2016 is dwindling to closure and the verdict seems to be same as previous years;
The best handheld gnu/linux machine is still N900.

I concur...

Hope something new come out in 2017!

Maybe OP can change the title to 2017 then we need to find tome rivals to challenge the mighty N900.

You know what should come out in 2017? Nokia should reverse their stance on Maemo/MeeGo, come out with a handheld device, dunno... let's call it an Internet Tablet, and spend the time to embrace the community (at least the good parts of it) and produce a new device that runs an alternative OS yet has somewhat decent support from folks like Microsoft (Skype), Firefox or Opera and get a good chipset with decent drivers that are also opensource.

Just a thought... no more waiting for stuff to come out or be reverse engineered. Just a step since Nokia needs to differentiate themselves from almost everybody else and Android ain't gonna do it.

So normies could wait till someone ports Android to that and reflash immediately?

Seriously though, few years ago I think I remember HTC making a device that was available either with Windows Mobile/Phone/CE or with Android (maybe under different model name, but hardware was the same), it could be a path that would look more profitable to Nokia (but I doubt it would be even considered anyway, those are just irrational dreams).

Does it have to be Nokia? Why?

Good question, really.

Could be anyone of course, but I guess hoping for Nokia presence is to have something for the masses too; currently Nokia only cares for business-to-business market and has really given up on consumer market.

There's Withings of coure, as it's now incorporated into Nokia there might be some new developments on that front.

My personal belief is that if something new comes out in 2017 it'll be something like that, it sure won't be anything to do with phones or tablets; there just is no business there, no possibility to have enough revenue to attract Nokia to that market.

It doesn't have to be.

But if anybody could do it, why not Nokia? I do not anticipate a device from: Apple, HTC, LG, Sony or much of any other reputable device manufacturer. And I'm sorry, but I'm really damn tired of waiting on these no-named folks delivering stuff that's barely a step above ****.

Simply stated, only Nokia has something to prove. Win the geeks with Maemo, win the masses that can't afford a smartphone with their current cheap devices. Win by actually being different and not making the same form factor and device as everybody else using a mobile OS that everybody is also using.

I disagree, the Best GNU/Linux device is the one you build yourself. This year building one yourself will become more viable.

http://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Comp...-production-10

Honestly I think there is an opportunity for GNU/Linux to succeed on phones. Android is decent but there is room for improvement. Given that Apple and Microsoft have both been floundering a new competitor is needed. No technology market can thrive with a monopoly, some sort of second competitor is needed.

Tizen has had remarkable growth and I do think it will eventually have critical mass with Samsung behind it. That said more effort is needed in order for it to reach critical mass. For one less fragmentation Tizen and Sailfish should either be merged or there needs to assurance of compatibility between each other so they can run the same packages. Maybe Samsung should acquire Jolla. Likewise Ubuntu and Tizen should also be compatible with each other. There is a future for GNU Linux devices provided we all work together to make it happen. We also need more hardware Android's success is from the wealth of hardware it has, GNU linux needs a similar wealth of hardware.

Android as well as Pocketpc, Symbian, and Palm Os revolutionized mobile devices and Tizen or Sailfish can revolutionize mobile devices once again.