Back when I bought N900, some of the reasons that I didnt bought an Android was because the compeditors was missing a decent qwerty, WiFi teatering, Flash, 32GB+flashcard and FM transmitter. No other phone could stand up to completeness of N900.
The only real backdraw of N900 is the missing compass.

No, I'm not rediscovering my N900.

I'm still discovering things and it hasn't stopped since I bought the phone 8 months ago. There's always a new app or just some simple Linux info I'm discovering(kind of an extension from my expanding Linux desktop knowledge). I've actually taken interest in Programming my own apps for Maemo and who knows where that will take me.

I guess I'm going to write a little "smartphone history bio" here because I've only used smartphones and PDAs(basically smartphones in my eyes) since as long as I've had cell phone service. I started off with Palm phones(Samsung SPH-i500, a Palm Centro, and one model I can't remember) and then switched to Android as an early adopter. I bought the G1 on launch and I kept it for about 20 months until I was driven to a point of insanity by the crappy core parts of the OS. I had to buy an unlocked/unsubsidized phone(luckily I'm on T-Mobile USA, so there's plenty of options) which are rarely cheap, so I figured I'd spend a few extra bucks and go all out for the best phone on the market. I looked Nexus One and Motorola Milestone, but I still had a bittersweet taste in my mouth about Android, so I wasn't going to pay money to be semi-satisfied. I kind of looked at Nokia as a luxury brand here(since so few Americans have their phones), I've always seen their phones around but I knew little to nothing about them, so I did investigation and found out their many of their phones had a little of EVERYTHING(you guys have seen their hardware).

Many of the issues I had with Android were issues I've never experienced in phones(random reboots, constantly running out of memory for apps, extremely low RAM, needing Root Access to ANYTHING useful). Android's accompanying hardware is usually really slick and nice looking, but its only aesthetics. Nokia was doing things I've never seen in American phone(what other phone has 32 GB internal storage + microSD support OR FM transmitter built-in OR a covered 5 MP camera, not to mention Carl Zeiss' quality?).

The software on the N900 is obviously great because the community makes it that way. I can request features and many of the developers usually respond(unlike these production company apps for iOS, Android, or Windows Mobile). I can obviously build my own apps, which I haven't done, but its liberating to know. The OS is so fast(although Android is getting better with each build) and I have few complaints. Namely, the built-in Email app(and lack of good alternatives, I need Push Mail!), a lack of a Flash update(mostly because its nearly been removed as a feature when there's few functioning Flash content that don't require 10 or higher and though Tweakflash is A FIX, it shouldn't be THE FIX), and there are some random OS hiccups here and there, but rarely enough to make me dislike the phone. There's a few apps I'd like to see here and there(like some NBA stuff), but for the most part, the browser never leaves me too dissatisfied. I plan on trying to fill some of those gaps when I start building some apps.

I guess a lot of this stems from a dislike in the way Mobile OSes are going. I can't get into this "App-lification" of everything web oriented. I can understand where it's useful(mostly for mulitmedia to get direct access to content like Pandora or Netflix apps for instance), but I shouldn't need to scan 40 apps a day to read my News for Gadgets, Local Stuff, Sports, Weather and all that(the great solution called RSS feeds, is already in place). To me, the built-in programs on Maemo like the browser, RSS reader(although I am using an alternative one-FeedingIt), and Internet Radio bookmarks are way more useful any apps I ever downloaded on Android. The sad thing is, I'm eligible for an upgrade with T-Mobile and I have yet to find a phone I enjoy more than my N900. I am so tired of the lame T-Mobile looking at my phone in confusion and trying to tell me it's "old school" when I KNOW they have absolutely no information about it, they probably think it's running Symbian, simply because its a Nokia. I guarantee if T-Mobile gets behind Meego, they'll all be fanboys... Whatever, they're the ones missing out...

Wow... I just realized how long that response was... Sorry about that. Maybe I should have blogged this, but I guess no one would go out of their way to read my blog(if I had one). But I guess you can tell a bit of my passion.

I choosed my N900 for linux, console because when I tested the device and could run a simple "ls", I understood it was the device I was looking for to replace my old, and dead Zaurus. No "phone + pda" anymore, now i have everything is the same, and great, device.
So I don't rediscover it, and just like it. And I hope it likes me too.
Ok, I'm sick

Not quite rediscovered, but really enjoying it more and more each day. I couldn't really appreciate how powerful and functuonal Maemo is until recently when I had a play on an N8. There is no going back from a mobile OS like Maemo, and with new apps appearing every other day, it is going from strtength to strength.

Being an Australian user, my only criticism is the lack of a supported turn-by-turn navigation app for my region (Sygic have advised Mobile Maps will not be released for Asia Pacific). But there is even a work around for that, and of course Mappero which is hard to pass given its price ;-)

Hi Arsonist, I don't know if the networks do this where you are but when I'm due an upgrade (in the UK) that I don't want I get the network to reduce my next years contract by the value of the upgrade. They always do.
Might be worth asking, or threatening to switch.

Dan

Thanks for the recommendation. I will definitely try that! I know that T-Mobile USA now offers two tiers of plans the "Even More" and "Even More Plus" contracts. The "Even More" is supposed to be for people that want to buy the phone outright and the comparable plans are 20 dollars cheaper this way with no contract commitment. Something tells me they're going to try to bypass giving me that credit by telling me to sign up to an Even More plan, but I'll try to get that subsidy subtracted first.

Thanks again!

Yeah man, that's been a big issue I've had too. I like the look and lay-out of Ovi Maps for Maemo, but without turn-by-turn it's kind of useless. I never had any luck with Mappero's Turn-by-Turn, but I haven't tried in about a month or two, so maybe I need to revisit it. Sygic seems to really have their act together and it looks like a great product, but I really can't justify 40 dollars(US) for it when its locked into this device(and who knows if they're going to make it for Meego). I already have a standalone GPS unit, but I like the "all-in-one" solution, plus I never have the thing charged when I need it to be.

I had been using an E71 for a few months since I have been busy with work and needed the reliability of Exchange mail and phone calling abilities from Symbian resigned to waiting for a Meego phone and then Pr1.3 came out. I upgraded the N900 and fell in love with it again. The email was 100x faster and I could answer calls easily which were my two biggest gripes.

Since then I started cruising these forums more often and recently found Swappolube, webos games, Cutetube, GeePS, reinstalled Erminig for my multi calendar syncing. If the N900 had operated like this and had these apps from launch I think the whole maemo thing would have played out differently.