well I am looking for Linux in my pocket, and this is exactly what the 770, 800 and 810 gave me. I am sure I will be happily surprised with the next release. The hardware combined with the openness will keep me coming back.

More "performance" isn't needed for my primary tasks - PIM, email, and SSH. OpenGL and 720p assumes I have any desire to look at anything other than text on the N900.

I'm in (what I assume is) a unique situation in that I have a very low-end cellphone (vx8350) issued by work with a very high-end plan attached to it. (Unlimited everything, including 3G tethering.)
The N810 is the perfect companion for such a situation, and any moves the N900 makes towards integrating cell-phone-like features (I include WiMAX in that) is a waste of money for me.

Everyone has their own use case(s), and they're all valid.

Well, since we know it will be OMAP 3 or whatever, it'll be down to price and software. At this rate, the new device will have a few respectable competitors, using similar hardware. Unless I'm just totally off the mark.

Regardless of what we know about the processor we don't know the things which I consider deal-breakers:
We don't know if it will have a physical keyboard - and what the "thumbability" factor might be.
We don't know how well the screen will be readable in daylight.
We don't know the weight, size, or quality of construction.
We don't know the battery life.
We don't know what the physical connectors will be. (Micro USB and MicroSD again? USBOTG? Power?)

Though there are no specific or official details on any of these, a lot of them can be assumed based on previous hardware.

The likelihood of Nokia offering the new device without a hardware keyboard is extremely low. The virtual input methods became filled with regressions after the release of the N810, and improvements have not been forthcoming. The state of virtual input is reasonably strong evidence of Nokia not considering it an important feature for future devices. Besides, the N810's implementation has proven to be a well-received decision that they'd be unlikely to go back on.

Now, the usability of any hardware keyboard they design is certainly suspect.

It'd be safe to assume that neither of the first three will be likely to deviate overly much from existing hardware. Quality of construction, well, whatever's planned can always be undermined by unforeseen manufacturing defects.

This one is pretty safe to extrapolate to a reasonable ballpark based on current hardware and some basic information about the OMAP3. Best-case, it'll be significantly better than current hardware (as the OMAP3 at idle uses significantly less power than OMAP2 at idle—crazy, right?), worst-case, it'll be marginally worse (the maximum consumption of the OMAP3 is a bit higher than OMAP2, especially when you factor in the PowerVR—so if you're listening to music playing Quake III, you're likely to get less battery life ).

MicroUSB with OTG support are extremely safe assumptions. Whether it'll charge over USB, well, does the N97?

what do you guys think about the 3G aigo mid coming out this month?
http://www.umpcportal.com/products/Aigo/MID/8888W

will the n900 blow it away? It looks pretty awesome to me but I don't want to pick one up until I see the n900 features.

OMAP 3, a much better camera, and Nokia's quality build will make the N900 a must have for me.

I don't know if future tablets will charge over (micro) USB, but consider:

-some Nokia phones do (as well as competitors)
-it can serve to drive down cost
-it can help reduce size and weight

USB charging is an all-around win solution. I can't see it remaining as fringe use very much longer...

I like USB charging, but I'm not convinced it's an all-around win on a tablet with USB host capabilities. Even when using a powered hub, accessing USB devices on my N800 seems to drain the battery fairly quickly.

I like having the option of being able to charge the device while using USB peripherals at the same time.