Flash is not the web. Flash support was the first thing I disabled from my N900 browser, and have been a lot happier ever since.

However, I'd definitely buy a larger N900. Bigger screen would be great for browsing a reading e-books, and the Maemo platform would allow me to take all our Midgard apps on the device so I could do stuff even when on an airplane (or at another country where 3G roaming is expensive).

I think many have wanted a tablet for years but they have not been good enough. Not all the people here have a N900, netbook and a regular laptop. As for me I have a N900 and a regular computer, so for me where would I need the tablet? In school doing all my paperwork at it so I easily can reach all my notes for lectures and lessons. When I am at home it is a awesome pdf reader as I have most of my schoolbooks in pdf format. When I am doing some longer trips it would be great to have it for movies and such, the N900 is to small to watch a full movie on it.

So maybe a tablets are not for you but I guess there are alot of people like me.

First, foldable tablets exist - they are called convertible notebooks. They have a screen and keyboard which can be configured as a laptop or twisted around to make a slate/tablet. Lenovo's X200 is probably the class leader:

http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/c...67E79E0E7C9A2D

A dual screen configuration has limited advantages given the current state of technology. What is really needed is a single, foldable screen to reduce the form factor of the device when it is being carried.

I applaud the iPad as a hardware concept but I think that the one thing which would be missed by those who want it as a productivity tool is an active digitizer (ideally combined with a touch screen). With an active digitizer, handwriting becomes possible. PDFs can not only be read but also be annotated. Notes can be taken and stored natively and/or as recognized text.

This is not a new idea. Fujitsu and Motion Computing have produced tablets for years. They now primarily show up in vertical industry devices, especially in health care where the lack of a keyboard allows them to be disinfected. Unfortunately earlier general purpose tablets were limited by weight and processor power (although I still bought one). Those of us who love tablets would like to see Motion Computing resurrect the LS800 with a slimmed down look, Atom CPU, SSD, and 3G:

http://www.pencomputing.com/frames/motion_ls800.html

Its unfortunate that the XO-2 was canceled, the OLPC initiative would have changed computing again with it. They actually *thought* differently for the first one. Too bad money, ego, and politics got in the way.

Tablets aren't new. Apple is refining the formula and doing what Nokia, Palm and a few others didn't/couldn't do - scale a mobile OS that's touch-usable to A4 size.

The point that the iPad is a different paradigm in computing is only new to those to whom a new paradigm of computing was also evident in the iPhone. Meaning that this isn't necessarly for folks here to understand, but it is for us here to learn better how to innovate in a way that leads to great success for more people (aka, "make the pie bigger" - which is the reason for the 5 step Maemo thingy that's often quoted).

You really can't take adequate, detailed notes on an N900; it's too small, and writing small slows you down. Watch students and see what they carry for note-taking to find out what size they want.

who said that the ipad can't be used as a phone

http://www.funnyordie.co.uk/videos/d...ured&rel_pos=1