I think at this point in time, the question you have to ask yourself is "Does opensource make you all warm and giddy inside?".

If the answer is yes, then this is definitely the right phone for you.

Otherwise, wait for more reviews by 'normal people' and for Nokia and the devs to iron the initial kinks out

you probably don't even have to wait for any reviews. just watch yourself and "take notes" on how you use your current phone.

how do you dial? voice-dial? long-press "2" for your better half? use contacts list?
do you use mms?
do you use video calls?
do you have your phone read mails and text messages to you when you're driving?
when it rings, do you silence the call by reaching into your pocket and pressing the key on the lower right?
how do you sync your contacts and calendar? from outlook via usb? or do you use a web-service?
etc., etc., etc.

compare what you do with your phone now to the spec sheets of the N900. if you rely on text2speech a lot and the N900 doesn't have it, no enthusiastic review in the world can make up for it. so-called reviewers may find it "great" and "the best smart phone ever" because they don't even know the functions you'd miss twice a day.

it's quite simple really, isn't it? doesn't require any hands-on experience.

only if you find that the N900 can do what you need, read the reviews on how well it actually does it... and try to get your hands on a device.

I agree with gerbick's position and think that the criticisms of his point of view are wrong; he is being eminently logical and fair based on the information we have received so far and the messages we read daily. I myself might take the plunge and buy the N900 very soon, but that will be because I am in the mood for adventure, not prudence.

Except that he's completely discounting the many reviews I posted, which spoke favorably of the N900's phone application, without even apparently reading them (that includes your remark also). Are these reviews some how not part of the "information we have received so far"? Only the second and third hand accounts of what other people may or may not have said about the phone application count? Second and third hand accounts, in which, by the way, no one has yet to name a single actual problem with the phone application. But first hand accounts, which you can read for yourself, written by people who have actually used the phone and which provide specific concrete details are to be dismissed? I don't really see how that's "eminently logical and fair based on the information we have received so far."

And of course on the main point, that the most prudent thing is to wait and see or take the opportunity to try the phone yourself when it's available, we agree

Anyway, here is yet another review that speaks positively of the N900 phone application, at least in one particular aspect:

It may be flawed in other ways (and as I said, the naysayers have yet to name an actual concrete flaw), but that remark from IBTimes hardly sounds like a phone application that is an "afterthought." It sounds like Nokia is at least trying to be innovative and current about how people actually make phone calls these days. And as I noted above, this is a feature of the phone application the other reviews that I linked to praise as well. So there does seem to be some agreement at least around this one aspect of the phone application.

In reality this kind of question is not really seeking a logical and tempered answer. It is more about emotions and the need to affirms ones emotions. the question is like : I see very nice cake, I know I should not eat that very tasty looking cake, please tell me that it will be ok.....cause it sure looks nice.

Well, the N900 certainly is tempting. And it's easy to just want to damn the torpedos and get it.

But I don't think that makes reading the reviews or other (substantive) comments in the forum somehow illogical. They help point out features that you may or may not notice, before taking a chance and purchasing the phone (or not because it lacks something you really care about). It's about gathering as much information as possible, first, before making a decision and knowing what to look for once you do actually get a chance to try the device. It might be easy to overlook something, trying it out in a store, if you didn't already know it might be a concern. I don't see what's illogical about that.

One possible real negative I can think of with the phone application, despite having so far tried to point out positive things people say about the phone application and that it shouldn't just be dismissed, is that there are no hardware buttons for the phone. The N97 still has the old call and end keys. On the N900 the phone application is entirely driven by the touch screen. Some people might find that less functional.

Ah so you want your cake and eat it as well.

Mike C

Why is it that so many people only have snarky, irrelevant things to say?

Im in this for the adventure..
It was the video of someone surfing the web that sold this phone to me..

THREAD DECODED.

Original Poster: Your Wife.
Actual Message: "Does this phone make me look fat?"

Recommended answer: "No, dear. You look just fine with it!"