Market value isn't everything. If you look at sales, profits and assets you will find that Google isn't a superstar in these areas.

I am not talking about many OS-es on the same hardware, I am talking about the same OS on many devices. This is what makes the OS better, imho. And this is what Android has and Maemo doesn't.

the way that android is structured, it is basically just an application, so yes, it will run on just about anything.

In the future crafty devs could probably run android inside of maemo or iphone as an app.

I don't think google really cares about that prospect, but if i were a device manufacturer, i would be worried if my devices were running android and then there was an app in ovi store to run android on your n900 if you wanted

Yes but you're sort of missing my point.

3 years ago Joe Schmoe bought him a new shiny iPhone. 3 years later, Joe Schmoe has not been forgotten by Apple. Just because the iPhone happens to suck is irrelevant because the world, US in particular, has fallen in love with the iPhone. The fact the N900 will cost me as much as the original iphone, plus an upgrade, had I purchased it originally - you would hope for same kind of love. Which is nearly guaranteed not to happen.. I think 3 year support for the N900 is outside anyone's best guess at this point.

See the N900 is a complete overhead to me, it doesn't save me money because my monthly payments stay the same. It would allow me to switch providers without breaking deals if I wanted - but thats pointless since it's hardware only supports T-mobile 3G anyway. So honestly - there's no benefit for me other than the fact I want maemo. So I am legitimately and completely curious to see if the N900 still gets updated in 2 years.. or if it follows the N810 and ceases to receive any attention at all after september of this year. And I am quite sure you can look through bug reports, and already see fixes being marked as "in harmatan". Excuse me? Fremantle is out 4 months and already bugs are being delayed to the release of M6?

It doesn't really matter what you blame it on, or where you point the finger, or try to justify it. The fact is they are still getting support from somewhere. Where will I be with my N900 next year? The year after?

Likely on my own, much like the n800/N810 owners of the forum currently. But, I know this before I am buying the device.. and will still be buying it assuming M6 isn't out by the time I can afford it.

This is where python/PyQt comes in. An app developed in PyQt should run on any device running on any hardware that also has support for Python and QT.

Just like Android apps will, at this time, only run on devices that are supporting/running Android.

if i get 2 years of full support (all os updates and upgrades until the end of 2011) then i am content. Because thats pretty much my phone life time any way!
And in 2011 i want to have a dual core arm processor in my phone.

True.. but the big operative word is if.

Has there been an official Nokia announcement to the fact that for certain the N900 will get M6? That would ease my mind a lot.

Right now, M6 is already generating a bit of buzz and the N900 is only 4 months old with M5. That is not comforting, to say the least, unless Nokia has gone on record to say "Don't Worry N900 buyers, you'll get M6 too!".

eh, i honestly think the iphone will die down, why you may ask due to people like new!!! so therefore maemo and android will blow up like fourth of july...

There is far more to a company size than its gross market value: http://www.interbrand.com/best_global_brands.aspx

Why does it have to be dropped? My ancient Nokia 6600 still happily multitasks, and the 1st gen iPhone, hardware wise, can eat it for breakfast.

Here is my take on the smartphone / mobile market and Nokia / Maemo:

Apple:
When Apple introduced the iPhone the established handset makers were sleeping on their wheels. Apple (with marketing and hype) successfully conquered the high end smart phone market, created an integrated Apple ecosystem (iTunes, app store), and many customers love it. The iPad is just another attempt to increase the Apple ecosystem by trying to establish quasi standards for content delivery (iPod for music, iPad for books and magazines). This is especially true for the US markets and less so for overseas markets.

Google:
With established handset makers still sleeping or too slow, Google realized that there is a danger to their business model (=delivering effective targeted ads via the web). In the rapidly growing mobile market Apple's closed ecosystem could lock Google out of the ad market by accessing internet functions via specific apps instead via a plain browsers (think face book app, twitter app, youtube app etc.). Google brought Android, which was better suited for touchscreen devices than Symbian, Win mob or other OS'es for smart phones.

(Palm is irrelevant because its minuscule market share, RIM is mostly a North American email phenomenon and not really a threat to Google).

Coming to Nokia:
After taking a hefty nap they finally woke up.

Symbian is wide spread and powerful, but in its current versions outdated and difficult to use. However they have a huge installed base, and there is no reason why Symbian should not be able to be updated and upgraded and become competitive with Apple / Android. Nokia is right to invest heavily into Symbian, albeit they are a bit late.

Maemo:
I guess Nokia is surprised by its relative success in the market place with the N900. This might have been really just thought as another iteration of a niche tablet, however users (and then Nokia marketing) pitched it as a competitor to the iPhone.

Here is where it gets murky:
Maemo needs a lot of TLC from Nokia to develop into a mainstream success. The phone applications are missing many functions and are not up to Nokia phone standards. Ovi maps (Maemo) are at least one generation behind Symbian.

However, the browser is second to none on smart phones.
This is good news for Google, as it diminishes the necessity for many specialized apps that the iPhone needs in order to be useful.

How will Nokia execute from here? They have a couple of choices.

Here is a realistic one (and I hope it is not the one they choose):
They set all their energy and talent on Symbian, and make it a great OS thus banking on the huge installed base. Trying to move customers from one Symbiam device to vastly improved Symbian devices. This leaves Maemo right in the corner without lot of attention.

Here is my preferred one: The convergence strategy using QT works and they position Symbian for the low and medium range, while they position Maemo as the mobile computer OS. This would mean Maemo gets a lot of attention and a stream of updates and upgrades.

I do not know what Nokia will do, and I do pay more attention to their actions than their announcements.

So far I cannot see that Nokia really invests a lot of TLC into Maemo. The firmware update for the N900 fixed some essential issues, but left out many necessary functional improvements. Free Ovi maps / turn by turn is not available yet for N900 and not on the roadmap (last I heard).

And lastly, if Nokia wants Maemo to be successful there needs to be a steady stream of updates and upgrades, which can only be delivered by using agile development principles. If they do waterfall and wait until Maemo 6, then I fear IDC's prediction might become true.

Just my personal thoughts ...