get it, you'll have it until it dies or you die
There's still nothing like it on the scene... may never will be.. that's why we're all still here.
And when you get bored with it, you just reflash it and play with it again :P

Tech dream: one of these with phone functionality under 300usd
http://www.ebay.com/ctg/sony-vaio-ux...80n-/118315083
it can runs EVERYTHING and has 2 USB ports,1gb ram,bluetooth etc...
I would be the first to buy one.
in reality n900 is more a mobile computer than a phone,
the lack of mobile computers at good price make me stay with N900.

I had one of these with the 3G radio in it. Hacked it to run on T-Mobile USA. Got some limited telephony working on it (SMS, etc).

But really it was not practical and I ended up going back to my Nokia 9500 for almost everything I thought I would use the VAIO for since the VAIO was running an X86 chip, it took long times to boot or come back from sleep, had a short battery life, and got HOT.

Ended up selling it on eBay and putting the money towards my first N900.

it depends.. N900 was my first smartphone.. mine died 2weeks ago and i had ordered another one from ebay.. if u use N900 u ll never feel like leaving it.. great support from the community as well.. if u r a app minded fellow then N900 is not the choice.. if u need to stay connected 24x7,play flash games,shoot some cool images,need to workout some c/c++ projects N900 is THE BEST.

Slowness of n900 is the only issue and some basic apps are missing too.especially when you are in china ..anyhow there is ,still,nothing like n900.u can bet on it.

Is overclocking really that harmful? (900Mhz with Smartreflex) I've seen lots of posts warning about shortening the lifespan of the device, but I haven't seen many people complaining that they burnt out their device and a lot of people seem to overclock their device.

I've got mine set to OC to 900.

This thread again.

Well there's something better out but it's closed source and might not survive: BB OS 10 & Z10.

Consequently, I'd still recommend a sub $100 used N900 (or N9) with an eye on Sailfish.

The N900 especially needs a lot of setting up and you'll need a lot of community help with that. The memory capacity is relatively tiny which is a real shame considering Maemo multitasks really nicely.

Re: overclocking, your N900 is going to be seriously outdated by the end of the year. Don't worry about it.

The usb issue, isn't really an issue if you are aware of the issue!

Simply file the teeth on any micro usb calbe BEFORE you insert it into the phone!

My usb plug is still going strong since 2010 with daily use.

Idk what file the teeth on any micro usb cable mean... please explain further

The common problem with N900 is that, due to frequent usage of micro-USB cable, the micro-USB port becomes separated from the device. It is caused by strong cohesion between the micro-USB cable and micro-USB port (N900 can literally hang on the cable; I have observed it a couple of times myself, after accidentally knocking N900 off the table). To reduce the cohesion - to make it easier to take cable out of the N900 without damaging the port - it is suggested that the 'teeth' on micro B USB plug are removed.

P.S. Generally, the micro plug design is rated for at least 10,000 connect-disconnect cycles which is significantly more than the mini plug design. It is also designed to reduce the mechanical wear on the device; instead the easier-to-replace cable is designed to bear the mechanical wear of connection and disconnection. That's why my micro-USB cable is starting to fall apart, while micro-USB port of N900 is fine.
But still, I have heard of the falling out micro-USB port of N900 so many times, that I warn you: be careful and gentle with it. Be prepared for the possibility of it falling out. Be aware that some people literally soldered it back. And once upon a time, an inductively-charged N900 was made.
Best wishes.