For me these are nice-to-haves but not deciding factors. Also not a factor: the "HD" camera. Let's face it, it's not even going to come close in quality (lens, sensor, image processing) to the Lumix I'm already carrying everywhere.

The most important feature IMHO is the software. If Fremantle is as good as we've been hearing then the device is worth getting. If on the other hand it turns out to be as half-baked as 4.x is now (about a year after first release) I'll be tempted to give it a miss and wait for Harmattan.

Hardware things that would make the upgrade worthwhile (other things being equal) include:

• more RAM
• higher resolution display
• better keyboard
• HSPA modem (but see below)

A lot depends on the quality (hardware and software) of the added peripheral devices. I've been disappointed by the ones we've had so far (webcam, GPSR, keyboard, ambient light sensor), so I'll probably be waiting for reviews before buying this time.

Oh, and just in case they get any funny ideas: I would never buy it subsidised by (and locked to) any cellco.

Indeed. I'm hoping for something closer to the E90 but I'm worried we'll get stuck with something like the truly awful N97 layout :-(

N97 layout "truly awful"???

The N97 has a good keyboard layout for a compact phone, but for a tablet you really need a central space bar, dot/comma in the usual position, direct access to more symbols such as square brackets and curly braces (for C programmers), dollar/pound signs, etc. A control-key is nice for emacs users. I also like to see a separate row for the numeric keys.

Whilst I expect and welcome performance increases, and the other bit's and bobs.
If if doesn't support phone use it's a waste of time, I really don't want to have two contracts. One for my phone and one for my Nokia.
For me that is the _must_ have.
I am very happy with my n810 (and previous n800).
That said, If it's nice enough I'll probably get one and just tether it to my phone like I am doing at the moment - although that would be very very annoying!

Unless I'm missing something obvious? Like having two phones on one contract, is that possible?

@deadmalc - I think the idea with the HSPA connectivity in the Maemo5 device(s) is that you stop using your phone! If you have a decent data plan (price/Gb/month), then carry your tablet around and use a VoIP provider like Gizmo or Skype with a Call-In number. No need for a cell phone then.

I voted for the 'price' option. But that does not only mean the price of the tablet, which I hope will be for < $450 CAD. I won't buy this device if the Canadian cell providers continue to charge exorbatent rates for data. And the current 3G modems/sticks are also made more expensive with those $6.95 system access fees. I would like to see some new data plan models in Canada with the introduction of the Maemo5 device which makes it affordable to use an internet-based device (i.e. Maemo5 device) instead of a cellular-based one such as a phone. Will Nokia have enough draw/pull in Canada to make this happen - probably not - look at the iPhone 3G debacle that occurred here in the summer.

I'd be interested, but I'd be amazed if I could get a plan where voip via phone was cheaper (or even roughly the same) as standard phone calls.
Could anyone provide any info on whether this is feasible?

3G can sometimes take up to 5 minutes just to load the bbc news home page, just depends where you are (not always like those dodgy Iphone ads [the internet...really fast]) - so using voip over it seems a non starter, unless you don't care about high reliability - but In it's defence I guess the tablet isn't exactly a mass market device yet.

Does the quality of a 3G connection depend more on the quality of the chipset used (I know the I Phone is supposed to have a terrible one)?

I know the try it and see maybe the only option, but it could be a costly one! Help and advice appreciated.

I've done some research and if you do any amount of travelling using VOIP and data connection you will need a second morgage for the bill, data connections and roaming are horrendously expensive.
I was advised by 02 to turn off mail delivery for blackberries if you go outside the UK, so having a standard phone would be a requirement if you do any travelling.

Most people who will buy a N900 will not carry around a Lumix everywhere. For most normal purposes the HD camera is good enough. If you buy a new smartphone its not as if you require all features either. You look at the complete pack, and decide.

If you take the 2-3 times better performance into account: very welcome. You mention more RAM is what you want, but better processor performance also allows more swapping. Better battery life allows better performance; and better performance allows better battery life. So if you look at it from such angle, the better performance is very welcome, and you will very much appreciate it. Think of it. Would you prefer MicroB to start up faster? Would you want to surf faster? Its a no-brainer. Nokia cannot screw this part up except software-wise. And we'll know more about performance once Pandora is out (ZzZz).

Assuming you're not falling-back to a non-3G connection, you are probably connecting to "plain 3G" i.e. UMTS W-CDMA. The N900 is promised to support HSPA (high speed packet access). The download part of this, HSDPA, is sometimes called 3.5G by marketing people.

I have used my N800 (with a cellphone via bluetooth) on both 3G and HSPA networks, and the difference is unbelievable. HSPA browsing feels almost like WiFi, whereas plain 3G sometimes can be very clunky.

Today's HSDPA phones support maximum download speeds of 3.6 or 7.2 MBit/s but it doesn't matter much because (depending on a number of factors) you don't realistically achieve the maximum. A throughput of 2 Mbit/s is just as good whether your phone is capable of 3.6 or 7.2 MBit/s.

Roger

Why wait for the Pandora? We've already got OMAP3 hardware (and have for several months) to tell us what the performance will be. It's called the Beagle Board.