I think Apple needs to stop focusing on trying to publicize the iPhone and start working on updating it's long overdue products. Seriously, like Apple isn't a cell phone company. They make computers and music players. Sorry, it just bugs me about the iPhone because that's the only thing you hear about today. Apple is losing its touch.
Oh, Come on. Clearly Apple is transitioning away from being a computer manufacturer to being a consumer electronics manufacturer who happens to provide some very good, very elegant software.
Case in point is the name change from Apple Computer, Inc. to Apple, Inc. It's not that they want to get out of the computer industry altogether, don't get me wrong. But I think Apple sees the fragmented state of the CE market and is working hard on integrating and streamlining the process to a point where all of the electronic devices in a home, though not necessarily Apple-branded products, are interconnected, hopefully using some Apple technology.
Look how far we've come since 2001 when Apple
started to branch out with the iPod. That was HUGE. Now, we can access many areas of our digital life -movies, music, email, documents, TV- regardless of where we might be. Sure, these technologies aren't all Apple innovations, but Apple sees a way to make the experience better. And future Apple technologies/improvements are going to take us deeper into the integration.
For instance if iPhone is integrated with BackToMac, it would be superb; you'd never "forget" anything. Just pull up your home PC on iPhone, find the document you want and print it via bluetooth.
On the original topic, however, I'm not so sure that this method is the "best" way to do input on iPhone nano. And where's the usual disclaimer about patents; that they may or may not end up in future Apple products. It may be too early, but I think Apple has a winner with the multi-touch interface, and I don't see them backing out into a (perceived to be) inferior method. Remember the mini had the much better click-wheel first, but the iPod rapidly received it.