My cell phone contract expires this month, I think. It was never sim locked to start with. I have, however, not found a replacement I want.

As good as the reviews of the N8 is (compared to other Nokia reviews), I find it ugly, qwerty-impaired and stylus-missing. So lacking on the I part of basic I/O. And, well, Qt or no Qt, I still think of it as Symbian. Many of the same qualities goes for the dalvik-crippled OS products, and I don't like the price - whatever it will be - or availability of the Samsung Galaxy S Pro.

I just haven't found anything I like enough, yet. I'm too greedy. That's why I bought an N900. It's lacking little in hardware functionality.

I bought my N900 last month (2nd week October) and, while it doesn't quite live up to my expectations, I think that's more because my expectations were unrealistic: having never owned a smartphone (or an "internet tablet") before, my idea about what I could do with the N900 was a bit out there. The N900 is definitely a netbook you can hold in your hand, however the lack of screen real estate and the tiny keyboard really got to me quickly and I find myself taking out my laptop for things such as this reply simply because I can type at a reasonable speed on a full-size keyboard and don't have to squint at a 15" screen versus a 4" one.

OTOH, with the USB host mode problem almost solved (a few minor(?) but annoying bugs to work out) I think running it as a netbook with a regular keyboard and mouse/trackball and a TV as a monitor is very realistic for intensive use. When I don't need that, I pack all that away and just carry it around like a phone--snazzy!

With Easy Debian (which I still haven't got around to getting all configured) I can run a lot of stuff I would on my laptop. The stuff that won't run is usually closed binaries (winblows stuff) as well as stuff that just won't run at a decent speed on this architecture (flash games).

Bottom line: I paid USD $399 with no tax or shipping for my device. It is unlocked and I bought into a no-contract plan with T-Mobile USA so I could use the HSPA (still questioning if that was a good idea as I already have an AT&T number my dad is paying for in the family plan...oh, and thanks to the spat between them, I can't roam onto AT&T there (T-Mobile has no coverage)). While my expectations were unrealistic with what I could do with this on a daily basis, they weren't ridiculously off, and I bought this--thinking it was fully discontinued--because it is the most open device made next to the OpenMoko Freerunner and has way more capabilities. I do not feel suckered (a full year after introduction and reading the forums, how could I possibly feel that way?) and didn't know they were even sold with subsidy locks. I intend to hang on to this for several years since I have no idea if the N9 or any other device introduced after will be this open again, and I dumped USD $88 to Noreve for a case and another USD $15 for a screen protector for insurance to that effect (yeah, now I know you think I'm crazy). But there is no doubt in my mind that this is a dream device for those who want to get under the hood rather than be just another appliance (l)user.

You know... The other N900 ad portraited the N900 as a brilliant but quirky, introverted, nerdy, paranoid, psychopathic shape shifter humanoid/cell phone out of control. If anything, Nokia tried to shake off those easily scared.

Yeah.. its just frustrating that we cannot hav what we want..
This was really the case 15 years ago with Softwares..

How about inventing a wheel called Opensource Hardware (huge topic to consider at the moment)
I would love it..

LMAO.. when i was talking about N900 and considering it for monthly contract (Little i earn in part time studentship) , My friends were having thier mouth wide open at those ads..

One of them shows of his Ip 4 OS now, Still my N900 rocks with Skype video calls, and FM transmitter on road trips

Skype video calls... I had forgotten about that. It was one of the things I missed in Maemo earlier.

Nop, I'm using it because it was the only device that made me feel like a user once again. I like the power in my hands and I like the freedom, I plenty of free apps and keyboard..LINUX!! basically I fell in love with it since day one of its announcement and I'm still am in love with it.

I hope N9 will not be disappointed and hardware specs should 4x better than N900. Otherwise my money will hold off until N10 lol Cortex-A9

No contract, but i am stuck with it as i cant fine any other phone that can do what the N900 can.

The n900 isnt perfect! but I still love playing with it. I was looking around for other phones when I thought i'd be able to get out of my vodafone contract... and to be honest my decision was get a new contract n sell the fone! cos I couldnt find anything that I would want to replace my n900 with... yet...

I bought mine unlocked, no contract and it is my constant companion. I keep several DVD's on it for travelling and when the weather is crappy etc. I plug my itsy bitsy phone into the hotel TV and enjoy them!

It truly is a pocket netbook that I can video skype and make phone calls with. The swappable batteries and very compact memory cards ice the cake for my travels. I've never had a more compact, powerful travel tool.