it's taken me 13 hours and 25 minutes to finally get to the end of this thread. and i have to say it's been a journey. some things i've noticed along the way is the demand for hwkb and how some people are disappointed the consumer device is candybar etc. i like to live by the rule of trying before you knock it. iphone was announced and demoed, i listened, sounded amazing, tried it and realised it was terrible as a phone but great visuals compared to the rest of the market.
then came android, listened, tried and didn't like it. the point is i'm willing to give something a chance and be objective afterwards. some hwkb are terrible and completely unusable just like some touch screens.
you've nothing to lose by trying (maybe your pride) and maybe you'll like it.
and once nokia get back in the business of selling a lot of high end devices and large smart phone market share they can release niche phones, first comes mass market then comes other stuff.

EDIT:
i do think the main focus will be on S40 devices as they are simple to use, work, last long and loads of people use them as d2d work phones. and loads of people i know prefer them to smart phones.