I too have an 8525 and a 770 and am feeling slighted by the lack of continued development of the 770's OS. I too am really hoping to like my 770 more than I do and am trying hard to get more use out of it.
The touch is an interesting device to me, but we shall see. I'd like to see what the hacker community can do with applications.
I don't see the tablet market declining much with this touch release. People I mention mine to have never heard of it (Internet tablet).