The OP says "Having stereo quality speakers means better sharing of media entertainment with others" which means you have to be all snogging each other to be able to all "enjoy" the stereo
Having stereo is good, but not that good.
If you want to get pedantic, 'stereo quality speakers' doesn't always mean the same thing as 'stereo speakers'.
When watching video on an iPhone, I am always covering the speaker hole with my hand and muting the sound. A speaker on each side could be helpful for this. I'm always two-handing the N900 anyways, but it doesn't seem to mute as much as the iPhone does.
Besides all the Nokia N-series devices, I have an Archos 5 internet media tablet. The video display on the latter is great, but the lack of stereo sound is so annoying, that I am thinking to sell it.
Take back what I said about the speakers being too close together to get a decent stereo image, I guess you're right in that them facing outwards makes up for their proximity.
Buuuuut they are tiny, and tinny. Stereo or not, they aren't nice to listen to music on.
Also as far as I can tell, 'stereo quality' is not something that exists, or at least doesn't make sense. you either have stereo audio or you don't regardless of quality..
