Ok I've yet to hold a N900 or get a chance to even see one in person (why, why Nokia don't you like us in Canada?? We're gadget people too!), but I was caught a little by surprise with this photo from the "unboxing of the N900" post on engadget...

Now, is it just me or are there a heck of a lot of "debugging pins" compared to previous tablets?? Even more than that, notice how the top two "groups" of pins are laid out in 7-pin segments... the cut outs in the metal around them to expose them even looks like the shape of a 9-pin serial connector... Now I'm not saying a serial connector would go there, but maybe the Nokia Hardware people are trying to drop us a hint?...
So, since there's no USB host mode, does anyone who's used the device or even played with it a bit have any idea what all those pins might be? a UART pinout, even at TTL or CMOS levels, would be pretty freggin amazing for allowing a lot more hardware mods and things...

You may find http://maemoteam.wordpress.com/2009/...lash-marathon/ interesting, regarding the "flashing jig", which presumably connects to those things you saw.

I 'm not sure but the 14 pin is a jtag pinout used for debugging.
I used it to debug TI(F28335) and Analog(Blackfin) DSPs.
( for TI http://www.blackhawkdsp.com/products/USB2000.aspx)

You will need an emulator(flashing jig) like pelago said.

AFAIK the n800 has similar contacts and they were never put to use (i.e. a serial port of some sort). If a serial port is what you want a bluetooth to rs232 convertor would work better - no ugly wires around.