If that were true, then it would certainly be a boon for those of you who are trying to argue for virtual buttons over real ones.

Lucky for the rest of us, you're actually completely wrong.

The feel of the button isn't just for when you're not looking at it. It's a tactile reinforcement for your brain that your finger is where you think your finger is, EVEN WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT IT. For example, with the iPhone, you have to get used to where you place your fingers, because you can't tell which button you're pressing with the main part of your finger, even when you're looking right at it. If there were tactile indicators for the edges of the buttons, you'd be able to feel it right away, and you'd have instant feedback.

The fact that there's a learning curve to virtual keyboards (the iPhone's especially, but even for the N800) indicates that you're having to adjust your behavior away from natural and assumed interactions. That means, without question, something key to the experience has changed, something that is slowing you down (and thus is of a reduced ergonomic value) until you learn how to compensate for what's missing.

There is value to the feel of the button that is not just incidental, nor should it be dismissed as "only when you're not looking at it" or something along those lines.

Great. When those future technologies are available, that give you all of the ergonomic value of a real button, feel free to build them into a device. Until then, give us what works _today_. Real buttons.