> It may be underpowered now, but that physical
  > keyboard still makes my envious: I could almost
  > maybe write code on something like that.

I had one. That's what I thought. I was wrong.

It was slower than swype & variants for normal (mail, sms, etc) writing.

The physical keyboard had the benefit of providing relatively easy access to 'dev' keys - esc, ctrl, special characters. But it was so teeny that even as a proficient user (it was my primary phone for 3-4 years) the experience was arduous.

Years later I bought a tablet + BT keyboard (a Logitech one with the hard clam shell that became the stand) and that experience is much preferred. Would work well with a phone too, if you're happy with a small screen. Not pocket sized, certainly, but the keyboard is actually usable.