I will not claim that the upcoming Nokia N900 is an iPhone killer. I will, however, state that it might just be an Android killer. After all, Maemo, the version of Linux which powers Nokia’s line of Internet Tablets, has been around and in constant development for quite a few years now. It would be important to note, though, that the N900 is the first Maemo device which is actually a phone.

In fact, I’m pretty sure about what Nokia has been planning all along. The IT770, N800, and N810 models have been development beds. Think of the previous models as N900’s with training wheels, or even better, publically available design studies. Since Nokia was going to use Linux as an OS, what better way to fully develop a mature and capable OS with loads of supporting software than to take it to the rabid Linux developer community.

I can tell you from personal experience that community responded, in spades. Maemo OS2008 “Diablo” is one powerful mobile OS. It has its rough edges, but its quite stable, and there are a ton of software packages. It can, in fact, even update its own software, and not just the OS software, but all of your 3rd party software, as well. In fact, the only thing about the N810 that I miss… is a phone! So, if you’re interested, and I can’t begin to imagine how you wouldn’t be (it has a 800×480 display, kids), head on over to take a gander at the specifications and some nice photos.

In case you don’t notice, the N900 has a 3.5” display where the N810 and its predecessors all had 4.13” displays. That means that the device is smaller overall. Too bad. Maybe it will work. We’ll just have to see when I get mine in for review.

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