If there is any truth in the leaked info, I would say the "phone" version will have a keyboard and the "tablet" version won't.

So; speaking MeeGo, what we could be seeing is (form factor):

MeeGo Nokia phone, 4" screen (AKA N9) -> MeeGo "semi-tablet" Lankku (perharps with a bigger screen?) -> MeeGo tablet (like the Intel prototype shown in Computex) -> MeeGo netbook OS and devices.

I think that would be covering the whole device spectrum as MeeGo was supposed to be doing.

there's too few models at the moment. i don't find one for me. i'd need something like c5, but with wifi.

I'm surprised that nobody seems happy that there's two MeeGo devices coming. Can't say the same for any other Maemo device other than Maemo 4/4.1.

Now... what I don't get is why didn't this come out from Nokia to the general population as opposed to getting leaked in a very obscure place/manner?

If you're going for viral, do it well Nokia. This is just more of the same... which sucked the last few times.

There were multiple Fremantle devices coming, too, much good that did to us. The N9 is a white whale (a MeeGo ’compatible’ Maemo) so whatever there is in the queue behind it, it is almost not the same OS so it will be kept under wraps until well after the N9 to avoid the MeeGo on N900 syndrome.

I can respect that. Just wanted to shed a good spin on this non-announcement/announcement.

I had almost forgotten. You're right. The N900 is only the "Maemo 5 lead device", and there'll be more to follow. Hope I'll have enough money when they appear on the shelves next week.

I don't care for swype.. because I don't think it works well in other languages.. like arabic.. And us arabic people if we want to use english letters and still say some arabic words, we use letters to to represent some arabic letters not found in english like 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 so it's really not useful for me..

So I am all about QWERTY keyboards! I wouldn't want to keep on touching the display everytime I want to enter some text..

Do find that link please.

I think the best form factor any phone has is without a doubt the N97. So the N9 should adopt this form.

Why do I say so?
It makes (or could) full use of the top space for your touchscreen, webcam, proximity metres and "home" buttons.
Yet the bottom is dedicated to a physical buttons (keyboard) which is more spacious than your Blackberrys.
To top it off, the tilt screen is very robust (contrary to Kaiser/TP2) and as sturdy as a lone slider (eg HTC Dream) and allows many functions and versatilities,
for instance did you know your fingers can happily reach buttons beneath the tilt-support, making so many applications easier to use like emulators or listening to mp3 while your txting?

i'd guess the meego/tablet version will have a keyboard and more symbian phones won't. I have read numerous times that symbian will be for smartphones and meego/maemo will be for the mobile computers or tablets. Hard to produce a REAL mobile like computer (which i feel the n900 is the closest thing to one with a phone on it) without a real keyboard

Yes it was posted on HoFo awhile ago...

Can somebody link to the comment on EG please. The OP on HoFo has requested that the info be removed because of EG's and others coverage but I'm afraid you can not un-ring a bell.

I chose not to repeat this hearsay on this board because it is just that, hearsay. We have enough of that going on now anyway.

It seems that now a personal friendship of his in jeopardy. I can relate to the OP's dilemma because one of my childhood friends, in fact my best man at my childhood marriage is now a corporate level exec @ Motorola and for years I modded a Motorola specific forum on HoFo.

I chose not to repeat the things I heard at backyard barbeque's and kid's graduation parties for two reasons:

1. You would be surprised how many company projects are put on a shelf after what seems like an intense amount of energy and resources have already been spent on them. That's just the nature of R & D.

2. It gave me a unique perspective over the forum. You would also be surprised at how many of the self proclaimed forum experts were just taking semi-sophisticated, wild *** guesses. A good many of these "experts" were actually just run of the mill anus weasels.

...so do the guy a favor. If anyone is going to repost his info, remove his user name and simply say originally posted on HoFo or somesuch. If someone questions the validity of that statement (posted on HoFo that is) even though I removed it. I will vouch that it was posted with no names given.

Sadly though, you can't stuff shaving cream back into its aerosol can after it has been dispensed...