There is an announcement within the next 2 weeks by Nokia which is expected to outline the direction for the company. I would wait for that before deciding anything.

The N9 may or may not be announced then. Even if it is it could be months before it is available to buy. For example the N900 was about 2-3 months, and the N8 at least 6. The E7 is still not available despite being announced.

all depends what you want from a device. The N900 has decent community support, but is expected to be ignored. If it'll do what you want and you can get it at a decent price, then it may do. Alternatively the N8 may be a good alternative. The hardware is great, and although it is symbian, it will be getting a number of updates, and a UI refresh is expected later this year.

If I had to replace my N900 today it would be a hard choice between a N900 and a N8.

Wait until MWC

There will always be something new around the corner.

First you have to wait for the N9 to be announced.
Then you have to wait for it to actually ship.
Then you have to beta test the new device & OS, and wait for developers to write software and bug fixes.
And, for all of that, you pay a premium for being a early adopter and going along on the mystery roller-coaster ride.

OR
you could get the the N900
available right now
at an extremely attractive price
a great device, with most of the bugs ironed out and works really well
lots of great stable software
you know exactly what you are getting (and if there is any key feature or application you really need that is missing)

Could you use the N900 as a wi-fi hotspot, or do you really need to connect to the internet through bluetooth?

I only bought my N900 a few months ago and am very happy having waited for software, bug fixes and discount pricing (evening knowing that it is the end of the road of Maemo - it'll give me time to sit on the fence and see how 1st gen Meego devices turn out before deciding whether I'll hop in at the start or wait for 2nd gen (more likely for me)).

I'd wait till MWC

I known N900 is a great device. That's not the problem.

I'll wait till MWC.

and yeah the wifi had hoc network is a great idea... but battery life is a problem.
and something new around the corner it's not true... N900 was launched in November 2009. waiting a couple months seams reasonable but I'm worried about the possible N9. I really want meego and such... Do you really think the N9 can be a N900 sucessor?

Currently I've an E71 and a N95.

The N900 was step 4 out of a 5 step program. Those of us who have been here before it came out knew what to expect. MeeGo is step 5. I got my N900 18 months ago. It's gotten better with age. If you know all the device's limitations and still want it, go ahead. If I lost my N900 tomorrow, I would buy it again, but only at a very low price.

Wait!

Ok, now go buy a N900

i got my N900 as late as 2mo ago, and i was having the same internal dogfight, to N900 or to wait E7 or N9.

I am very pleased with my decicion to N900, i love this device and all the open possiblities with it. To me the N900 is a business-phone (make sure your company allows non-provisionable devices, if Mfe needed). to me the N900 does everything i need: business-use, calender, communication, multimedia, navigation, camera, storage, etc and it satisfies my hidden nerd letting me configure it.

if i waited E7, i would still be waiting, and it would have been uninteresting device comparing to this, with less pixels, mhz (clocked) and memory.

in ICT, there will always be a better device just around the corner.

The thread "should I buy a N900 or wait?" (9 posts) has been merged into this thread.

Hello,

I am currently in the market for a netbook which I would use solely for taking notes for my college classes. I currently own a high-end, Ubuntu-powered desktop, and a Nexus one running on T-Mobile. While considering my options, I thought of the Nokia N900 device. It would be very appealing to have a fully capable, 3G cell phone with the power and versatility of a netbook. While it might be awkward to use it as a regular phone, the kickstand design would be perfect for quickly placing it on a desk to type notes with a small Bluetooth keyboard (yes, I know it includes a physical keyboard, but I don't see myself using it for up to three hours at a time). And, an iPad would be too bulky and unnecessary for my needs. At first glance, this seems like the perfect solution. However, I do have some concerns.

The N900 is an amazing piece of hardware (FM transmitter and receiver, very high quality front and back facing cameras, a powerful ARM processor, and a full operating system based on Debian GNU/Linux with Skype video calling and Adobe flash support out of the box) however, certain aspects of it are dated (4G phones with dual core processors are coming soon), and the lack of a capacitive interface. Also, as noted on Wikipedia :

"It was announced in May 2010 that the Nokia N900 will be the last mobile communication device running the Maemo 5 operating system, which will be replaced by MeeGo. Nokia will continue to support the N900 with updates when necessary.[79]

While transition to the succeeding MeeGo operating system is possible, this is mainly of interest to developers rather than consumers, as it not officially supported by Nokia.[39][79] There has been some interest within the user community in working on backporting MeeGo developments to Maemo for the N900, and this places it as being an interesting device for people within the wider Open Source community more than consumers.[79]

A download of the MeeGo operating system is available, but not officially supported by Nokia.[39][80] MeeGo will succeed Maemo for new devices."

I think the issue that concerns me the most is "Nokia will continue to support the N900 with updates when necessary [emphasis mine]" I read this as meaning "They will provide security updates, but no new features". Also, Nokia is no longer selling the device directly from it's USA web store; however, it is still being sold on Amazon and NewEgg. Is it still being manufactured, or are these retailers selling the last of their stock? I realize that Maemo development could continue with the open source community when official development finally does cease, but the lack of official updates (particularly security updates) is what has left me frustrated with my current phone, and smart phones in general. when I pay $xxx for a device, I expect the manufacturer to provide at minimum, prompt security updates for at least two years after the device is no longer manufactured. A customer shouldn't have to rely on an open source community for that (though I am grateful that they provide this service). At least I'd have the option of using MeeGo if this occurs.

I've read some about the N9. MeeGo does not look like a bad OS. I'll take a full-featured Linux distribution over a watered down mobile operating system any day. However, there is speculation as to if/when the N9 (the next-generation of Nokia tablet?) will be released. Has there been any official news on this front?

The bottom line: I need to purchase something within the next two months. I would hate to spend $350 on a device, just to have it become outdated by a next-generation device from the same manufacturer in the near future. although, I suppose I could mitigate this risk by purchasing a used N900 on eBay. However, I am particularly leery of buying a used device which could potentially have been used for years, especially with respect to battery life.

Any insight would be appreciated. I realize I'm speaking to a biased audience, but for the reasons mentioned above, I like the idea of having a all-purpose device running a full Linux distribution. I could just purchase a netbook, but it seems like a waste of hardware and money to use it for such a simple task. I should also note that I'm incapable of using a traditional writing tool due to a disability. So, what would you suggest?