10 GB card? Huh? Did I miss something?

I've gone through 3 stages so far with the n800:

A. the initial excitement and interest.
B. the letdown that nothing exactly worked without tweaking.
C. the continual surprise when I find new uses for it.

Look around at the random testimonies, and outside of the hardcore fans, and the superannuated sysadmins (as someone who had to deal with one of the "new kids" DoS his own network with an NFS timeout of zero, let me take the opportunity to say, hey, we love you), there are people using these devices for all kinds of unanticipated uses. Last week, conditions changed faster than I could print out documents, and I found myself using the image viewer and holding it against a handwritten book copied nearly eight centuries ago, comparing handwriting. Everyone else is craning their head, changing sightlines between their laptops (where they could plug in) and their manuscripts, and I've got something with the resolution and the processing power in my hands to be able to do a side-by-side comparison. (and it costs less than most laptops, which is why I bought it).

When I try to explain the usefulness of the device, I don't just talk about the mobile web (although that is much of it). Rather, I focus on the fact that many of us use in our daily lives find ourselves in situations where we could use a computer, but where our primary point of focus is not the computer itself. Laptops are good for times when we need to focus on a computer (and when we can get a laptop to where we are).

A few other observations on the article: personalized advertisement is tricky terrain. The examples you give scare me. As worrisome as government spying is, companies spying on us is practically more preoccupying. Simply put, the multiplication of data on me in the hands of parties that don't share completely my interests multiplies my vulnerability. So, no, I don't like the idea, and I find it repugnant.

Also, in my experience, wifi in a non-home city doesn't work reliably. That's part of the reason for WiMax.
But yes, these devices with GPS and a reasonable map do great work in cities. Again, the resolution is decisive.

The problem with the design of these things today is that companies produce something, and then ask "how can we monetize it?" too fast (for example, make a music player -- a useful tool --, then give it a cool interface, but only enough computing/internet access necessary to sell more music). Consumers don't want to spend money. They want tools. They will spend money for tools -- that's what money is for. Make something useful, or fun, and make people aware of its utility, and you will sell it. Make something capable of making more money, and nobody will buy it. (answer to the objection: social utility is utility, and is one of the few forms of utility that marketing can produce)