Black label is the 1st round production.. i'm guessing..

White label is 2nd round.. after shortage.

My black label had a bad mike.. imei diff was like 7k devices.

mine has a black label as well.
No faulty mic however.

I have a white label, although I did not see a second barcode like some of you.

If I submit my envelope with the rebate tomorrow, is it guaranteed to be post marked Jan 8, 2010? Should I take any precautionary steps like submitting to an actual post office counter?

That's what I'm going to do. Maybe ask for a receipt too?

Yes you definitely bring it in to the PO counter and have it stamp the old/manual way. I would sent it certified to track it. So if nokia say they did not received it or they received after Jan 15 you have proof when they actually did. Don't forget to photocopy the forms submitted.

Phone works perfectly.. but I still don't know what I should be sending in for the rebate.

Let's see, I called Nokia 4 times (pretty much what you have to do) each time I was told no technical support, then the 4th call I talked to rep and 'supervisor' both told me I had to sign up with phone and the fine print missing is you can't have existing acct. Some back and forth and finally just hungup.

Not even Nokia can get a consistent story together.

I calculated the actual value of receiving fifty bucks in 9-months (that's how long my last Nokia rebate took) vs. ruining the box and taking its important labels off wasn't worth the lousy prepaid visa card (wth is that about anyway?) and the frustration. I'd rather have working bt, a ton of bug fixes and some enhancements than fifty bucks because that doesn't make the phone usable and won't even buy dinner.

These re-sell much easier for a better price when looking tidy and new in a mint box. I sell a few a year to people at work just by bringing in and setting on desk. The conversation always starts with "is that new?" Well, no, but practically though - just look at the box :-)

Amazing how confusing and complex Nokia made out of something this friggin simple.

Years of Nokia use and giving them the benefit of doubt is about to come to a screeching halt. Like someone else said: a huge fustercluck this whole N900 has become.

If Nokia refuses to honor the rebates because they never opened the Ovi Store, that would be really disappointing (and possibly fraud?).

The fine-print lacked a lot of details that most rebates have. The numbered list of things to do didn't mention the store receipt, but then it was mentioned somewhere else at the bottom in the fine print. And their directions simply said "Click the Ovi Store icon". So if you clicked it, you technically did what they asked, I guess.