I didn't want a smartphone that couldn't do the job of a computer in a pinch, and I got a Nokia N900.
Smartphone use is definitely ok, with a smartphone (non-realistic-calfskin) contacts app and messages/phone apps that are well-integrated, and several third-party apps that I use regularly (CloudGPS, FBReader). And the browser is as good as most others.
It has also got a (small) keyboard that you can use to enter text. Not fullsize, so you wouldn't do any programming on it (unless using a Bluetooth keyboard), but entering text and URLs definitely works. Where its computer qualities shine is when you need to scp a file from one place to the other, or if you have a bit of Python or Java code you want to run (because it has OpenJDK and Python).
I've never been tempted by the possibility to run (ARM-crosscompiled) real desktop applications, though - it's only smartphone stuff plus occasional console tasks, never ever Windows/Icons/Mouse/Pointing.
Smartphone use is definitely ok, with a smartphone (non-realistic-calfskin) contacts app and messages/phone apps that are well-integrated, and several third-party apps that I use regularly (CloudGPS, FBReader). And the browser is as good as most others.
It has also got a (small) keyboard that you can use to enter text. Not fullsize, so you wouldn't do any programming on it (unless using a Bluetooth keyboard), but entering text and URLs definitely works. Where its computer qualities shine is when you need to scp a file from one place to the other, or if you have a bit of Python or Java code you want to run (because it has OpenJDK and Python).
I've never been tempted by the possibility to run (ARM-crosscompiled) real desktop applications, though - it's only smartphone stuff plus occasional console tasks, never ever Windows/Icons/Mouse/Pointing.