I think we DO need to discuss world peace, etc, but it's not an important enough topic even for Off Topic,so you won't see it on this site.

I think people value oxygen quite a bit too, but the price isn't that high. It's a profound point that the price people are willing to pay for their phones indicates how much people value communication and information -- but maybe it really indicates that there's a sucker born every minute.

I think the term 'touchscreen devices' defines multiple segments which have a lot of overlap (in form and functions) but quite significant differences between them.

function: smartphone or mobile computer?
form factor: pocketable (<4") or 'tablet' (5-12")?

- Screen

The baseline navigation functions are best implemented to be finger friendly to free the users from the need of stylus. With this assumption in place, then it's natural to implement multitouch gestures on top of that to maximize the input efficiency. Handwriting and drawing has their niche userbase. But while they're not the majority, they will have to wait for technology to catch up to their needs. (based on current technology: capacitive multitouch)

Resolution: as high as possible, as long as the OS can 'support' it.

Size: between 3.5-4" for pocketables, between 7-10" for tablet.

- OS

Opensourced OS is great when there's an open (preferably commoditized) hardware platform available. Without that, you'll still have a LOT of dependency to the sole hardware provider for your supposedly open platform. I have my doubts that the market will repeat the x86 platform creation on mobile device due to many factors (less need for modularized design, lower manuf cost, etc); but if it's going in that direction then MeeGo might be its best bet.

Personally, I need a well supported OS to get my job done. I can't abandon my job and wait a decade for the perfect platform to emerge.

- Software Features/applications
1. Base net connectivity (browser, email, IM)
2. Connected, Syncable PIM (calendar, notes, tasks, contact list)
3. Good document viewing ability (pdf, office files, etc)

Nice to have:
- eBooks\eMags
- Streaming media
- Video conferencing

- Hardware features

Physical keyboard preferred. USB is definitely nice to have.
Minimum megapixel? 3 or so, as long as it has good optics and flash. Preferably the camera has great macro mode, in case there's a need to scan\copy documents, biz cards, etc.
Btw, the camera needs to be FAST.

- Price/Manufacturer

Brand/manuf usually serves as price/quality/design indicators in the past. They matter to me in that sense. If a (verifiable) 'perfect device' comes from a brand new company called BleedingScreechingPandas, then I don't mind using their products either.

Price: I'd budget $1000 a year for this segment. (No, I'm not spending every single cents of that budget if there is no need to).

- Screen
I prefer resistive to capactivie because then I can use the stylus for more precise interaction, and also my fingers for casual use. Capacitive is good for multi-touch, but is nor accurate enough, nor can it be used with anything else than bare fingers.
The best of both worlds would be resistive multi-touch.
Also, the screen needs to be a little more sturdier than the N900's screen.
And while we're at it, don't be afraid to take all the available space on the front of the device for the screen.

Resolution: anything that looks good on the given screen size.

- OS
Open source is a very good thing.
In fact, the MeeGo tablet inteface is the most brilliant UI ever (although Maemo 5's UI is equally as good).
Android is definitely not open, and I don't want anything to do with Google.
I understand that some things in the system can't be open (eg. Flash and things like that), but I wish the core applications to be open.

And if they will be open, please accept patches from people who are really willing to contribute!

- Software Features/applications
Root access should not be any more difficult than on the N900. People can't do it "accidentally".
Social media integration may be important to some, not so much for me. The decent integration of IM services is great (like the N900), although I wish you could make a deal with Microsoft and support MSN out of the box.
The most important features are a decent media player (with support for as many codecs as possible), and a decent web browser.

The ability to open office documents is a good plus to me, but not a necessity.

- Hardware features
Most importantly, a decent camera is a must-have. I really like Nokia's idea of all-in-one devices. Real image quality is much more of importance than the number of megapixels. I would rejoice if the N900 could take as good pictures as my old N95.

And, the other most important hardware feature: battery. I don't really care about the weight of a device. Seriously. Anyone can carry 150-200 grams. So please squeeze in as big a battery as possible.

A physical keyboard is a good addition, but I'm sure there are people who want a device without one, too.
The same applies to phone features, too. I see on this forum that there are many people who would like a tablet without phone features.
I personally prefer having a phone in, too, about the same size as the N900 with a bit bigger screen and battery.

- Price/Manufacturer
I'm not a fan of any brand or manufacturer (I look at what features are there, not on the brand label), but surely I would be more likely to buy again from a manufacturer that I already trust.
I had two devices from Nokia: the N95 and the N900, and I can't complain about the build quality of either, but both of them started off with relatively weak software - this needs improvements.

Price: not more than $500.
If you look around the community, many people think that the N900 is overpriced. Although the initiative that you give loaner devices for prominent community members is a really good idea.

Gimme the N810 with the N900 guts, same size screen and resolution as the N810, better/faster GPS with true SDHC cards... same build quality as the N810, a better forward facing camera, a back camera worth a damn.

From my perspective, the N810 was probably as close to great as Nokia got with any Maemo device. No telephony needed.

I hope you have posted this on other forums too... like the ones supporting Android, Apple etc... so you can get a real picture about the situation... 'Cause this forum here is formed mainly by people that like to have as much control over their phone/tablet as possible and they (we actually) are keen on Open Source... And that probably doesn't depict the real preferences of most people "out there" . Anyway back to the topic...

- Screen
Resistive (i prefer using stylus), the size and resolution of my N900 is ok for me.

- OS
Open Source OS is a must! And the only Open Source i prefer, with good community support is any debian flavored Linux. Actually I am a Nokia hater and the only reason i bought a Nokia product was its OS (i mean the N900) combined with a good enough for my needs hardware.
Android's community support is too much bloated with commercial content (adware is really a malware for me). Win platform is a way too closed for me. And i will not even mention any Apple's s**t.
So actually what i am looking for is an opened platform that offers a lot of different opened apps.

- Software Features/applications
Good phone apps (contacts,calendar etc) is very important to me, incl. seamless sync with ANY other platform.
IM and vid conferencing come next.
Perfect and fast net browser is a must. If possible to support latest web technologies.
Streaming media, cameras (front and back) are of less importance but should be possible/present.
And everything else should come as an option that can be used if the user wants/needs it (read as: to be able to install it for free).

- Hardware features
Physical keyboard would be nice, a good GPS sensor too. Micro USB and IR are handy. Cameras should have reasonable resolution, but i am not such a "megapixels" fan.

- Price/Manufacturer
The brand/manufacturer doesn't really matter to me if he creates such a phone (I told you i am a Nokia hater but still i bought the N900). The price i would pay is not much as 500-700$... After all i will pay the hardware (and its creation/development of course) mostly if the phone is fully *nix compliant...

In brief: I am not a fan of pure "tablets", and I'd like to have a *nix compliant device with a good selection of hardware features, and i would not pay too much for it regardless the brand it is.

P.S. Regarding your "no commercial interest or intent in asking these questions"... i am a bit disappointed (a kinda)... 'cause it will be good if manufacturers cared more about what REALLY people want their phone to be alike.....

I usually try to avoid using my fingertips, so I want to be able to use stylus and nails. I don't know of any other bigger difference; perhaps it's easier to do multitouch with capacitive displays?

Well, it'd be pretty awkward with something the size of an iPad. Other than that, I wouldn't say it has any advantages. I like the way N900 has lots of different sensors, and gives developers APIs to read/control them, just because they "may" prove useful.

Oh, and on the software part, I'll add multitasking as well, though perhaps that's more or less obvious these days…

I second the whole post apart of the "capacitive if active stylus" part.

You are not alone! I have waited years for a device like the N900 and I will wait years for the next device as capacitive-no_kbd devices will be dominating the market.

It should wash my dishes and serve dinner for $1500 but I understand your point! I would stop thinking about buying it above $1000.

For the OS part...never ever again a closed phone-OS! I won't sell my soul again and again like iOS or android fanboys do. Stockholm syndrome is a serious disease and those people should see a doctor immediately

How about a little input from someone that doesn't have much knowledge / experience of the devices

- Screen

Personal preference is resistive. I would much rather use a stylus because I can see what I am doing without having to 'guess' what I am pressing by looking around my 'pig tit' fingers haha. Also get a lot less residue on the screen if you aren't constantly poking it with your fingers. Size around 4-5 inches with good resolution, N900 is a good size/resolution but I would prefer it slightly bigger.

- OS

Open Source is a must, far greater development potential in my opinion, without users being restricted to what they can and cant do at the whim of the manufacturer. The N900 is my first ever experience of Maemo and I like it.

Root access isn't a must for me, but if we are using a fully open source OS then the capability must be there.

- Software Features/applications

Life management (calendar, To Do, etc.), full internet accessibility, Full flash support, Video, Music and at the end phone / txt.

Being able to run / sync to common PC applications (Outlook etc.)

N900 has a good balance in my opinion, it is by far the smartphone I have used the most. Making and receiving calls is fine and does what it says on the tin, its all the extra bits that make it for me.

Plus something that is often overlooked in my opinion .... customisation. Must be able to customise the layouts / setup to suit me. Move icons around to put what I want, where I want it to make it easier to find. I always used to hate having to remember where all the dug in settings were, especially if it was something I used quite often.

- Hardware features

Physical keyboard prefered over on-screen, might be swayed this way because I am a touch typist (not that I can touchtype on my device). GPS, Compass, Wifi access, bluetooth, Camera (5MP is good enough for me, but the bigger the better as it could negate the need for a seperate digicam).

- Price/Manufacturer

Not unduly bothered about the manufacturer although I do like Nokia's, but am happy to try other kit. Price would be heavily dependant on what it could do so I can't really put a figure to it. But as a guestimate I would say up to $600-$800 if it did everything I needed it to do and do it well.

Resistive (or anything that allows high-res stylus input really), 4" to 5", at least 800x480 (although higher resolution would be preferred, we're not in 2005 any more).

Open source OS is a must. Bonus points for fully open drivers, boot loader etc. Ideally one should be able to throw away the manufacturer's OS and run something like Debian or Fedora on it.

Also, the device should be completely under the owner's control. TPM deployed against the owner's interests to protect third parties' business models or even things like cherry are absolute deal breakers.

Decent web browser, IMAP/SMTP, XMPP & SIP support and a decent terminal with ssh. Root access is a requirement, cellphone capabilities aren't.

Physical keyboard with a reasonable number of keys (say, at least 50 - see the E90 for a decent example). Dedicated numeric, Tab, Esc and cursor keys not optional. A stylus is also a must.

Oh, and of course it should have plenty of physical RAM and flash storage, decent battery life, WLAN and Bluetooth connectivity. USB (especially host mode) would be nice but not a dealbreaker. An N800-style stand would be very nice to have.

Not a priority at all, the first manufacturer who makes one will most likely get my money the day it's released :-)

Hey silvermountain,

I wanted to add something to my original post.. I couldn't codify what I was thinking at the time. But it just came to me:

I want the phone manufacturers to ask themselves a simple question:

Who is my customer?

If the answer is: Carriers, or the content industry

.. then the device is not for me.

If the answer is: The end user

.. then all of the other pieces are much more likely to come together.

I submit that this is actually the root question, because it's not possible to build an open phone if the customer isn't the end-user. Witness all the semi-locked-down Android devices.

Whereas, if the customer is the end-user, the next question becomes: how can I maximize value?

And the answer to that is most definitely not DRM, spyware, trusted computing crap, proprietary software, etc.

There's profit to be made on both ends of the spectrum (iPhone vs. n900). The danger for most companies comes from inconsistency. If you target the end user, carriers will balk. You'll aggravate the content industry. If you target the carriers, you'll offend your (knowledgeable) end-users. Target the content industry, and you're in a whole different ball game.

But in any case, pick a target market, and maintain consistency. Build trust. Don't break it by abandoning one market for the other.

Hey Nokia! Need a new CEO?