Nokia seems to be caught in one of those catch 22 situations again. Do they release the N900 now and face possible criticism for a poorly beta tested firmware or wait till the testing is over and meanwhile face criticism for delaying the launch?

This time they seem to have taken the latter route and have given themselves more time to finish the device’s software. Peter Schneider, Head of Maemo Marketing, Nokia writing on the talk.maemo.org forum has said that the N900 will start shipping in November 2009.  Since shipping in November doesn’t equate to available in November, be prepared to wait till December for a chance to own one.

What is my reaction of this? One of understanding.

At Nokia World, Nokia had said that the N900 would ship in Q4 2009 and it was only due to the expected availability dates posted by various online retailers that an anticipation of an October release arose. So they are well withing their right to delay specially because the N900 marks the start of a new generation of devices, it is important that it creates a good impression in people’s minds. Such is the power of the first impression that a poor show now could seal the fate of Maemo devices in the future.