Yes, all previous Maemo devices went under my radar completely. If it wasn't because of the noise of the N900 I would have not known about Maemo. I did consider the N810 as a possibility, but the N900 is so much better in so many ways, that I was able to justify the price difference. (It took a bit of mental gymnastics, but I finally succeeded ).

I actually was planning to get the N86, until the N900 rolled along. I wanted to upgrade to a phone with a really good camera and good video recording capabilities. And some of the other features in the N86, like the internet radio and video playback with t.v. out capabilities, appeal to me as extra little perks (although obviously the N900 also offers these).

I really don't need a mobile internet device, with 3G connectivity and all that (and although I'm willing to pay for the device, I'm not sure I want to pay $25 extra a month for a data plan). In fact, I probably spend way too much time online already. And I always have my laptop with me, because I need way more than 3.5 inches of screen real estate for my work.

But then the N900 showed up and as a Linux user it's kind of hard to resist. Debian used to be my main distribution, so I appreciate that Maemo is derived from it. And I prefer the Gnome desktop, so I also appreciate that Hildon is part of the Gnome project. The N900 also appeals to my open source sensibilities (in a way that I just don't accept Android really is). And in general I like that the N900 seems to offer something much more like a desktop experience, than phones like the iPhone, Android devices, Pre, etc. I'd also like to have a phone that would serve as a decent PDA and I've never found T9 a sufficiently convenient text input method to use the calendar much in S60 devices. I guess I also like that the N900 will not be the device that everyone has, like the iPhone, Android, etc. The N900 is definitely the first phone that has tempted me into the large touch screen form factor.

When I look at other similar platforms, I really don't like Apple products in general, so I don't see myself ever going for an iPhone and getting sucked into the Apple universe of software along with it. WinMo doesn't appeal to me. The Pre briefly captured my attention, but I'm over it. And although Android seems like the next best platform, after Meamo to me, I'm enough of a privacy conscious person that I just don't want to be locked into the Google Total Information Awareness program.

But I could still keep it modest and just go with the N86 (although I'm a little tired of S60, which I was never a big fan of to begin with).

So now I'm genuinely torn. I'm a little wary of the size and weight of the N900, especially it's thickness. Given the other things in my pocket, it's definitely going to be more bulky than I'd like. And as far as I can tell it will have a good camera and video capabilities, but not like the N86. I may well get the N86 and then just wait until the device has been out a while and pick it up when the price drops a lot.

Ok...95% was probably an overstatement. Maybe 75%. Or let me put it this way...if I needed a new phone right now, I could find a few that hardware-wise would get the job done, I could get by ok, do what I need to do. Serviceable stuff..

But I want the N900 25% for it's killer feature set and 75% because it's the only thing that lets me put a full-fledged, open Linux distro with X, root and all the basic LInux goodies in my freakin' pocket! To, me that's incredibly powerful.

Hardware changes like the seasons. Today's state-of-the-art is tomorrow's old backup phone, like so many Razr's in the drawer. And no matter how powerful or perfectly sized and shaped hardware can only as much as the software enables it to do. But an OS and supporting software lasts for years. So the firmware/software is really the key.

And it seems clear to me that no other mobile OS is as open, or as capable and powerful as Maemo. It's the next step, the mobile OS open and powerful enough for mobile hardware we haven't dreamed of yet. I wanna get on board early.

I am going to get a beagleboard and a mimo usb screen. Either that or an Always Innovating touchbook!

I'm actually not going to get anything. My only chance was the PUSH N900 contest, but unfortunately it didn't work out very well.