If you are not on the list of the flagship stores, you gotta wait like the rest of the US for the N900s to appear on the NokiaUS store as well as other retailers (Amazon, Dell, Newegg etc). While the Nokia US online store is still showing the N900 as available for pre-order, even after 48 after official US release, Nokia Italy has gone ahead and silently released the Maemo 5 device in Italy. Kudos to Nokia Italy and by the way, I wonder when Nokia US will learn a few things from their European counterparts.  With a disastrous launch like this, no wonder Nokia has a paltry share in the American handset segment.

Yeah, I did stumble upon the first retail unit from the US. Lefteyecc of Maemotalk takes the honours of capturing and distributing the first retail unit of N900 in the US, which he bought from the flagship store in NYC. Here go the couple of images of the first retail unit of N900 in the US:

For N900 fans across the Atlantic, MobilePhonesdirect have made it known that the N900 will start appearing Europe side starting December 3. Apparently Italy is no more a part of Europe or atleast thats what MobilePhonesdirect seem to think for Nokia Italy has released the N900 at their online store.

If I was anywhere in Europe, right now I would be headed to the next flight to Italy to get my hands on a retail unit of N900. Italians may be the envy of the whole world right now, for nowhere else can you grab a N900 off the shelf except in Italy. Hail Nokia Italy for the early release!

The official price of N900 continues to be at USD 649, which is what you have to shell out if you happen to drop by the Nokia Flagship stores in Chicago and New York. Even if you are ready to pay in cold hard cash, I doubt if you can get your hands on a retail unit yet for its been around 24 hours since the official announcement and am yet to come across an unboxing video on YouTube or even a tweet of anyone flaunting a retail unit of N900. Whats annoying is that the Nokia Conversations post claims that the device can be bought offshelf from the flagship stores and even online from NokiaUSA and other online retailers including Amazon, which unfortunately is far from reality. A click on either of these online stores, reveals that the N900 is still in pre-order mode.

If N900 is launched in the US, how come the Nokia US store is still showing it under Pre-order? Forget Nokia USA, let’s follow the Nokia Conversations post and check on Amazon.

It’s been known for quiet a while now that the Amazon deal is sweeter by 90 bucks but the status continues to “not yet released”. Is there any retail unit out in the wild there?

Apparently there is one! Not in the US though, but across the Atlantic over in London, UK this gentleman here is holding what seems to be the first retail unit of N900, which he won during the N900 meet up in London, last night.

So the bottom line is N900 continues to elude fans and retailers alike and yeah I will try my best to get hold of an unboxing video as soon as one appears on the web. Till then, drool over this retail unit in the clasps of this guy!

Looks like the earlier rumor we covered, hinting on November 14th and 16th as the launch dates in the US and UK, were true (albeit marginally) after all. The Nokia Conversations post says that the device has started shipping to Russia, Middle East, Europe and North America with no word on its availability in other regions.

Reflecting the sentiments of the N900 community, José-Luis Martinez, Vice President for Nseries devices of Nokia said:

“The Nokia N900 has generated a lot of interest since its public launch in August, which has been reflected in the device preorders. What’s exciting is the Maemo software, which takes its cues from the desktop computer and offers a full browsing experience like no other handset. We believe the Nokia N900 will be a very compelling device for people who are passionate about technology.”

The first Maemo 5 device is expected to be priced around $700 (before tax and subsidies) and will be available on contract free basis. However Amazon has the N900 for just $559.99 now. Various operators in UK and other European nations will also be offering the device on contract basis with the subsidized pricing of the device. Check out our previous entry for more details on pricing.

The present version of N900 is incompatible with the 3G services of 3 in the UK, Ireland, Sweden, Denmark and Austria. However, Nokia is already working on a software update which will enable the 3G services of the network in the affected countries.

After having delayed the launch on N900 from October to a previously unknown date, Nokia faced a lot of criticism from market pundits and Maemo fans alike. With the holiday season coming up and the competition gearing up with product launches in the same genre, it was hightime Nokia released their flagship handset. Responding to the market sentiments, Nokia seem to have finally decided on the shipping date for its N900, or atleast Newegg and Omia have some inside infoon the Nokia N900 price, which the world is largely oblivious to.

US N900 Price and Availability

UK N900 Price and Availibility

The deals in the UK look more attractive with both Orange and O2  (other carriers may also join the N900 bandwagon soon) offering some good deals on contract basis. As with any high end Nokia device in the US, N900 is again available contract free and the 89 dollar discount from Newegg should convince the skeptics to take the plunge into what promises to take mobile computing/communications to higher levels.

Now that the shipping dates are announced, I just can’t wait to get my hands on one of these toys. I just (pre)ordered mine, have you?

It seems that the folks of Nokia sent out 300 pre-production test units to different people all giving different feedback. Perhaps there have been some unfavorable reactions to the unit and the new Maemo operating system. Of course, we can only speculate this. Due to these reactions, they have pushed back the release date and is now making some tweaking.

I am sure many feel bad about the delay. But it is something of a welcomed disappointment. We can see that Nokia is doing its very best to make sure it will roll out their best product yet. They are gearing up to butt heads with the competition especially Apple’s iPhone.

The Nokia N900 is dubbed as “RAW COMPUTER POWER” with the description – “Experience the speed and raw power of the high-performance Nokia N900 mobile computer.” Among other things, the N900 boasts of a 3.5 inch wide screen touch display with 800 x 480 pixel  resolution, full QWERTY keyboard, Wi-fi and Bluetooth, a 5-megapixel camera with a Carl Zeiss optics Tessar lens with a CMOS sensor camera and other hot features.

So we need to wait another month before we get our hands on the Nokia N900. Will it be worth the wait?

Rumor on the internet was that the next iPhone killer contender will be released on October 19^th 2009. But as we can see this is not the case as the date is already over and there is still no sign of N900 anywhere.

However, word has it that the N900 phone should be available by the end of October 2009. Perhaps, it is being positioned nearest to December to take advantage the Christmas and gift-giving season. Not quite the gift you can get in your stockings but, if you can afford the estimate $649 price tag, why not?

As for Amazon, they have posted in their website that the Nokia N900’s availability will be on November 2, 2009. Of course, things still remain to be seen.

You have the option to pre-order from the Nokia website. Unfortunately, not all countries can do this. Only Finland (of course), France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom and USA. Interestingly, there are no mention of any Asian countries which is highly loyal to Nokia products and are more open to embrace new gadgets like the N900.

When it does get released by the end of the month, let’s hope the unit lives up to the hype of being “Raw Computing Power” and not just “Raw Publicity”. After seeing the videos online, this could just be the phone that can give the Apple iPhone a run for its money (and market).

The world continues to wait.