$700.00? Probably but not happily.

It would depend on what I got with $700.

As I've said elsewhere, what I want are two devices:

1) Pocketable that must be both a full phone, and an internet device; must be open source, preferably linux based.

2) Netbook size device (7" - 9" display, no bigger 10" long and 8" wide)

So, it has to fill one of those roles. I don't expect Nokia to jump into the netbook market, so that leaves a linux based phone. I don't expect the next generation NIT device to fit that role either (primarily because they haven't announced phone support yet) ... but ...

If it was the size of an N810 (screen and overall device), the format of the N97 (but with a 5 row keyboard, and dpad on the face), full phone functionality (quadband GSM, hopefully AT&T and T-Mobile-USA WCDMA, non-VOIP/non-SIP voice calls, SMS, MMS), Maemo for the OS and Linux types apps, Dalvik for Android apps and capabilities, SyncML clients for calendar and contacts (with integration between Maemo and Dalvik for those things), compatibility with redfly, video out (not just TV, but also DVI-I), USB Host+OTG, USB client (data and charging), MicroSDHC card slot, and the ability to act as the phone side of a tethering pair for BT DUN, BT PAN, USB, and Wifi tethering. And, ideally, with two SIM cards that you can use simultaneously. All of that, plus what we already know the next gen will have.

If it had all of that, I'd probably be willing to go past $700. Maybe even to $1000. Maybe a little higher, but not a lot.

i think i read the n97 will be about 550eur or 700usd. I'd pay that for the same hardware as the n97 running maemo software. Come to think of it, why don't the use the same hardware for maemo and s60 devices, it would cut development time wouldn't it? It would also mean we'd get a phone in our internet tablets!

heh, i know someone that ended up pulling something similar over a feature phone.

he was saying that a phone should only do two things, calls and messages. but then he got one of the walkman series phones, and then could not stop praising the idea of a phone with a audio player...

$700 is too much. Add in the data plan, and damn.... That's a lot of $$$.

Seriously, if it was $700, I would expect something rivaling a $400 netbook in terms of specs, with a LONG battery life.

Im waiting for the next gen of devices (G2, IPhone 2, Pre, RX-51) to mature. Nokia Tablets have always been ahead of the curve, and that's not always a good thing (aka the # of people with a N800 vs iPhone). Early adopters curse I guess...

Well, for the most part, they basically are, but S60 and Maemo fill two very different roles, so they can't be 100% similar without changing the way one or the other works (the RX-51 is going to be much better hardware than the N97, anyway).

That said, Nokia has recently hinted at having the choice between Linux and Symbian on their higher-end smartphones at some point in the future, so we'll see.