the n900 price definitely seems in-line with what i would expect for a high-end phone at the time of its release. However, i will not be purchasing one because i move countries often for months at a time and a subsidized contract doesn't make sense for me. I'm hoping for a non-cellular version, let me keep my crappy motorola phone and give me a better non-phone internet tablet

Why are so many users here so "cheap"? What do you expect? That everyone gives away everything for free? How do you value the input of Nokia to create such a device? How do you value the fun and use that you will get out of it?
Come on, bei realistic. The N900 is a Superphone. It's pricing is inline with all other devices of this category. My N82 was at the same price level just 12 months ago, with a much smaller screen and inferor hardware and software.

I think we've just found the line where idealism and practicality (reality) meets...

It's just you. We Americans have lots of money even without jobs and with declining real estate values. We are just as enthusiastic about spending as always. There is no economic downturn! (Pay no attention to the repo-man behind the curtain.)

300-400? Are you serious, 24 dudes? iPhone 3Gs 32gb costs around $800 in europe and you want such an uber-phone as n900 for 300? Why not 100 or 50?

Not to get all political, and this isn't the real me, but this is a phone for the running-dog lackey capitalist imperialist expiring leisure class exploiters, and your days are numbered, pigs!

Paris Hilton can still afford one, sure. But cheap netbooks are what is in now, and expensive phones are on the way out.

Yep.

There are many items in this world sold at fair prices I won't pay. The rumored prices for the N900, if true, place it in those ranks. This doesn't mean the prices are unreasonable, it means I don't value the items enough to pay the price.

I don't value mobile phones. I have one now, as ~$42 US per year seemed worthwhile, but in a year, I probably make less than ten minutes of calls and pull up three or four Amazon pages via tethering to check prices while running errands.

T-Mobile does not have any plans competitive with what I have now. With them I would gain EDGE data speeds, but for a few price lookups per year, paying many times more money doesn't seem worth it. I'm not jumping at the opportunity to be their customer.

For me, the N900's only value is as a faster Internet Tablet, hopefully with Bluetooth DUN client capabilities eventually. I do want it for that. Very much. I'll wait until the price drops to the same "a little below $400" I paid for my N800 and N810 though.

well good to see its not just me around 50% of the people who voted think it cost to much. BTW the phones you guys keep comparing this phone to has thousands of pieces of software the current maemo devices have only hundreds. So basicly your will be paying for $700 for a devices that doesn't run any more software right now then your n810. If the price drops and I see software development kick it into really high gear then I will look into upgrading. Until then I'll make a few car payments with the money.

Samsung reckon sub-$100 Android phones will be hitting the market in 2010. So the N900, is it overpriced? Absolutely - I can get a full laptop for less than the price of an N900! The N900 is, technically (and very loosely) a shrunken N810 with phone module and updated OMAP processor... can the smaller size and phone module justify double the price? I don't believe it can. The economics of the smartphone market will soon be redefined when the cheap and highly functional Android touchscreen phones start to appear, and I look forward to that happening as this is price gouging, pure and simple.

And while the N900 may be priced on the assumption it will be subsidised by the network operators, as I and many others buy our phones SIM-free we are getting well and truly shafted.

I'm disappointed the N900 wasn't priced as something of a loss leader to be honest, but I guess Nokia has to avoid undercutting their old pieces of sh1t, like the N97.

Oh, sure, HTC Hero - 800 USD in here, old hardware, worse screen, no built in memory, so on. Call me when there will be "cheap and highly functional " Android phone.