Why does this need to go in the Smithsonian? It seems nowadays universities are building gadgets just to put in the Smithsonian. Is anyone in 50 years going to talk about this ultra long-lasting dildo like they talk about the Apollo 11 capsule when they see it in the museum?

@Munk

I agree with you on that. Eldar broke his non-disclosure agreement with Nokia by leaking nearly everything about the N900, including reviewing it. Then, when Nokia got upset with him and called him in for a "come to Jesus" chat, he acted like a petulant child and started writing editorials about how bad they were.

I'm guessing FoxCon is the only company left talking to him.

@Engadget:
"Be clear on this though: our incredibly frustrating S60 5th user experience was by far the biggest complaint we had when reviewing Nokia's flagship N97 "

Really? Because I could have sworn that your biggest complaint was the offset space bar the way you guys carry on about it!

@Aziz S

Why yes, Aziz, it does look familiar. In fact it looks JUST like the Nokia Maps icon, arguably the world's most widely used mobile navigation program.

@Chris

"particularly in the States where carriers have a complete aversion to the topic"

It's not that US carriers have an aversion to the topic. They're just waiting for Apple to invent front-facing cameras and video calling.

Well, the prototype in Chicago at the Nokia store has a pretty bad resistive screen. Very, very unresponsive. Hopefully you played with a more recent prototype, which is a good sign.

Hey Chris,

Thanks for the quick overview. I recently dropped into the Nokia store on Michigan Av in Chicago. They had a prototype in the back that they showed me. I learned a few things from the sales rep, and I'm not sure how much is rumor:

1) She said there is no deal yet with T-Mo US. Once it is launched, and she had no idea when the US launch would be, it would be sold unlocked. Have you guys heard anything more yet?

2) She pointed out that they are positioning this as a "tablet" not a "phone". I think this is a huge mistake. It's too small to compete with the upcoming tablets, and really should be positioned as the top Nokia phone. What's your take on the phone features?

3) Finally, she repeatedly reminded me that the device they had in store was a prototype. I also found the resistive touch screen very, very unresponsive, and eventually just pulled out the stylus. Even when the rep used it, the UI elements would "jump" or "jerk" with finger input. Hopefully this is resolved with the final release. Why the heck they don't just stick a capacitive in, no one knows.

Oh, and any spare invites for the launch party in Chicago? Can you send me one? Please? Please? :)

Nokia needs to spend less time making videos and more time building slim, powerful, innovative devices.

The reason AT&T doesn't offer video-calling in the US is that Apple hasn't invented it yet. As soon as Apple invents a second, front-facing camera and a video-chat-app, then AT&T will launch it ;)

Couple of thoughts on this article:

1) Symbian foundation should get of their fat rear-ends and launch real products, like, you know, an OS called Symbian^2. How long have these guys been promising us this?

2) Calling this a response to Google's navigation announcement is really silly Engadget. You make it sound as if Nokia (because, really, that's who is the driver behind Symbian Foundation) is playing catchup. Nokia has had Nokia maps, with full voice navigation for many years now, and the latest version, Ovi Maps, has also started doing the rounds. I think it's Google that's playing catchup here.