> And the ability to install whatever OS I want trumps everything else.
Agree, along with the ability of actually developing and compiling, and running your software directly on the same device. There's just nothing else out there in this kind of form factor.
> It's cool, but maybe too expensive and underpowered?
I feel like that would come with the territory of a niche, small-batch device. They wouldn't be large enough to benefit from economies of scale, and they're not bringing in enough money to employ teams of engineers to optimize and refresh the hardware regularly.
That's the issue with any device like this with small production runs - you can't get the same bulk discounts on components for a few hundred devices as you can when making, say, 10,000. Unfortunately, larger runs require larger investments, and most people who are interested in these projects do not have the resources to back such a big project.
What was so good about the N900? (serious question: I have often read in the internet that people loved the N900 very much and about the very political reasons why it was abandonded, but hardly anything about the reasons why N900's fanboys found it so great).
Also... True multitasking, tons of storage (32GB + MicroSD), accurate stylus input. But like sonnyp suggested, mostly that it was a full Debian-based Linux experience with a decent keyboard.
It wasn't perfect (I seem to remember the battery life wasn't great), but it was a great device, more like a Swiss army knife than a phone. Wish Nokia had done a full release of the N950 (the N9 with a hardware keyboard, only released to developers, with a weaker screen than the N9) as that was shaping up to be even better than the N900.
Agree, along with the ability of actually developing and compiling, and running your software directly on the same device. There's just nothing else out there in this kind of form factor.