I think that kind of design is the 'future'. There were some mockups of Apple keyboard with a multitouch-screen keyboard that can be readapted for multiple applications (jog dial for video editing, sliders for audio mixing, turntable for DJ, etc) which I thought is pretty cool. With some haptic feedback, it may provide a usable analogue of the required feedback for fingers precision control.. I mean, the trend with keypads have been continuously thinning anyway (typewriter, IBM keyboards, notebook keypads, etc).
But obviously I'm quite biased, cause I've sketched such design a few years ago but scratched it off without knowing of multitouch and haptic tech.