welllll....
I don't feel that the neo is actually responsible for the cyclic state..
It is just how the entirety of the situation has evolved ..with the project continuing so long with no definitive end in sight still.
And some may feel like (with the Jolla/youyota issue..) they refuse to be tricked again...and...well..I don't quite see..or rather I try not to see the bigger picture that way...I don't think of it as being "tricked" .
There was/is no forethought of ill intent at all by any project proclaimed in the forum..
But it is disheartening...
Even with os/device (partial) successes..everything is looking rosy and good...and then..instead of continuing refining and making better of so much work...
The os/device is abandoned by its creators for the next shiny thing that happens by.
THAT really is seriously disheartening and demoralizing..
especially after end user support, investment, and slowly or quickly beginning to wrap one's daily routine around a new learning curve...
then having the floor drop out from underneath oneself..
Not fun.
If anything would drive a soul to a walled garden...like android or iphone ...it is that.

And I concur ..what is in the offering today is not the standard the n900 set.
the future will tell whether the neo ...succeeding or failing .. has positive impacts that outweigh all the given negative ones that are accruing..
So far ..it isn't an overwhelming positive I see.
I see many including myself who are tired investors ...staring down a bottomless well of in-completion with no set timetable for finishing.

Actually...
Come to think of it...
Brings back real great and ugly memories...simultaneously ...
You mentioned Mer ..Kabouik....
Now it is just a layer ...
Good for marketing...
Once though...
Long long time ago...
It was something different....
It was an open alternative to maemo ..
Running on the n800 and n810...
Before the team back then decided that they could not go any further with it (mainly due to the closed bits that Nokia could not release ...)
Anddddd...
Left it to pursue other endeavors ..
But they did do a pretty fantastic job with what they could.
I still use the old Mer...
Love it ...
(Well hell...I love running Diablo turbo, KDE, Debian, Windowmaker, and E ...not to mention all the others ....on my n8x0's....)

Great and sad at the same time ...it is...
Outdated options are still fun ones to use and explore....
And is still better than having zero options...

Why can't they get a fund from European union or another government within Europe to make this a success.
Same goes for Jolla.

Something in the lines of but not necessarily https://www.slashgear.com/symbian-sp...more-02111791/
or have we given up on independence (Europe) and competition (World wide)

the state of linux or any other alt ..in the mobile department ..just isn't ready for primetime to go toe to toe against android and iphone..

In fact ..it may never be ...
It may always be behind the eight ball...
IF linux and alt mobile plays by the rule book and follows behind iphone and android..

The only way they have a chance to succeed and establish themselves ....is to come up with the "next big thing" that everyone cannot do without...
Thus changing the rule book that android and iphone use...

Otherwise...no government...no institution .. is going to throw money at such a project...
(I know jolla is being picked up by Russia...but how far they can run with it?...how much money must be thrown at it?..and how much can be integrated into societal daily life? ...are the big questions...
why compete and try to reinvent the wheel ?...when the alternative infra already exists ready to implement and deploy with apple and android? )

as so many have said already...
the functioning apps that are rapidly being and in deployment in society to do the most innocuous seeming and mundane things ..are in the hands of android and iphone...
in fact..
I think it was Kabouik who just recently mentioned he had no choice but to pay for his parking with his android phone...(if memory serves..)
The big boy corps are brilliantly diffusing their power and reach throughout society...so...soon...if one wants to do / get / have / order / pay for....anything...one must have an android or iphone...
It is an insidious objective ...
preying on all levels of society's desire for convenience..
and thus cornering and closing the market to any challengers...

Getting funds from the EU is connected with massive burocracy and strict accounting control. Imho it's not viable for a small project like Neo900.

About the poll: I'm still interested in the Neo900 but i can't vote with yes or no because i already payed the full price or what i assumed was the full price quite some time ago: ~900+ €.

The question is: Do i still need it? It would probably be a small upgrade to the N900 regarding the use cases web-browser and navigation. For all other things i use my N900 for, i don't really need an upgrade. And other features i would like to use (Whatsapp, mobile payment) are only possible with android/ios anyway.

Two things make me pessimistic:

1) Microsoft couldn't do it. Microsoft had the advantage of controlling the desktop, and still could not become a third mobile platform despite several attempts. You may feel that gnu/linux is clearly superior to Windoze, but that brings us to:

2) gnu/linux has never gained much market share on desktops or laptops. So why would anyone expect it to succeed in the handheld market?

Micro-projects either fail (neo900) or take too long (Pyra handheld). Micro laptops like the GPD Win won't function as a phone. The only route, I fear, is putting a GNU userland on top of an Android phone. I know that's far from perfect, especially in terms of privacy, but we're not going to get perfect.

I agree. Strict accounting control is the last thing the Neo900 team wants. They would have to actually show where the money has gone

But that is the whole point! Are you happy to write the blank cheque and wait, considering that you have no idea how much longer it will take and how much more it will cost?

EU regulations regarding funding can literally kill small businesses. You need professional accounting people to deal with it.
But that Neo900 funds management is suboptimal was obvious for a long time, remember that interest construct at the start of the funding period?

Yes, i was happy to write a blank cheque. That's what crowd funding is about imho. You take a risk and maybe get something that's worth your investment or you turn your money into smoke. I saw it as the best way of supporting this project at the time.

I just can't...
I just can't do it...
your arguments are sound...
the statements you make are sane...
but...

overshadowing everything..
I can't take anything you say seriously...
I just can't...
I can't help it...

it's your username ...man...
every single time I try to read your posts...
I just start with a suppressed chortling ...then it just erupts into giggling and then outright laughter..
Marshall Banana...
mmmhmm-mmmhahahahaahahaaaaa....
I'm sorry ...
can't help it..
it is just such a good choice for a username..
so good it is overwhelmingly distracting ...

Ahh, but this was not crowdfunding. It may have changed to crowdfunding later, but it started off as preordering. Even now, the Neo900 website talks about "down payments to partially fund Neo900 devices".

Either way, I am not trying to influence your decision. Only to explain the poll question as you seemed to have some doubts whether you can answer it at all. I say yes and it seems you already know your answer too.