Like fatalsaint said, Android phones is running on a virtual machine, and that virtual machine can only run on a ARM processor.
fatalsaint, are you sure that it has to be hildonized? I think i should be able to run on Maemo, but you have to move the picture arround to becuase of the screen size.

not fully correct. there the android-x86 project for instance...

really?
why is that you think there must be a few devices from nokia or even from many other vendors?

does apple do that? has apple made multiply versions (at the same time) or is the os of the iphone used by other vendors?

I dont think so.. I think that sinking the market with that many phones like nokia always does is just stupid..

Especially in the area of a large touch screen phone. i only see a use case of 2 devices at the same time, 1 with qweryt, 1 without qwerty and thats it.. Why need more?

Or do we really want to have some with gps some without some with camera some without (those 2 could be possilble) but for example: no accelerator or even no 3d hardware would be terrible because that some games or app are working for that phone but not for that one and so on..

So my view is that nokia can release 2 phones at the same time but hardware wise they should only differ in keyboard..

Ofcourse the next evolution there can be some added hardware for new features (compas and multitouch screen) thats just a fact of live but for software development you just have to target one specific version/edition/revision.

some workplaces have a strict policy against phones with cameras, so having a smartphone without a camera makes sense for that market (tho i admit, it could be very limited).

i agree with you on that part.. i have an E90 before the N900 and thats a real business phone.. But it also have a camera.. I think finding a phone without a camera is very hard these days..

I dont use the camera i think in 2.5 years of E90 i used it maybe 5-10 times... For me it wouldnt matter one bit if a phone has a camera or not its not the spec that i look at.. But many many others find it very important if i always look at phone reviews or what ever, the first or second post/reply is about the camera...

So yes a N9xx without camera could be an option but i think that that feature is just the feature that Nokia will not throw away in a specific revision...

Actually this is incorrect. Because Android has all of it's apps running in VM's, then only Android *iteself* must be recompiled for a new processor/architecture. So if they decide to run ARM, x86, PPC, snapdragon, Whatever in their phones.. all they have to do is compile the primary OS for that phone - and then the apps will just "run".

Contrast this to maemo, where every application must be recompiled to work with the hardware because processor calls are different from the different types - and the applications running on Maemo, iPhone, Linux, Windows, Mac, (insert Desktop/server OS here) - have direct access to the hardware and are not "filtered" through a VM first.

This VM, however, causes a higher overhead and more resources to be used. Which is the downfall. (there's an echo here! I'm holding the same conversation in two threads! )

Well technically you're right... as long as the application is compiled for ARM, and the libraries it depends on are, then the application *will* run on maemo. However, if it's not optified or hildonized the application will both fill up your limited root space, and could potentially suck horrifically trying to work with it. This equates to a negative user experience.. and these apps would not be considered for the general user.

My comment was to the fact that for "official" or "maemo" apps, they would be optified and hildonized to work within the Maemo's UI so as to make the user-experience consistent, fluid, and unobtrusive.

or you write in python

Correct. Python (perl, ruby, ...) is the way to "emulate" the sort of versatility that exists on Android.. with the same drawback. The applications will be more resource intensive than if they were written "natively" without going through an interpreter.

In light of this... I do plan on learning PyQT or PyGTK.

In.those places.you usually. can't bring anything into the secure area. Instead you give your device to the security guy on the floor and if they will come get you if someone calls. At least that's how the place where I work does it.

The places I have worked were similar Laughing Man, except we don't get someone to come tell us the phone is ringing . You just leave your phone outside the room(s) and you can check your messages later.

Also.. my experience has been that if it they ban a camera phone.. they also ban any phone or device that could be used as a "USB" or storage device as well.. and this includes most smartphones, with or without a camera.

That isn't to say that there isn't places that *specifically* say a non-company furnished blackberry with no camera is allowed... I've just never witnessed it personally.