You will find my posts in threads about how much people LOVE their N900s, but that doesn't mean that I think the N900 is PERMANENTLY the best phone to ever buy. For one thing, did you notice Nokia saying that it was partnering with Microsoft and that Meego (officially the descendent of Maemo) is a mere test option? If I LOVE LOVE LOVE my N900, how will I keep loving it after Nokia abandons it? I will have to choose another phone, right?

The fact is that this community is BEYOND loyalty and always has been. It is for QUALITY no matter what company offers it. While Nokia goes chasing the will-o'-the wisp, we are still here, still supporting the idea of the Internet Tablet while Nokia has abandoned it. Post about Nokia and ask why it has abandoned us, not why we have abandoned Nokia.

As a "newer user", most of the threads ive read have ended up with people complaining about the N900 and how they want to sell it, they seem to stay around for the sole reason of posting it everywhere.

I agree with the first post.

Do they at least point out why? I mean--if I shelled out several hundred clams, tried to stick with it past warranty but the company screwed me for support, refuses to offer decent repair options (parts, service centers, ANYTHING), and furthermore doesn't even communicate with the community built around the platform (in fact, seemingly shunning it)... maybe they're slightly more than bitter and want to communicate that for other people who might follow in their footsteps before they get told that (as was repeated so damned often ever since it came out) they "should have researched it more before [they] bought it".

I'm just saying that there might be a reason, is all, and maybe people need to pay attention to it.

Is this problem as rampant on boards built for other devices/products? Just curious to see how the communities built around competitive products deal with this problem.

the funny thing is i did research on it (keep in mind i was and xda head).
went from windows to andriod and back again (between 1 year i spent over a stack jumping from device to device).

but as soon as i saw the n900(maemo os) it ended my fascination with the others... and my has it blossomed (we got basically what the hackers of there community want..we even scared away a few bright ones... it wasn't as open as they thought).

since release date (rush delivery)it the longest i've keep a device. it's like it depends on what kind of person you are (now im not talking morals)

for instace are you the type to get a rescued dog or a puppy?(nether who decides is wrong for there decision)

Your profile claims you're from the USA, but I can't understand your English. Maybe it's because I'm from New England and I just can't understand your lack of punctuation, typos and grammar.

In seriousness, can you rephrase that so it can be understood? I'm interested to know what you intended to mean.

I got my n900 cheap a year ago - nearly half price from Carphone Warehouse via eBay. It was a customer return. As far as I could tell, it was unused. A bit quirky to start with, but I reflashed and did the updates - not a problem since really. The only time I had advice on this forum was to return it unless I was prepared to mess about with it. Once I saw the potential, I decided to stick with it. Needless to say, I was a bit sickened that Nokia soon announced they were shifting from Maemo to MeeGo, and more recently W7, and now I hear so many different things, I don't know what to think any more.

I'm not sure all the rumours help - and Nokia ought to get a grip and state clearly what they will & won't support, and what the situation is for n900 is regarding official support into the future.

I think it is the uncertainty that p*sses people off as much as anything. As we have been told, that is not the community's problem. Yet, in a way it is. I have been very set on staying with official downloads and releases (comes from my former life as a system admin - if it ain't broke, don't fix it), not delved into extras, and kept any apps to those things I think I will use. If I thought that Nokia was not going to come up with anything that might enhance or extend the functionality in some way, then I would look at the CSSU, and extras. I'd probably get a stand-by device as well just-in-case.

So, the lack of any clear signals from Nokia does affect the community - in as much as there may be other people, less vociferous, who haven't p*ssed about with their n900, and who are hanging on to see what (if anything) might emerge for the n900 - but who, if they knew their wasn't anything, would get more involved with what the community has on offer.

I think this is where I need to apologise, because a few of my posts have been in that vein. But it is because I actually like the n900, and would like to keep it, and feel there is more potential as yet untapped - but find the uncertainty and the legacy of apparent broken commitment frustrating. I'd like to think that there will be another Maemo 5 update, or a Maemo 6 port, or even MeeGo (maybe... not sold on that one), that I could flash the n900 with. But the trust that there will be something is not there.

That is not something this forum can address - but I guess this is where a lot of people come who are trying to find out what is going to happen do come. It is odd, because while I tend to search debian and ubuntu and other linux forums for information, this is the first time I have ever been interested in doing so for a g*ddamned mobile phone/tablet. I could not imagine having that level of intrigue for my old 6300 running symbian (as long as it made calls and texts, what did it matter?).

It has changed the way I use this kind of device - I try and use my partner's e72, and despite having been virtually incapable of using anything other symbian on a phone before, I am now incapable of using it. It makes no sense to me. The n900 works like a computer - so makes more sense to me, until I want to use it as a phone. then it is a bit like trying to make phone calls with a computer. I don't think that would work for most people who want a mobile phone - and only works for me if I am not particularly mobile when I want to use it. The camera, on the other hand, is great, and I use it more than I have with any other mobile device.

It is good to let people vent, but I am not sure it is that productive. However, if it gives people the opportunity to explain why it is not productive here, that is not a bad thing. Also, if the criticism is constructive, and helps people to see what works and what doesn't, that is good thing. But just saying it sucks - no. That seems more like trolling, and I sometimes wonder if some of those posts are from competitors - just as I wonder if some of the posts extolling its virtues are from people with some kind of investment in Nokia. It is interesting that since the announcement about the tie-up with MS, apart from the whining about that, the n900 'fanboy' posts have decreased. That makes me wonder how far all of them were genuine, and how much was PR by Nokia folks.

I tend to go for the rescue dog myself - experience shows me they exhibit more character, more loyalty. So, I guess my n900 falls into that category - as it was a customer return originally.

Same with PC's. I can have a brand new PC/laptop with Windows, and hardly use it - tending to use a five year old PC/laptop running linux instead.

On posting about that here, somebody suggested I try linux on one of the newer ones. I got the opportunity, when W7 crashed on the SP1 update - and stuck 64 bit ubuntu 10.10 on it - very impressed with speed, graphics & performance; so much so I am even starting to get into KDE for the first time ever. (Just wish I could get LibreOffice to work with Bibus and get Bibus to import my EndNote bibliography - I'd never use Windows again)

lol(im swerving on purpose)

what my my previous post boils down to is that the people that are whining are not wrong (and vice a versa) its personal taste and thats what usually influences our decisions (this dose not make them a bad person or a good one)

....,,,''(i hope i get a A+ this time)

A miiiiinuuuuuus!!!

Coming from the majority of Maemo devices side of things (my N800), I think the N900 had a LOT of potential but it's not at all what I was looking for and ended up ruining my Maemo 4 experience with the plethora of "WONTFIXES" and "FIXED IN FREMANTLE", plus it even had enough deficiencies (in my opinion) to dissuade me from purchasing it. I'm still waiting to see what Maemo/MeeGo does next but I'm feeling very cynical considering Nokia's history--and I'm probably more interested to see what someone other than Nokia does. I like to also incorporate thinking outside the box itself and I find that customer communications, support, repairs, parts, etc. are all of extremely poor quality. It's incredibly heartbreaking to see something touted as an open-source tablet platform get cheapened and ruined by a single vendor that has a tight hold over the whole process while still claiming to be open. I'm glad to that MeeGo exists to fix that issue--but I can't help the nagging sense that Nokia has been spending all this time lately finding ways to hobble the N900 (and any new device's) firmware image with proprietary open-core software and architecture (as if drivers weren't bad enough alone) the way they did with the 770, the N800, the N810, the N810 WiMax Edition and the N900.

Anyway, all that aside... Well said. I'm not sure that we're in any kind of disagreement, even though I personally and generally dislike the decisions made in designing and creating the N900.