One of the strengths of OSS of course But also one of its weaknesses.

I'll take the other very constructive responses by twaelti in turn but my belief is that Maemo needs a complete root and branch overhaul at the GUI level. Maybe this will be Meego whenever it appears.

Which is why NITdroid and others are interesting alternatives. But I don't want to have a phone that is not a phone, just a fancy computer. I've enough of those with better keyboards and screens even if they won't fit in my pocket.

Yes I can read it with glasses but I only really need them to use my phone! Everything else can be done without them...

So is it me or the phone? I mean, ask any graphic designer - blue on grey! Really. And I would still like to be able to edit the address book labels. This is just about useability and Nokia have not thought it out properly. It is inevitable that some non-geeks or geeks with little time will end up with them.

And you've wasted even more time replying to it!

As you're here, how long have you been using the N900?

Does it really matter?

If a customer is disgruntled even after one day, disagree or agree, that's enough to air out a grievance. And besides... depending on your country of origin, it's not like you can just go into a store and play with one before making your purchase.

If research were based on this fan forum, a lot of people will invariably be more misled than informed. While there's tons of information here that's useful in making a well-informed decision; there's just as much fandom around these parts too.

About 6 months.

I downloaded a number of apps to start with and customised it as far as possible and I use it from time to time to ssh onto things which is useful if I am out and about.

But the more I use it, the more the phone side is not good IMHO as you will gather. I have updated Maemo fully a month ago

I don't expect to have to build the phone part of the unit - it should be right to start with. I appreciate that other smart phones have their problems as well but that doesn't bother me because I have an n900. I just want to make it useable.

Some of the comments from the list lurkers have been more amusing than anything else. Fortunately I have a fairly thick skin when it comes to that sort of thing. Clearly they cannot take criticism of their beloved n900s!

Not that I'm saying you SHOULD but...if you accept the flaws and direct this feeling/disappointment toward a positive outlook the phone/computer/tablet or whatever we should call it is a great device and it does things that previously I have been able to do (eg Remote Desktop+VNC, SSH, web browsing) - all much better than in the past on any other handsets I've looked at (Symbian used to be the only one I could find that 'could' do these but clunky/badly).

People that adore the iPhone do so because it is a superb device...for the right user. I love my wifes one. I knew she would get on with it which is why I bought her the iPhone and an N900 for myself. Though she wasn't initially happy with the keyboard/feel for texting but has adjusted to it coming from a Nokia 5800. I on the other hand miss an onscreen keyboard/T9 but love the QWERTY keyboard, especially for Remote Desktop/SSH functionality - I would settle for the (what She & I consider) a BAD onscreen keyboard from the iPhone (yes I know the N900 has apps for onscreen keys, but I don't like them and would rather go without).

As for alternatives....not currently a 'like for like' from another OS or manufacturer. The HTC Desire is halfway between the iPhone and N900 in my opinion.

I look forward to MeeGo as a new all encompassing OS. I hope to god Nokia take all their knowledge from Maemo + N900 and make a great device (with a decent battery) and if we then see MeeGo on TVs and in-car I'll certainly guy those products too as integration and cross-functionality is a huge plus.

In summary...
- Alternative? No. Which is a good thing presently.
- Going forward. Hopefully MeeGo (or its concept at least) and either a Nokia or any other handset maker that gets it right.

If you have problems with the UI you should try looking elswhere.. If you like the boring iOS, well.. buy an iPhone. The n900 have it's limitations but i would not agree on those you pointed out. After 6 month you should have thought your self the device a lot better.

Your n900 will probably become more useful in someone else’s hands.

Maemo5 was never supposed to be finished.. next version is.

I have not tried the Bada OS.. maybe that could be something for you. Else there is probably just Android that are close enough..

I got mine about a week before Nokia announced they were dropping Maemo and moving over to MeeGo, so about the same time as you, I guess. I have to admit that I was gutted at that point and felt really let down. But because the hardware met all my requirements (esp qwerty kb) and I hadn't used any other smartphone before (other than the iPod touch, which is pretty much iOS anyway) I decided to stick with it.

I've found TMO to be the most pleasing aspect of the N900 and Maemo. It seems to be that there is nothing that can't be solved by the incredibly clever and helpful guys here. The phone is a real hobby in your pocket, and I'm no power user, for sure. I've been particularly impressed with the rapid community response to 'tricking Flash 10.1 in microB' and 'getting the FM transmitter down to 87.5FM'. There are loads of lists here declaring which are the must have apps and mods. twaelti seems to have most of the bases covered regarding your specific gripes about your perceived limitations of the interface. Some of your gripes do seem rather minor in the greater scheme of things, though? And it is too easy to complain because one device does not do things exactly the same as another device from another manufacturer, when the market expects differentiation. The point made about using the keyboard for searching is a good one and I like the way I can search contacts and music by typing the first few chars. This is a nice feature to be applauded, not lambasted as somehow inferior.

Following from marlon, is there any alternative? Not for me right now. I had thought that the N8 with a slide out keyboard would have been something I'd be interested in, but now the E7 specs are released I've cooled off. I don't think I'd want a phone without a keyboard. Maybe when the N9 comes out, that will be a credible alternative? It will be interesting to see how MeeGo shapes up. If it's anything like Maemo 5 with the corners rounded off, I'll be very interested indeed. How about you Loggy1948?

Yet again the posts come out saying "Did you not do your research?" I did research and no where at the time did it state that it doesn't do MMS, that it requires a reboot once a day because the SIM card is forgotten and I am missing important business calls because I don't check hourly to see the little missing sim card icon. Or that when you reboot you now have to input all time and date information because the phone is a piece of badly built junk. Expansys sold it as a phone, not a freaking internet tablet. Look here, see where it is listed. (Under mobile phones)
http://www.expansys.com/d.aspx?i=186949

Yet this forum loves to diss people for buying into a large marketing regime and a few posts of technical specs from Nokia. I never once thought it would go backwards in the evolution of the phone by not supporting MMS, but Nokia did a 'concorde' moment. They took a step back in technical evolution, by not doing what all the other phones since 96 can do. (Concorde was the first time humanity has lost the capability of a technology, in this case supersonic passenger flight.)

But it is all about blaming the OP for choosing a phone that is the biggest pile of unsupported crap on the market. Everyone on here bar a few realistic people claim it is great, that you can hack it how you want, that it comes bundled with great apps. Is it really completely hackable? You have to install an app to get root, download 2.5 GB's of data to get a word processor that works called open office and you can't get flash 10, I would like to see more than four screens that work or solve half the issues with the phone. You can hack some things but others are beyond the scope of the OS to do. MMS that is truly native and doesn't require the MMS server login details of the carrier and doens't need internet to download. A decent file manager that works like nautilus, so I could use drop box for example or see my photos without having to use photo manager. Perhaps a photo management tool that doen'st list every single photo and take fifteen minutes from opening to show me 5000 pictures from my work files before you get to change it to your camera pictures.

Hack those issues, especially not having to have easy debian, a decent photo manager, give me 9 screens, each as customisable as the first four and you can prove to me that the N900 is a truly open OS. The N900 is a walled garden with just less distinct walls and as a result less stable and less things work as they should. Apps come along because of a fundamental lack of thought by Nokia and a need to get those basics working, and at best provide half the function of the original because you have to wait six months or worse, need to run code and apps to get it. Some things are hard coded into the Maemo kernel by Nokia, and as a result nothing you do without their support will change the N900 to be world class.

Back to the OP. Any of the HTC Desire's give you more power and better apps under Android, if you like a QWERTY keyboard use the HTC desire Z, there is also the HD version now and from the apps I have seen in Android you can play anything just as well as the N900. (and when you stop it half way to make a call, the phone doesn't claim that the file format is no longer supported) It is just on board memory that is more of an issue. But don't use easy debian and you won't fill your phone with junk and you should be fine. And it can take a 32GB SD card which is handy if you do want to fill it with junk.

Why you didn't buy iPhone then?

You are entitled to your opinion but at the same time well it perhaps just shows that you failed to understand that there is lot of different kind of people with different kind of needs and also different amount of money that they are able/want to spend on mobile device. You probably understand that not all mobile device makers have as large customer base as Nokia has. I know many people who still say that I do not want A, B , C feature in their cell phone and they do not want to pay for them. Yes these kinds of people exist in real world. If you haven't met them then it´s maybe time to extend your friend base or try to have conversation with people who you normally do not talk e.g. different education background etc..

What do you mean by black&white? That you can't install any theme? I find type to search from desktop or from addresbook quite handy. Horrible skins? Default skin you are talking about? Have you tried to change it. Maybe you like iPhone icons. They can be also found somewhere here in TMO. What confusing multiplicity of web? What do you don´t understand? What Nokia is and what maemo.org and maemo are? Too confusing to google or read or what is the problem here? What etc. please list so we can discuss. And I do not understand last sentence :|

I would say that you should probably try Samsung S.

And from link. Are you purposely acting like that you do not understand? I mean that how you managed to not understand offline mode from power button menu?

Also sadly crippled ovi maps on N900 is still quite close to best offline maps alternative (still it needs connection for search). Of course there is some apps that try to download google maps data beforehand for your trip but still AFAIK Nokia provides at least symbian based smartphones totally offline maps with proper routing and voice guidance.

Google maps needs proper data connection always. Probably there is some apps/hacks that make it possible to use it in offline, but well, if you do not like to tinker N900 then probably you do not want to tinker anything other also.

Your better half maybe has non emotional relationship with device.