You mean the prediction by a Pat Buchanan that someday GW Bush would be remembered as the new Mahatma Gandhi (if McCain is elected) ? :-)

I've argued hard against a sim slot in the past. However, as far as I'm concerned they can put whatever they want in it as long as I'm not forced to use the feature (and that's arguably true about e.g. a sim slot), provided that:

1) The inclusion of said hw feature doesn't take away room so that the device is otherwise crippled due to lack of space, e.g. removing an SD slot or putting in a sub-sized one (aka crippled SD).
2) The price isn't increased so much that I end up paying a lot extra for features I don't want or need.

The N810 failed on both points. It came out more expensive than the N800 was, although not prohibitively so. The keyboard is useful to a lot of folks, the GPS is, let's be honest, just so much junk. A much better GPS receiver can be bought for way less than the price difference between the N800 and the N810.

I just want an improved N800, to be honest. With all the features that make the N800 good, plus omap3 and if possible a bit more RAM. If I, to get that, would have to buy a device with lots of extras I don't want or need, so be it. I'm a grown up man with a job, I can in principle afford to pay whatever it costs. What I'm really worried about is point 1) above. Don't cripple the device and I promise to buy it. I'm not too hopeful though, but there's some comfort in Texrat's notion of a family of devices.. we'll see, I guess.

At least it seems there is a future now. the things we learned yesterday and today make me believe there is quite a number of people at Nokia working hard on Maemo right now. The last releases where nice, but not really exciting in terms of platform architecture.

So while I don't really like some of the decisions made, it all shows they're willing to invest money. And that's good.

A question about timelines.

Both Quim and Ari seem (to me) to be talking about a phase 5 device that does not even exist in breadboard form at this time. Most folks here seem to be talking about a new tablet that they expect in a few months (at most) time.

If there is going to be an N9xx device released Q4/08 or Q1/09, wouldn't this be a phase 4 device - which would not have the features that Ari described?

We hit this subject before, but depending on the region, there are varying levels of control that a carrier can have over what is on their network.

In the US there are FCC and carrier level 1 tests that all phones must pass to be used here. Carrier level 2 tests are the ones that put the phone on the carrier deck (in retail stores, marketing, etc.).

For the N95 and several Nokia devices, they not only had issues with carriers, but also the Qualcomm issue (which is now solved) as barriers to entry. For the most part though, they should be fine now that there is a settlement.

I have the impression that they (at least Ari) weren't talking about a device at all, but about software. When you read them referring to #5, it's because it's Maemo version 5 (OS2008 being based on #4). This doesn't necessarily have anything to do with a "step 5"-device: OS2008 (Maemo4) runs on the N800, still the N800 isn't "step 4".

(Except you think of the "steps" as steps in software rather than steps in hardware.... which might be reasonable because in the end it's software that matters.)

And no openings for anyone in the US!

You noticed that too

Please don't read too much into that (anyone). For instance, the 770, N800 and N810 constitute a family. I personally wish that there would be a future, improved N800 but I have no concrete knowledge of such a thing and couldn't say if I did.

Alright... I know my opinion doesn't really mean anything anymore considering that I haven't really been a part of the community since the beginning of the year and haven't held a tablet in my hands since January (yeah, still waiting on my developer's discount to... you know, work), but I'll give my opinion anyways.

I used to think that adding cellular connectivity was a bad thing, but my perspective's changed quite a bit during these tablet-less months. Makes me think about a few other previous attempts, like the OGO messenger. I like the idea of being connected anywhere without needing a cell phone. My one and only worry about it has nothing to do with Nokia and there's nothing Nokia can really do to remedy it: the extremely high cost of data in Canada.

I think we all knew from the start that this was where the tablet line was going to be heading. You've got all this power and connectivity in the palm of your hands... of course you're going to want to have it connected at all times. When I had my N800, I seriously considered buying one of those mobile hotspots along with a cell modem just so that I could keep myself online wherever I was.

Honestly, if they didn't go in this direction... I don't really know how much further they could take the tablet line without heading into a brick wall. Adding more and more multimedia capabilities and internet capabilities just leads to wanting and needing to be connected more and more often... so adding cellular (or WiMax) connectivity just makes sense.

I can already see my monthly usage fees skyrocketing.

I'm feeling pretty encouraged by the announcements that have been coming out... just makes me that much more excited for the Maemo summit.

(Tex, I've been trying to get a hold of you for ages... your PM box has been full for months!)