I don't see the Pre-emptive strike component mentioned anywhere- what's wrong with having it included?

No D-PAD - we saw this coming for a little while didn't we? This is the phone variant; a d-pad is definitely more suited for the dedicated tablet format. Obviously size was a hefty determining factor. I understand your frustration though.

No Hard cover - Hmmm, as a phone I'd rather have a belt clippable holster of some kind or a quality leather sleeve but many will just get a screen protector/armor and call it good carrying it in a pocket. (maybe not those paying full initial price) I'm guessing plenty of current sleeve-type phone cases will handle this device's measurements decently. From a mass-market/consumer appeal standpoint, I can only see the metal sleeve type of previous models being an option down the road if at all since this has no markings to indicate edges to ride, perhaps again left for a Maemo 5 tablet form factor. Without a real hard bezel to lift a case from the display, you'd have to take a different approach to design.

Keyboard etc. - Have we seen much of the virtual keyboard yet? I recall a pic which mimmicked the 4.x virtual keyboard fairly well. Obviously chances are greater for more character choices there, but do we really know what the Ctrl modifier on the hardwware keyboard will do yet? And what about the shift key- who says you can't hold it and press either of the left/right directional arrows and navigate as tabs that way? That may not be the exact method but there should be more than a few ways to generate the results you're looking for, given a little creativity on the programmer's part. And the Sym button- will that pop up a virtual selection of extended symbols such as the pipe you're looking for? Wouldn't it be sweet if each keypad button was OLED and you could see the image of its function change with each modifier?

Overall I think one has to look at this at face value- it's a high-end consumer phone with killer web-enabling technologies that will inevitably explode beyond what we see here to include so much more compatibility and convenience that will solidify it's position as the do-everything platform and tool to never leave at home, forget in your car, nor walk more than 3 feet from as you'll always be going back for it.