I remember when Nokia released the N770 Internet Tablet. I was so excited for that is the beginning of some magical unified internet future that would be extremely mobile and extremely powerful.

And it's clear that some in Nokia saw where the convergence was heading. But as the N770 became the N800, you could tell that there were power rifts and in-house fighting about whether or not they should just push the concept into the phone.

Ultimately, as many people have noted, a mixture of arrogance, caution, and faith in Symbian kept a great Nokia internet phone from really happening.

Then the iPhone came out, and that was that.

I distinctly remember the Maemo forums where people were defending the N800 and how it was so much better. There was a particular thread where people brought up all the bits and bobs that Maemo did that iOS could not. It reminded me of my friends who were trying to convince me that MiniDisks were better than MP3s.

And that's when I sold my tablet.