I'm a noob, and I LOVE this phone. Here's why I picked it:
I wanted more power and possibilities.
There is no better hardware out there.
The OS is less polished but it still works, and you can tweak it as much as you want.
The community is working very hard night and day to make sure you can squeeze every last drop of usability out of this device.
You can send free texts and stuff.
You can use it with T-Mobile pay-as-you-go.
You don't need to buy a data plan.
You can give feedback directly to the people that are making the application that you like.

And so on. You don't have to be a programmer to do any of that stuff.

Taking this into consideration;
a) the possibility that the N900 will not run the next generation of OS,
b) the fact that you've been reading these forums for months and still haven't been able to make up your mind about if you want one or not, and
c) that and that you have to put in some rather big efforts into saving up for the device

equates to me - that you should't buy the N900.

I don't know about that. Personally I normally get a new device with every contract (12-18 months) depending on what deal I can get (and the devices are normally free with the contract - the N900 was btw).

I don't know much about MeeGo but I guess it will be similar so I think the learning curve that the N900 has given me will stand me in good sted for the next device and updated OS. I will have learnt all the "new" ways of doing things the Linux based way, like repo's and command line stuff etc

But if you are buying this as a long term device then I would agree with you, the "upgrade" path isn't really clear, but if you are able to move on to the next device every 18 months that really isn't an issue.

What do you think?

Looks like there is some headway getting MeeGo on the N900...

http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=50763

The "headway" to get MeeGo on the N900 was just like getting Fremantle on the N8x0 and getting OS2008 on the 770. If the community didn't do it - in one case it didn't follow 100% through - then it won't happen via Nokia.

And what's not to know about it? Nokia has never 100%, flat-out in a non-cryptic way said that they will have MeeGo for the consumers (read: outside of developers) available for the N900 in a concerted effort that stems from Nokia. Helping the community has historically led to a device that does not receive full support from anybody outside of the community.

And that means no new apps, no updates unless it comes from the community and if you have any problems with the software implementation on the hardware, Nokia will not support it either.

All of this comes from the aforesaid Nokia community based efforts.

So... want a Flash update? Won't happen. Want to resolve a problem that you're currently witnessing? Might not happen. And in the case of the older Maemo systems... for instance, Wayfinder GPS is no longer able to be updated, activated... and that's for people that paid for lifetime updates. Zero support. Or Skype? No updates. RTComm... still won't fully work with Yahoo or MSN since they've updated or changed their protocols. Workarounds exist, but you'd better not be a n00b to get it to work properly.

And the N900 is heading down that same path. Also... getting support for the known faulty microUSB port that has fallen out on normal usage has been like pulling teeth - there's a multiple page thread with many users that have not gotten fast support and have had to invoke local/country laws in some cases.

All of that definitely stacks up for a "do not buy" for a n00b. For a tinkerer or Linux enthusiast... hell yes. Buy it.

davedickson's post pretty much sums it up.

However, since you're on the border, I'd wait and see what the Harmattan (MeeGo/Maemo 6), or MeeGo 1.0 devices bring to the table, since they're right around the corner.

Not going to take offense to your comment, but due to having a house on the market with a mortgage i'm still paying until it sells, rent, two car payments, living in two states 12hrs apart, being away from my wife for months at a time, and unemployed for the last 14 months... plunking down $500 for a new phone has not been high on my list of expenditures. Plus, before I spend money like that, I want to be very sure it is the correct item for me.

Given your above criteria... don't buy.

The the OP, I would say "it depends."

What phone are currently using? If you are using an iPhone or Android phone and enjoy that user experience, then the N900 is not for you. If you are using a Symbian phone (i.e. S60, S40) and aren't interested in having an abundance of applications, then the N900 may be for you. Personally, I use my N900 for internet browsing, email, taking pictures, chat, calendar/scheduling -- basically everything I already do with my laptop. I am a bit disappointed with the rather narrow support for PC Suite (and Ovi Suite), even moreso with my bluetooth connection impediment on my Win 7 64-bit boxes.

But overall, I am happy [for now] with my N900, despite only getting 2.5G/EDGE coverage with my carrier.

The N900 is seemingly more of a hobbyist phone (or like my friend says, a "nerd" phone). It has much more potential than iPhone or Android, but Maemo appears to be quite a vertical segment. I'm hoping that Qt will alleviate some of the shortcomings with the N900.

Good luck, I hope you join the N900 club, and it at least meets your expectations.

- mp

If I were in your situation, I would consider the N900 a luxury item and would revisit my decision to purchase one when my situation improves.

- mp