I think the problem is that, coming from the iPhone, people expect touch screens to operate in a certain way - it's what they're used to. Once you're over that learning curve, I'm sure the N900's display is more than usable. Right?

I guess people forget that they too had a learning curve when getting used to the iPhone's display - everybody was guilty at first of trying to operate it with their fingernails, but they adapted. I guess the reviewer has decided that the iPhone way is the right way, and measures phones up to it directly rather than considering that they might just work differently.