What is the advantage of ordering the unlocked N900 in the USA? I would prefer if we didn't have the locked/subsidized model here, but since we do, what are the reasons in favor of purchasing the unlocked version from the Nokia store?

I have been on T-Mobile for about 12 years and I like T-Mobile. So it seems I should just go for a new 2 year contract and the subsidized price, right?

Sound like that's best for you. I don't want 2 year contract. I doubt they will lock it down or remove skype.

For this device however the only SKU that has been verified has been 900/1700/2100 HSDPA which means that the main European band of 2100 is available on the device radio. The HSPA in Europe uses the 900 in some places and 2100 in most. Here in the US, T-Mobile operates their network on 1700/2100 so this device should work no problems.

For Europeans however you won't be covered by a warranty if you buy from the US and to US buyers vice versa.

If you don't want a two year commitment with T-mobile you can pay a extra $50.00 and have a one year contract with them and you can upgrade in 11 months.

The main advantage to getting it unlocked is that you maximize your chances that you will receive a phone with its full feature set intact. Looking at how T-mobile USA handles its subsidized Android phones, T-mobile has a say in whether a Google firmware update gets pushed to T-mo branded phones, and what is included in those updates. They have put pressure on Google to remove tethering apps from the North American Google Android app store. T-mobile tends to lock down other things on their subsidized phones such as bluetooth tethering and the ability to download non-Tmo approved apps. I'm not sure if T-mobile will take kindly to free VOIP.

Looking at the chatter on other T-mo sites, it sounds like the release of the subsidized n900 will be delayed until Q1 2010, in part to get it compatible with "Hotspot at Home". If true, that tells me that there will be some firmware customization being done for T-mobile, which is exactly what I am hoping to avoid altogether. Hopefully, for those waiting for the subsidized device, they won't do any additional hardware customization, like removing the front-facing camera, lowering memory, etc.

With all that being said, I don't want to sound too alarmist: as others mentioned, it will probably be very difficult to lock down a phone running on an essentially open platform. And obviously, the hacker community is quite strong here: any workarounds to most feature-locking will likely be circumvented in short order. So, really, it could be just a case of if you want it now, then you'll pay more. If you can wait six months or so, you'll pay (possibly significantly) less (though if you buy subsidized, you may have to hack your device a little to get it to perform as intended.) As has been mentioned in other threads, the other advantage of waiting is that you'll probably get a more stable device with a higher build quality, as Nokia irons out the kinks by using the early-adopters as de facto beta testers.

thats why i feel like im going to cough up the money and buy it not because of tmobile might do with it but the anxiousness of getting it will drive me up the wall. I've bought the n95 8g which cost a grip to at the time i bought it so this won't burn my pockets.