Cheers for the update, but it doesn't answer my principal worry over whether carriers will offer it subsidised on contract.

I had no doubt that i'd be able to buy an N9 from Play.com, etc, but the N900 was £450 sim-free when it arrived.

My T-mobile contract with an unlocked handset was £110 upfront followed by eighteen payments of £20, or £470.

Tell me why i would willingly pay the RRP for a phone in britain when i can get it along with eighteen months of calls, texts and internet for £20 more?