Err, actually S60 came in different versions:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symbian_OS#Symbian_OS_9.2
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S60_(software_platform)

My N95 was S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 1 (Symbian 9.2)
The N96 was S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 2 (Symbian 9.3)
The N97 was S60 5th Edition (Symbian 9.4)

Get the picture?

Harmattan (Maemo 6) is being released half a year after Maemo 5? I'm pretty sure it's not. But I'd love the to see the source you have.

can you link where that was said?

@SirMutley, can you tell me that maemo 5 is a mature OS? It still shouldnt be released. And maemo6 is coming out in 3rd quarter of this year, so.

why does this thread feel like an orangebox thread?

Search this forum for 'QT 4.6 Maemo 5' and you'll find enough references to keep you busy for a week.

so..... that's more than 6 months, N900s have been out since November 09. Also I had heard "2nd half of the year" which is a normally a fairly handy wavey way of saying Quarter 4.

I'd be surprised if we saw Harmattan before October. Though the doom sayers will of course see 3rd Quarter/2nd Half as 00:01 on 1st July.

I'm not sure how maemo 5 being a mature OS has any relevance to what we were discussing. How would you define the OS? the underlying debian linux base? the UI on top? The Apps it comes with? The whole package?

How about you start using your brain? Maemo 6 will still be using debs and the whole nine yards, the Qt version will be available to Maemo 5 (and already is, partially).

Please do stop trolling, and please make sure this thread becomes a bit more informational and useful. You are not being helpful in any way, shape or form.

Consider this the first warning.

Frankly the Symbian "feature packs" were no better... there was virtually nothing between the different hardwares of the 3rd edition phones - certainly nothing which would have stopped the majority of the applications, system features and configurations from being made available on "older" devices.

Again, Apple have it right on that front. The OS gets proper upgrades with charges for when the phone is out of cycle. It's pretty fair and extends the life of devices in accordance with their hardware platform's capabilities and not just snuffing them out because your network/manufacturer tells you it is time.

There are strong similarities to Microsoft bringing out Vista, only to rapidly replace it with another expensive iteration (albeit a good one) in windows 7. People bought into the Vista upgrade expecting a certain longevity to it only to find it hastily replaced as MS panicked out a hasty replacement in response to having gotten it wrong the first time. Again I draw a direct Nokia parallel with the N93/N93i fiasco which I unfortunately suffered through.

The crux of the problem really though is the following:
N900 will:
be upgraded to Maemo 6
will not be upgraded to Maemo 6
will be updated for years to come
won't be supported because it is being superceded
Maemo 6 is coming out in 6 months
Maemo 6 is coming out in 1 year
Maemo 6 is being dropped in favour of MeeGo
MeeGo and Maemo 6 will run side by side
N900 will run MeeGo and Maemo 6 applications...
...actually maybe only some...
...actually only those developed with QT which is/isn't coming to the N900 (whatever that means to your average non-tech-minded phone user)
...etcetera...

There is so much garbage floating out there and Nokia do worse than nothing by way of informing their users, they actually fan the crosstalk and rumours to the point where noone can really know what to expect.

If you wait until they maybe do what they have done in the past and drop your expensive device like a stone, then, well... it's too late. If you try and proactively preempt the behaviour they have shown in the past by trying to make it known while there is still time that you won't stand for, well then you're a toy-throwing troll.

There are no toys, there is no pram... just an expensve set of bricks that I for one can't afford to keep buying just because Nokia says so. Reasonable longevity, value for money and continued support that you can know about in advance and rely on is not unreasonable.

There are UMPCs which cost less and are more dependable in the above terms so why should N900 owners expect any less?

this is the kind of post that's rather unfortunate and way too regular here.

The OP is making vailid points about real end users concerns, about a brand new phone, and is getting dismissed as a whinging crank.

They absolutly have not clarified the future of the n900 at all. and any beliefs that it will be well supported, or get or not get Maemo 6 are just that. groundless beliefs based on patchy interperatations.

it would be EASY for nokia to clarify things one way or the other.
Even bad news is better than not knowing.

Not wishing to contradict but I was thinking the exact same thing this evening and had decided to try and take some preemptive action lest Nokia did the dirty on its customers once again. I did find thid thread helpful and hope he does have some way to convey information to Nokia on this one. It may achieve nothing but if you don't try...