I've been looking at lots of reviews, videos on youtube and been following this forum for time just decided to register recently. I wanted a decent phone top of the range and the n900 is that. I was also thinking of buying a laptop but since i only use the brothers or nieces laptop for browsing, so this might just replace that. But problem is im new to linux all i knew is it existed., never used it ever. Will i be ok with it? What can i do with linux?, i no its open source but i doubt it i can develop any apps lol better to dream. Lots of people love it on ere why?

(P.S. Im not dissing meamo or the N900 just asking, i no what happens when you do this lol, not a nice scene)

You don't need to know Linux to use the N900. There are plenty of non-Linux-y people here happily using it.

The ONLY time you need to know Linux is if you enable the development and testing software repositories.

If you stick with the default on the N900 (including enabling Extras) you should be safe from needing to do any hacking.

However if you need to use AOL, Yahoo or MSN for messaging - you will either have to wait until it reaches stable status or take the risk temporarily adding the development repository. That still doesn't require Linux knowledge (in fact that is a negative, its easy for people to do without realising it can screw everything up) just care and attention. Messenger support is safe to install in my opinion, just be sure to then disable the development repository again afterwards if you do so you do not accidentally install anything that IS unstable.

I'm complete newbie with linux I have been using N900 for a week now with no problems.

N900 has graphical user interface with menus, icons, buttons , so its like using any other phone or any other device with GUI like Windows XP that I use in my computer..

So, phoning, texting, browsing, listening music, playing games, watching videos, reading e-mails, using applications like navigation or what not is like in any other phone with graphical user interface.

Only one icon (x-terminal) gives me a command line interface (instead of graphical). All I know x-terminal is for linux users and since I do not what to do in there, I do not use it. .

Ignorance is bliss, I cannot miss something that I do not know (aka linux)

I have to say that if you're not intent on using the N900 for being a truly mobile computer or interested in it's Linux side, I would go for a Droid.

The hardware is very similar, but Android has a slightly more refined 'phone' side, as well as a bigger set of easy to use and grab apps.

If you're in the US you get Google Nav, too.

That being said, the browsing on the N900 is top notch, so if you're getting it for that and don't mind maybe having to do a few hacks now and then, it'll be a fine phone/computer.

I bought a Nokia N810 which is the predecessor to the N900, also based on Linux, but without the phone capability - essentially a very tiny laptop. I have not needed to understand Linux to use it although I get the impression that I could make it work more to my liking if I did understand Linux. I suspect that's what you'll find with the N900.

If you like the way it works out of the box and you can tolerate the limitations in the number of apps (and the lack of polish in many that are available), you should do fine. OTOH, as was pointed out, Android, right now, has a better selection of apps and more phone features.

As far as using the phone for browsing, you need to understand that the browser is limited versus the browsers that are available for laptops. For the most part you won't notice this but some sites will not work or will not work well. The biggest problem you will find is the size of the screen. My N810, which has a larger screen than the N900, is fine for looking up something but tiresome for extended web browsing. Also navigation within a website is often difficult because of the size of the hot spots.

I have no clue what Linux does, I have no clue what Android does, I have no clue what Windows 7 or Apple or Symbian or anything of any nature does.

All I know is that I love my N900, keeping it simple