Hi! I'm wondering how long the N900 will remain relevant? I mean, the phone function probably could last as long as the touchscreen or the overall casing durability. But could the 'high-tech-openess' feature of the N900 be the ultimate cause of it's own end of life?

We've seen so many threads talking about EOL for N900 (devices sales)...while some have suggested stocking 2 or 3 units to take advantage of price discounts.

Maemo support will probably be limited to this forum, when everyone else migrates to Meego, or to Android or other phones. Also, the pace for developers to come up with new stuffs like 3G video call or Ovi maps (compatibility) or others? Or how to overcome issues from battery life to bricked or can't boot?

Also competitor threads compare the N900 against various rival and better, newer specification phones like streak, E7 and the galaxy (there'll be more coming). The ARM 600MHz now probably shadowed by the 1GHz Snap.

Lastly the perceived lack of support (or backing) by Nokia for the N900 seems to be a major disappointment and frustration.

So, what do you think will be the lifecycle of the N900?

Apologies for some typo...but I could not edit the poll questions

How long will Nokia N900 last?
At least another 6 months (will not last over 2011)
At least another 2 years!
At least another 3 years!
Who cares? It's an awesome phone - Forever!

What? No options:
Too late! It's already unattractive.
It was already unattractive from the beginning.

it was unattractive as in looks from the very beginning. i mean its 180 grams, thats nearly twice a normal candybar phone.
but it will always remain attractive in any other way possible.

Maybe I should define the N900 "attractive" = "useful, a device we want to keep using"

It is the pinnacle of open source handsets at the moment,
despite all its many well-documented shortcomings and flaws.
And despite Nokia's lipstick-on-a-pig support philosophy.
That Nokia actually did it is commendable.
Everything Nokia did afterwards is a monumental disappointment.

But that is not the end of the story,
thanks to this community and lot of people who like to dig.
The n900 is still available in some locations (not mine, last I looked)
and the Maemo system can still be hacked better than any other.

But it is the end of the line for open-source handset fever.
There will never be any truly open-source handsets,
and the n900 is as close as you can get to that particular 'holy grail'.

Android is not even a close relation in that regard,
and never will be due to it now being compromised by trojans
and all the publicity about secret tracking apps, etc.
The Android project will be burning midnight oil to shut down
loopholes in their system and in the process will lock down
a lot of bits that have previously been open to developers.

It is obvious Nokia is completely abandoning any shred of a decent open-source future.
http://www.unwiredview.com/2010/12/2...phone-devices/
A complete sell-out of the linux platform is unfolding right now at Nokia.
Anyone at Nokia involved with Meego had best be looking for a new job - fast.
The Meego stuff is getting a lot of frothy wishful-thinking fanboyisms
but the utter absence of any Meego handsets on the horizon
speaks volumes about where Nokia's Meego plans are headed.

And you can count on Nokia to never play open-source again
now that they are sharing a bed with Micro$oft.

The next open-source handset will probably be some Taiwanese
outfit unless someone else in Europe happens to bend that way.

Buy the n900 now if you think you would ever want on,
as it will be a very long time before anything anywhere near as open
ever appears on the global market, if ever again.

In a couple of years used n900s will still be selling for good money
because there will still not be anything as hackable out there.

Attractiveness of a platform is usually as long-lasting as the support lasts.

With that said, N900 was attractive for 6 months, the MeeGo announcement somewhat killed it, the mounting WONTFIX issues are killing that attractiveness.

No discredit to this community; however the things that I'd love to have upgraded will not come about due to them being around the bits like the Flash Player (closed), Skype (closed)... etc.

However, I do have to say that it's a well-built, good looking "brick" that countered a lot of current design standards that honestly... I don't particularly like.

It will be attractive as long as its naked ("open")

Of cause forever! Dont ask the fanboys

Maemo support will depend on this forum - us.

I'm sure the 32+16Gb can go a long, long way, but how far can the ARM 600MHz support new application requirements? How long can we can compromise on trailing some new applications?

For me, I'm hoping the N900 can go at least another 3 years. I hope that's not wishful thinking. It seems like a great phone.