Thanks for all the help Sohil876.

Tried it out and it works fine - it accepts word completion and peers are automatically available.
Misses some of the ease of use of the gui versions, that was to be expected but this is certainly the fastest alternative for the N900. Some 'issues' - yellow words on a white background isn't a good idea.. probably better to start with argument -C.
With this version 'typing' isn't shared or visible.