True, but that "data-less" demographic is getting smaller and smaller every day...and I'd wager that most of the people who are buying the N900 probably don't converse with African farmers on a daily basis as a rule, much less send snapshots. There are corner cases yes..but are those corner cases justification enough for whatever efforts and delays that including the functionality would have entailed. I humbly submit the answer is "no".

That said, I'm not *against* them including MMS in any device (N900 or otherwise)..more functionality can only be a good thing as long as it's optional to use. I just don't think it's the disaster that many make it out to be if it's not there at launch (or ever, for that matter).

Having spent enough time in various backwaters over the globe my experience tells me this usage scenario doesn't really work. If you're in an African village (and you're lucky to have cell coverage at all), your friends won't have fancy MMS capable camera-enabled phones (take a look at 1xxx and 2xxx Nokias, that's the kind of phones we're talking about). Furthermore, MMS (and internet) is considered a premium in those places and often costs more (even in absolute value) than it does in Western countries, so again, not exactly popular even if you have the hardware for it.

I have sshfs set up, so I have access to my entire music collection without using any flash memory.

The only thing is, this only works with a fast enough connection (wifi or, with the N900, 3g). So, like Ari Jaaksi, you'll find yourself only jogging where there's 3G data coverage...

Well I DO speak to many mobile users from various lands, some even third world countries. SF's demographic is largely Indian and African, so don't assume. My guys exist, and marginalizing them won't do Maemo or them any good. Ovi just started giving free email, and signed up over a million already, because many of those people don't have or have ever had a PC. Maemo is the opportunity for them to have a real computer with true crunching power they haven't experienced before. You have no idea how many people have only experienced the web via a smartphone, or even a dumbphone. The N95, N70, 5800 and 6220 are big phones in those lands. Not having a data connection all of the time for email won't be such a big deal.

I agree lacking MMS isn't so big, though, because it should be easily added if demand arises. I'll want it, but we'll see.

It really doesn't mean as much to me either as it does some of my friends/family.

However as an American AT&T iPhone user, that whole http://viewmymessage.com/1 or /2 then a nonsensical ID and then a password that's equally nonsense means that I'd probably use my computer to get to that MMS sent to me.

It's actually nerve wrecking. That whole system, once replaced will be a major pain in the arse removed. Mind you... I might not use it frequently, but it perhaps the worst user experience I've ever seen for a mainstream app/utility.

But around these parts - and any other place that generally dislikes the iPhone - the lack of true MMS has been a rally cry to get behind. To see the N900 make that same oversight, befuddles me.

I still don't think I'd use it, but having some cryptic way of getting something that's sent to me via MMS as opposed to e-mailing it to me is just plain bothersome.

I'd personally avoid putting myself in that situation again if I could.

+1, gerbick.

Directly on the phone? How many pictures do you exchange with them on average? Of those, how many are the African farmers who have no access to the internet through either internet cafe's, broadband, or a data plan and can ONLY communicate via sms or MMS on a regular basis?

I'm not "assuming" that nobody in Africa or India has a phone. I'm "assuming" that in the vast majority of cases those people who would be in communication with the likely N900 launch customer probably has some sort of email access.
It's not marginalization to express reality.

Hence my statement that the "data-less" demographic was shrinking every day and thus MMS was, over time, becoming less and less critical to support.

I think you are confused on who is going to be buying these things at launch, and hence missing my point. As far as I know, the N900 won't be coming to any African farmers at launch except those "gentleman" farmers wealthy enough to afford to import them..and thus probably wealthy enough to have internet access. My assertion is that of the people who ARE going to have the N900 at launch (sans MMS capability) probably don't converse with many folks in the far reaches of the world where email is not accessible. Of those that do have such connections, another small percentage of THAT group actually exchange pictures (I communicate with lots of peoples all across the world, but there are very few that I send pictures to through email or any other medium). As I mentioned before, there are of course corner cases (and you may very well be one of them)...but corner cases do not justify major delays in product launches. This might be something that Nokia, or the community, can add in later if there is sufficient demand.

You'd be surprised at what kind of ideas I have. I'm quite aware of the demographics of technology proliferation...that's the basis of my original analysis. When folks in the middle of Cambodian rain forests (for instance) can get on sites such as Facebook...I think we're reaching a point where internet access (of some sort) is approaching a state of ubiquity. It might not be "in their palm" or even very fast...but it generally is available in most parts of the world where cell phones are common. Yes, "in their palm" is more convenient as is multi-megabit fast...but convenience isn't the same thing as availability.

And in virtually every case...those who can afford a N95 et al generally have access to some sort of data connection as well as an email account (even if it's over gprs or via an internet cafe type place).

Glad we agree on my overall point. As I said before, I'm certainly not against them adding it in as long as it doesn't delay the date that I can get my grubby little hands on my very own N900. Once I sign for it, they can add whatever features they want that I'll never use at their leisure.

yes, it is stupid to argue if a device is pocketable by your own clothes. if you dress to a circus tent, a whole server farm would be pocketable. see what i mean?

e: and if you dress to stretch jeans, e71 could barely be pocketable in contrary.

and it is a methaphor. everybody has an arsloch (written in german to bypass cencorship) [that's a fact] and also opinion about a device if it is pocketable or not by ones pockets.

About how pocketable things are, of course it depends of what you wear, but for myself I would have preferred my N900 to be 1 or 2mm thicker for a longer battery life.
If I could pocket my phone by the end of last century without looking dumb, I can handle my N900 to be bigger.
If one wears tight pants, he should do like most tight pant wearing people (women) do, use a purse. Even the iPhone wouldn't be really comfortable to wear in a tight pants pocket.

That goes both ways. The N810 goes into my Levi 501 back pockets with ease.

Bis dann.