http://phasetwo.org/post/the-querty-myth.html

I don't buy the whole "we write with a pen therefore a stylus is natural" because there are so many differences. When Nokia comes out with a 8.5x11 tablet with a paper texture screen and an active or magnetic stylus then I'll reconsider, but passive screens are just not accurate enough to handle that kind of functionality cleanly.

Palm chose stylus input and it shows in their design. It was possible to cleanly use the device with only the 4 hardware buttons + dpad or the stylus. Their UI guidelines were designed from the ground up for stylus and they invested real time and money into handwriting.

And I'll agree with everyone that the Apple keyboard sucks, but since this was never intended to be an input heavy device it makes sense. But looking at it more holistically there are a number of really great ideas even in that sucky keyboard. The one biggest thing is the next/previous buttons so that you don't have to do a context/modal change three or four times just to enter a username and password on a webpage. Taking the Nokia OSK and adding an application controlled area would be a big start too so you don't have to change modality in IM just to see what the other person said.

On the other hand there are items like Application Manager that make a mockery of UI/UX issues leading to a needlessly complicated application. For instance you go to the menu->tools->Refresh application list... and then it prompts you to confirm, why? Check for updates... doesn't actually check it only lists and browse installable applications is a joke because they don't enforce any QA on extras.

That's just one application and I can brainstorm 3 or 4 alternate interfaces that would have been cleaner and clearer. I'm not talking about major rewrites here, just slightly different wrappers on the same functionality. It's obvious they don't see UI design as a high priority on the platform.