices will not support the Microsoft-patented filesystem that ships on, and is built into the official standard for, those cards. There's a for-pay, closed source, binary blob needed for the filesystem, and we don't have it. But should you reformat such a card with a Maemo-friendly filesystem, you'll be able to use it just fine.

And if you're still looking for stories of personal experience, then I can assure you that my N900 happily accepted a 32 GB, Class 2 SanDisk card a few months ago and has worked flawlessly with it ever since.

Hi SkyKnight and everyone else on this thread,
I am a N900 owner/lover, however I would urge you to wait for N9 if you can do so. I love my N900 but it's due to Maemo and the community, not so much the hardwre. It's a bit old and not always as fast as I'd like it to be (OC @900). N9 (or whatever is gonna be called) in the other hand should come with a much better hardware spec as far as processing power goes (Intel's Moorestone 1.5-1.8GHz). Maybe if you got some friend or relative living in UK or US who can buy and send it to you...
If you really want a 'smartphone' right now though:
N900 is a tinkerer's phone. If you like playing around with gadgets and feel good after solving problems/challenges or if you like linux or if you are a comuter enthusiast then you will probably love N900. However if you just need a phone that can play videos (xvid,divix,m4v,mkv...) then I would suggest getting a dell streak with it's huge screen I think it's the best phone to watch movies on. Multi-tasking is a minus though compared to maemo where it's epic. About HD video, I never tried on N900 since I don't belive it would work, but correct me if I'm wrong. Dell Streak(2.1) 'played' 720p mkv (1.45GB/30-40min vid) with rockplayer, but it was unwatchable I mean really. But there is really no point to do that anyway, unless you are just lazy to convert, since neither of them got HDMI and it won't look any better on it's screen. N900 is being picky about codecs? Yes, to my experience, but it will play the (nonHD) videos anyway and it's going to be still watchable. And when a video file is not loud enough you can still give it a little boost with ALSA mixer. That's prvided you weren't the one who converted it
Native games for N900 maybe don't have the best garphics out there compared to other brands, but in exchange you get endless tinkering and the possibility to costumize everything that you could think of. If this is what you seek you won't need games anyway:P
You said there is no 3G or mobile internet in your area( It's something I could hardly be without now.
I think Maemo(and OSS) is way ahead of it's time, but it's also late, because todays avarage computer/phone users think youtube is the internet (no offence). If you pick N900 and you like it, you can give a shot to Linux on your desktop as well. If you are a windows user the
easiest and safest way is:
http://www.ubuntu.com/desktop/get-ub...dows-installer
Podcasts are great way to learn more if you are interested, you can try to search for Going Linux or Linux Reality in any podcatcher or search engine.
Note that everithing written here is solely my opinion, anyone is welcome to express theirs or to correct me if they feel like.

I am sorry to disagree on this. But I would not get an iPhone just because it's got tons of apps. So does Android. I hate the fact that I need iTunes to copy anythinig on my phone, which restricts me from copying anything I want. I hate that I need iTunes store for updating my firmware with an active internet connection. I hate that I can't roll back to previous version, since Apple dosen't sign it. I don't always want to sync my phone. Quite frankly iPhone for me means iPrison.

The 32 vs. 16 GB microSD card thing, I think, is like MeeGo on the N900. Nokia never officially said they support it, but it runs just fine. I think the N900 was released before 32GB microSD cards went on sale - so the people calling the shots said screw it, we won't say we support it because we couldn't test it so we don't people coming to us later complaining about 32GB microSD cards not working, just in case it turns out they don't.

- Edit -

People above me, namely the guy about how it's linux and it's supported much higher capacity cards by then, have already given better answers.

There is only one thing you should consider: Should I get an N900, an E7 or wait for the N9.

FORGET about Android, you can still run Android (Nitdroid) on the N900 in any case. I don't like Nitdroid any better than I like Android in general, but being able to run it on the N900 is what it's all about. And MeeGo of course - useless right now, but looks like it is going to shape up really nicely.

If you are only looking for a nice phone, get a SE X10 Mini Pro, or an X8, anything "better" in the Android world is just a waste of money.

iPrisonbreak?