whatever carrier you have, and if they have an android phone, get a phone with regular android 2.x whatever. these phones are normally the easiest to root. motorola has some block on their devices because they use motoblur version of android. There is also the HTC sense ui, im pretty sure that one is pretty straight forward to root you wont have any problems as long as you follow every direction their is.

it voids your warranty but i think it is worth it, I have a rooted nexus one and i love it, I can control absolutely everything on my phone!

According to a lot of sources, the next update for the Nokia N900 will allow Maemo and Meego to dual boot!

Actually Maemo is the easiest to root. Android is not really linux.
By the way you can already dual boot Meego on the N900 and you can also triple boot Android or ubuntu, or any ARM distro for that matter.

My current phone has been with me for... 8 years IIRC. So you can imagine what kind of useless brick it is
I've been delaying a new acquisition for so long now.
At first it was the wait for the multi-purpose phone (this was the time when smartphones with camera started appearing). Then it was the wait for the phone that allowed syncing with Linux/GNU systems... with camera (I kept an eye the OpenMoko project until I gave up). Then the Android appeared and all the new fancy hardware. These new phones were expensive so I waited some more. And finally the Nokia N900 appeared, but it lost a bit to the competition because it's quite bulky and has a small screen.
So I'm really tired of waiting for the "perfect" phone (this one exists, but it's delayed).

The problem with Android phones is that even though it "exploits" the FOSS Linux kernel it is not so friendly with FOSS GNU libraries, which means you have problems porting FOSS software to Android.
Another problem for me is that I'm not very fond of Google spyware.

IMO Maemo (now converted into MeeGo) are the way to go.
The only thing that is keeping me from buying a Nokia N900 is that the hardware is not so nice when compared with other phones (e.g. Samsung Galaxy S). Besides that it is quite bulky.
OTOH the upcoming Nokia N9 (if rumors are true) is perfect! It's slim, has a querty keyboard, 4 inch screen, cam with dual flash, and all the other cool stuff.
The problem is that it has been delayed twice already. Current ETA is mid 2011!!! grrrrrrr *raaaaaaaaaaageeeeeeeee*
When it finally comes out the HW will no longer be top-notch, but it will still be a hell of a "mobile computer".

Additionally for me it's not only running Linux/GNU that is needed. It's the ability to sync the phone with the computer. That means contacts, sms, calendar, etc. Is there such a tool?
I've looked into the SyncML wiki page, but I still don't get it.

BTW, it would be sweet if it was possible to install Maemo/MeeGo on some of those Android phones. Is there such a project?

I just purchased an android. I use Virgin Mobile (no contracts) and they now support the Samsung Intercept. I had to purchase the phone for $249, but I am getting unlimited data and text, and 300 minutes talk for $25/mo. If I wanted unlimited talk, it would be $60/mo.

I promptly rooted the phone and have been tailoring it to suit myself ever since. The 300 minute restriction is gone; I have set it up for VOIP calls using Google Voice and sipgate. I also have removed pretty much all of the google apps from the phone, except the store and google maps. My purpose in doing that was to reduce its opportunities to exchange information with google. But the store is necessary and maps is just too useful.

I can tether with it, using it like an aircard for my laptop. I also can plug it into my computer via usb, log onto it from the computer, and control it. Or I can mount its SD card on my computer and move files back and forth (without removing the SD card from the phone). It can join my LAN via a wireless connection and exchange data over the internet rather than over the cell network...which is often useful when doing VOIP calls.

I can connect with my computer (or any other) using ssh via the cellphone network from anyplace, and I have an scp app available that lets me move files back and forth via the cell network from wherever. There ARE synch apps, but I don't know if they will work with my linux apps and haven't yet investigated it.

You CAN deploy standard linux apps; I have busybox running and tcpdump. I'm thinking that porting privoxy might be a nice project for me (when I have the time), and adding a standard keyboard driver so a full sized keyboard could be plugged into the USB port might be useful.

I don't trust google, but if you use a communications device, you're gonna be vulnerable to someone. Just no avoiding it.

So, where I sit now is that my first full year of service will cost $550 including phone. Can't complain about that. And, one app that I now have could wind up saving me a big chunk of that; look up ShopSavvy, which is just an incredibly cool app.

Nexus One from Google/HTC, Android based.

Check the link out

So after reading this thread, I have two questions:

First: Is the consensus that Droid-based phones offer the most software flexability (easiest to root, inject apps, jailbreak, program yourself, etc.) so long as they are not Motorola phones (Motorola apparently adding som proprietary tweaks to make rooting difficult?

Second: Which phone(s) offer the most capable hardware (most memory, fastest CPU, GPS, tethering outlet, etc.)?

I'm thinking of getting a smartphone when my current contract is up, but if I am going to spring for a smartphone, I want the most capacity and flexibilty I can for the dollar. Otherwise I might as well stick with the dumb phone that I have.

Thanks.

moxieman99, Android based phones are not flexible. If you want flexibility, you should go with Maemo instead. The N900 is the most flexible phone out there.

Okay. So give me opinions please: Which Maemo phone has the best hardware? The n900?

Droid is a sub-brand/trademark of Motorola, so I can only assume that you meant Android, or something. Motorola often applies a 'reflash blocking' bit in the original firmware, because that's the kind of conservative, don't-want-to-deal-with-the-warranty-issues-when-the-consumer-does-flashing-wrong, company that they are.

I'm not quite sure what sense this question makes; if OS A is bloated and uses a load of memory for its internal purposes and OS B doesn't, but there is a phone which uses OS A that has slightly more memory than any on OS B, you want to buy it? Even, if that phone on OS B can do more for the user? (Or, a higher clocked CPU, Or, which may be different, a faster CPU?)

I don't think that there are curent smartphones without GPS, so you can more or less drop that as a requirement, if you only stick to recently introduced smartphones (probably some featurephones, and low-end-not-really-smartphones though).

Tethering, as an OS feature, comes into the Android line at, IIRC, version 2.2, so, if it is an Android, it just needs to be a sufficiently recent Android (or updateable to to a sufficiently recent Android release).

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The N900 is the only Maemo device with phone capability.

Thanks. I'm absorbing all of this.

I just wonder how long it will be before someone designs an unlocked smartphone with no OS, allowing the consumer to decide which OS and apps to install.

Actually you can install other OSes on the N900. You can install Android (NITDroid is actually Android but Google didn't gave them the right to call it Android). There is also MeeGo and Ubuntu and you can also use stuff like easy debian which is debian inside Maemo (it uses the same kernel and opens a window containing Debian). You can even create multi boot on the N900. With enough tweaking you can install pretty much any OS that can run on its hardware.
That is one of the reasons they call it a mobile computer instead of a smartphone. It is a smartphone and can be used as a smartphone but it is much more than that.

Why has no one said anything about PalmPre and WebOS?

I have rooted my samsung intercept with Android 2.1 and installed tethering apps. I've tested them; they work. I've installed two apps and haven't evaluated which is best, but both work.