Check out the really new video of the new Nokia N900. It’s officially an internet tablet, but its also a phone. Important fact: it’s not Symbian-based at all (which phones like the N97 and Xpressmusic 5800 use). No, this is Nokia’s “secret weapon” Maemo operating system (pronounced “My Mo”), which used to run on Nokia’s tablets like the N800, but apparently is making its way to phones. Very interesting.

This operating systems is based on many open source technologies like Linux. The N900 will run Maemo 5 (check it out on Nokia’s over-energetic video here), which in the video looks pretty slick, and just way better than Symbian S60 Touch, which by now feels as old as MacOS 9 or Windows 95.

Recently I have been increasingly craving for a device that frees me from my laptop. I already do quite a bit of web browsing on my Nokia 5800 Xpressmusic. This includes moderating the comments on this blog and checking out Twitter and Watwet. I am also using Facebook on the go more and more.

Of course, every-time I use my wife’s iPhone I just feel the superiority of its interface. But Nokia still do a better job in the multitasking, photography and mapping departments. Apple’s rumored “iTablet” would be great for me if it ran the MacOS Snow Leopard and not just the iPhone apps, but then again the whole device is nothing more than a rumor.

The iPhones 50,000 App universe is, of course, one heck of an advantage Apple has over everybody now. And although the Nokia Ovi application store is unexciting, maybe the future of Maemo platform can be different. It’s openness might mean better support from a community of developers. Already the N900 will support many video formats, for example.

Thus, the N900 looks pretty good to me. It comes out in October and I can’t wait to try it out.

Here is an interesting early review of the N900 on Maemo.org