Jeez, you are being so funny.

Oh lawd, did you even read what I posted?

The point was that the device is not primarily a phone.

being one of the lucky 300, i have heard the question "so, what's it like then" a lot.

My answer is that it is the best all in one mobile device on the market at the moment, but to think of it as a mobile Linux computer with a built in phone, just like the iPhone is a big iPod with a web-browser and a phone, and S60 phones are phones with built in computers.

It is NOT best at any one thing, but it scores highly in EVERY catogory, so ends up as the winner for me:

• camera resolution/quality

the N86 has higher resolution, the N83 has Zenon flash, but it is WAY better than the iPhones camera.
Hopefully some of the code from the S60 branches can be ported without too much effort to help out here

• maps & GPS

the maps implementation on the N900 is brand new (it matches Ovi Maps via web very closely, and has lots of Javascript driving it) so gets a "meh", the GPS can struggle to get an intial lock without AGPS (i.e needs to send some data over cellular network), but the maps can be stored locally on the phone so no huge data bill when roaming (like Nokia/Ovi Maps on S60 phones)

• audio playback

very good speakers, but the software UI is unique (not sure if the iPod UI is better as I am not that big of a music fan). The included headphones are good, the current Nokia in-ear type with the read tag.
Nice touch, is that the indicator shows if they are detected as just regular headphones or also a microphone.
Gpodder has caused me to discover the world of podcasts, so it is becoming more important

• physical size

no denying that compared to current phones it is physically large, but it's as small as you can get while still being able to make use of the 800x480 resolution

• web

The inbuilt browser (microB) is good, but like everything struggles with Javscript or Flash heavy sites (causes high CPU which in turn increases battery drain)
It is leagues ahead of the S60 browser and there is Fennec coming as well
I have only briefly played with MobileSafari so can't really comment.
Major drawback is lack of copy from web pages

• mobile computer

This is where the N900 SMASHES the competition, iPhone is closed, Android requires Java(shudder), S60/Symbian is a phone first & computer second. Shame the Man pages are not included (man man on terminal returns command not found )

• UI

Takes a little getting used to, but the intro video does an excelent job of that. A bit more complex than iPhone, but then it's also more flexible (and in my book that is a good thing!)

Actually there is, the "manipulation mode" (swipe from left) allows you select and copy text.

If Nokia don't want people to think that the N900 is a phone, then maybe they should stop their resellers from calling it a phone:

wonderful.
when someone asks me if i have a cell phone with me i can say no legitimately

damn this is going to be phun!

I don't consider the N900 to be a cell phone either. I wrote about this in my (non-commercial) blog.

http://kurt555gs.blogspot.com/2009/1...-thoughts.html

Easier than re-typing. Cheers

putting a GSM card into my computer does not make it a phone not even if its my netbook, the device is an internet tablet and the gsm/umts module is supposed to give you the possibility to stay connected. nokia is calling it a phone... they could call it else. but they want to show that the new NIT has phone capabilities.

I can do phone calls with my netbook does that make it become a phone now? no its a computer with phone capability, true the form factor is telling it is a phone and its hitting off in that direction but the n900 is still a test device and remains more an IT than it becomes a phone. the future devices will leave the phone not out but loose focus as it isnt a primary tool anymore its more like a base function.
first phones where used to call someone not to send emails browse the web and edit PDFs. The device landscape is refurbishing. my current phone is a walkman first a phone second, and that changes every day, the goals and needs of such a "phone" is not being a "phone" anymore its to become a full blown computer in your pocket. helping you to do your work faster better or what else or give you fun joy and so on... kids dont want phones to call someone they want text with friends share videos and pictures go online.

call it what ever you want it to be but keep in mind that phone functionality, in this case cellphone, does not come at first its more at last. so for you its a phone and you expect all phone features. you got contacts, make calls and receive calls! there is your cellphone functionality! its not ment to be a business device yet so this kind of stuff will come later on. its the last try to get to know problems of hardware and software combination before they start to build step 5 of 5. and its a nice way because the community gets the chance to request and support stuff nokia wasnt thinking about yet. most of it has close to nothing to do with cellphones anymore.

It's really strange the contortions of logic that people put themselves through to convince themselves and others that the n900 is not a phone.

Of course it's a phone. End of.

The issue really becomes one of expectations.
The 770, n800 and n810 were not phones. In many ways they worked really well and were great devices but had some bugs and limitations that were accepted by most because of what they could do very well.
If the n900 was not a phone and was just another progression up from the 770/n800/n810 then I'd expect similar i.e. it would work very well in many areas but have some limitations and would be satisfied enough if that's the way it worked out.

However my expectations of a phone would be different and I'd be a lot less tolerant of poor performance. If my phone was glitchy, unexpectedly rebooted itself or similar I'd be back to the phone shop to replace it or look for a refund.

As the n900 is marketed as a phone, is sold in phone shops, is labelled everywhere as a phone then it's a frickin' phone.
It has to match the expectations one would have of a phone regardeless of all the extra bells and whistles it includes.

And if it doesn't it should take the flak.

Humm, I must "be doing it wrong", as I am not seing text being highlighted if i "swipe from left".
Got any pointers for videos/longer explanations of this "manipulation mode"?

Actually you said this "It's not a phone and it's never meant to be."
Read your own posts you muppet.