Versions of Maemo 5? I would think just (1). Again, since apps need to be "ported/created" for M5 and the 900, is it really the same OS? Again, I stated I'm new to Maemo.

AFAIK, Android has gone through a few "incremental" firmware/OS updates as well...not just 1.0 -> 2.0 in one hop.

Ah, fair enough. I don't have the data to say if I'd buy that. People always seem to forget, Nokia is the 800lb gorilla by far, if you take into account the world wide market.

And the Droid campaign was Verizon/Motorola's rather than Google's.

Maemo3 =/= Maemo4 =/= Maemo5

If that were the case you could easily take an app from back then and run it now. Maemo 5 and Maemo 6 sharing QT libs will hopefully remedt this problem. Heck even taking Chinook and Diablo apps and trying to run them on the N900 is a game. You have no idea what works or not due to all the changes. Some apps you'll find it installs when you expect they wouldn't and the apps you think would work won't.

I'm still trying to figure out how to get Near Me to return more than just 4-5 results. Seems its not limited to small "distances" (found result 20mi away), but just won't list more than 4-5 even when there are many more (e.g. only 4 pizza places between DC and Baltimore?)

Oh, believe me I know (I've got a 770 and a n800). Regardless, each version carried some of the soul of it's predecessor forward, it nothing else than in capabilities. The apps...well, I really don't know the situation regarding backward compatibility on the other platforms (Android, iphone). I seem to remember some functionality on some apps being broken on Android upgrades, but I don't remember the details. And I know nothing about the iphone.

That was my concern with the DROID, even though much of the information sharing is "defeatable". I posted my concern about the possibility of having the gmail account "hacked", and so much of your personal life being stored on Google's "cloud", over on the Android forums. Surprisingly, the vast majority didn't consider it an issue.

Funny thing is I can see a DROID/Android phone being part of a cop show or movie, where authorities are looking for someone, and they just check with google to find their:

- current GPS location
- known associates
- known associates current locations
- schedule
- schedule of upcoming GPS locations
- browsing history
- gps history
- info from email
- tap into Gvoice phone conversations
- etc.
- etc.

...thoughts of "Enemy of the State" movie come to mind, except it is all done thru their gmail account.

I understand you think the google nexus one is better than the N900 in some respects. Well lets be honest here, if you wanna call our all the things that the nexus one is better than the N900 your just picking specific things of the N900's weaknesses. All the things the the nexus one excels in is still exceeded by apple's iphone. It doesn't even have multi-touch, web browsing is slower, and because it doesn't have multi touch it's hard to type on without a physical keyboard.

as stated in a review here
http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/18/g...ks-multitouch/

Now you tell me ONE respectable thing that the google one is better than the n900 AND iphone, besides tying you into all their own google proprietary software

look at this review from engadget:
http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/04/nexus-one-review/

they basically say it's great, and best andriod yet in terms of software, but they would pick a droid over it.

at least the N900 can multi-task, and just that ONE feature alone, i could say i have something over andriod and iphone

Sure all phones look real good on video at prelaunch, and didn't the N900? But I don't think you should point out all the bad of the N900 before the nexus one had a chance to show it's flaws

The underlying Operating is more of a Desktop than it is a mobile phone. Desktop software runs on the N900.. not just "phone"-ized software written by random people.

It is easier to port desktop software to the N900 than any other device on the market. This makes it more of a mobile desktop than a phone. Now, the fact that said desktop software is *not* available yet goes to the youngness of it. In Maemo 4 we had Gnumeric, Abiword, etc all ported. Which means I am using *exactly* the same software on my desk at home, as on my new "phone". This puts the N900 into a category of it's own.

I'm not using a run down version, not using some remake of it, not using someone else's version to accomplish something similar... it's the *exact* same software just repackaged for Maemo. This is a huge plus for me.

SSH is OpenSSH.. it IS OpenSSH.. it's not a hack - not a remake - not a Putty or ConnectBot or whatever Apple's version of "SSH" is.. it IS openssh.

I know the switches, I know how it works, it doesn't change from my Desktop Ubuntu to my N900. X forward is probably possible, if not done already, with the N900.. which means I could launch actual desktop apps from my desktop TO my N900. This is not "controlling" my desktop like an RDP or VNC.

Things that interest me are obviously not what interest "normal" people.. but N900 has the capability of adapting to someone like me - the iPhone (even jailbreaked) and the Android (rooted) still do not offer the flexibility and seamless move from my Desktop to a Phone that the N900 does.

Also, if I don't like the built-in browser.. I can get real firefox to run.. complete with all the plugins/addons that I would normally use on my desktop. It might be slower - but for those odd websites that just refuse to format right on mobile browsers - it's an option.

All this is just my opinion, of course - I have no idea what "Nokia's" official stance on it is.. I've seen it sold as a "phone" - which definitely causes confusion with some buyers on why a lot of the "phone" features are either missing or are half-asked. On Newegg I think they just "recently" changed to title to phone AND mobile computer.. where before it was just Unlocked Phone.

Personally... android and the iphone don't compare because when and if I run into something that I cannot do on the iPhone or the N1 - I am stuck. There is nothing I can do. On the N900.. I have options.. multitudes of them. All the way up to and including booting a completely different OS if I want/need.

They dream of electric sheep.

The android fanbois will be dazzled by the same stuff the iPhone folks are impressed by. Show them active widgets running on the multiple desktops. (Facebook widget is good, as are scrolling slideshow pictures of the kids and the live map.) Open a few web pages simultaneously, then open a youtube video. Then show them the task switcher with the live video running in it. Take a picture and demonstrate the built-in sharing to facebook or evernote or twitter. If they are geeks, also demonstrate how you can SSH into the phone. Or connect to the corporate VPN (which takes 5 minutes to install and configure) and then run an RDP session with a windows computer in a full screen. Demonstrate the mirror app to show that it has a front-facing camera. Browse to google docs and create a word processing document and spreadsheet (and flip to another web page to look something up while you are writing it).

You own a really cool phone which does lots of cool stuff. Useful stuff. Not just Hello Kitty apps.

Sorry to rant here, but I am just annoyed with this kind of stuff. One of my iPhone fanboi coworkers yesterday was commenting on how cool the iPhone is because there is a Webex app that lets you join web conferences. I didn't bother to tell him that all the other smartphones (windows, symbian, palm) can do it without installing special software--through their browsers. Your phone can log into webex sessions via the browser OUT OF THE BOX.

So stop whining about the cool stuff they show on ads for other phones. Your phone is cool. (You can whine about the map software, though--I want better mapping software, so I declare that whining OK.)