Just beat me to it! lol. Echo'd here too. Nice to have a chat: maybe do the same again once everyone has a device in hand: sad but good excuse. Kathy, you'll just have to make your way up too as well. lol

Andrew, I'll post your grinning mug shot up tomorrow. If you want the full size pic then PM me with your email addy and I'll send direct.

Tell me about it. "GPS?"

Was that guy asking for a slap in the face?

Like the idea
Anyone for a NUG

lol

Interesting night, although they were pretty much preaching to the converted and despite having a largely technical audience there were no technical people present from Nokia/Maemo.

I had a word with Tanjia (sp?) from marketing, and interest has far exceeded all expectations (she's worried demand may outstrip supply) and there will be no more Symbian based N-series devices between now and 2012 - all future N-series phones will be Maemo based with Symbian reserved for the E-series and low-end to mid-tier devices. No Maemo based E-series phones are planned, Maemo is strictly N-series.

Build quality of the N900 I played with was very good (cheers Tom!), the slide was solid with little if any horizontal movement. Sensitivity of the screen was a bit iffy however - it responded reliably when I used my nail but not always when using my finger. With my finger it would sometimes not respond at all. Not a huge problem as I don't mind using my nail but a potential Nokia prat fall for those tech sites that obsess about capacitive screens. Performance was very nippy though, and overall I came away impressed, it definitely has the makings for a great device and platform.

The only other problem I encountered was the device not locking the screen when the slide was closed - I mentioned about the Autolock functionality available on the N810 (automatic locking/unlocking when the device is put in or removed from the pocket) and he knew of it an admitted it would be a nice idea. Shame it hasn't been implemented on the N900 - opportunity missed.

@MikeC: Cheers and hope you're feeling better.

This seems related:

http://twitpic.com/px1mm

Just got home, am very tired. meeting people beforehand over coffee was nearly as much fun as the official nokia session (well, ok, 25% of the fun!). It was great that there was an n900 there to play with. it was quite a gadget-fest, I particularly liked seeing the openMoko in the flesh, never seen or touched one before. It was great meeting everyone, hope you all enjoyed it too.

I'm sad I didn't win the n900, but I am pleased to get the goody bag, stickers and T-shirt. I did hope that Nokia might give out vouchers towards the purchase of the n900.

Overall it was a very worthwhile trip. Thanks very much to Nokia for their hospitality and all the time people put in to making it a great evening, it went very well.

See you all next year for the launch party of the n10000 supertablet

just wanted to say a great evening with great company (and nice to put names to faces).

i can happly say i also won tonight.... woohoo, ok it was only a bluetooth headset, but woohoo!!!

That was very interesting night, and congratz to convulted who won the N900 (with that big fat NOT FOR SALE on the box as a bonus ;)! Lucky you :)

Anyhow, I have posted my impressions on the meetup on my blog, so feel free to have a look and comment if you feel like it: http://blog.adl.pl/n900-meetup-in-lo...mpressions/347

Now, I simply can't wait for my unit now!!!

Yes, but they gave a UK plug as well so the charger, i suspect, is a foreign one.
Hope these kids know how to wire a plug.

A couple of things I discovered. I played with one n900 and the drawing program and it was confirmed the screen is pressure sensitive - with a better quality of control than the n800.

I took a look at the video cable feeding the big TV, it looked exactly the same as the ones for other N devices - a 3.5mm jack with four rings - which connects to headphone socket. Perhaps the next gen N1000 will have a microDVI or whatever the standard will be by then.

Apparently the headset provided with the n900 is noise-cancelling, maybe @convulted can confirm this having probably opened his up and got it on charge. He'll probably be late in to work tomorrow after staying up all night playing ;-)

Hope people enjoyed the video. I'm sure my 3G PAYG balance will have taken a hit but worth it. The qik client on S60 revealed up to ten people viewing the streams at different times.