Android is a very different beast. The kernel doesn't have that much direct impact on what the user sees and experiences, and Android has a unique userspace, whereas the N900 is much more like a scaled down desktop unix.

Droid does sounds impressive it's a bit of a box in the looks department (the back looks nice! ) but then the N900 is just a big lump of nondescript black plastic.

Damn. I'll have to go tell my OpenWRT router and my Linkstation hard drive running Debian now that they're not real Linuxes, neither one of those bad boys even has X. Silly me, I thought Linux was just the kernel. Wish me luck!

You may program for it differently; however having a Linux kernel pretty much dictates that it is Linux based. And thusly so, both are Linux derived OS's.

Not picking fights here; however the OS is usually dictated by the kernel.

Pros [of the Droid on Verizon]:
1. Greater higher speed data network access than (most likely) anyone else in the US. Verizon has great coverage. This is a huge pro for some folks but IMO overrated for many.
2. Java. It'll be here soon for the N900 but not today.

Cons:
1. It's a Motorola. Once they built nice mobiles but IMO not anymore. When Nokia wants to build first class hardware they can and do it better then anyone else. The fit and finish on my trusty E61i is impressive. I have yet to find a Moto device that compares.
2. Locking users and most apps out of the GPS chipset ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verizon...ertain_devices )
3. Verizon customer service, while better than AT&T is still a far cry from TMO. I've been with TMO since the VS days and their customer service has always been excellent.
4. The Droid is mostly new while many parts of the N900 have been in use since the 770. New designs are never perfect (like the WSOD on the 770). The N900 should have less defects due to it's maturity.
5. Android is still pretty locked down compared to the N900. The idea of buying hardware and having to hack though useless layers of security to run my own stuff is odious. My money, my hardware. While Android is better then most it's still not as free as the N900.
6. No control key. How are you suppose to use emacs? =)

Either way:
1. Cost. While the unsubsidized price will likely be less than the N900 the subsidized price could be more considering Verizon's rates [compared to TMO].

In the end I believe the two devices mostly address different audiences and are not strongly competing against each other. It looks like from the ad I saw they're directly going after the iPhone which IMO is bound to fail. No one beats Apple at a game they created.

Linux is just the kernel; that's pretty much my entire point. What determines the user visible character of the system is mostly not the kernel, but the userspace. Your boxes are running a Debian userspace, and will look a lot like other Debian systems (and Maemo). They will also look a lot like Debian/kfreebsd and Nexenta systems too, which have similar userspaces but different kernels. They will all look very different to Android, which is undeniably Linux, but presents a very different interface to the user and to applications.

If the N900 comes unlocked, then this certainly isn't an advantage over it.

It's also Android, which means you're not going to be able to run emacs except remotely via ssh.

Yes, semantically this is correct.

I think the term missing here is POSIX. Android is not POSIX-compliant, and you're limited to the Android API. Thus Android is just not as open or hackable as Maemo.

The debate here is really about openness, not whether the device runs the Linux kernel.

I wonder if it has hardware support for USB host or USB on the go.