I used to assume the same thing (I love the buttons on my N1!) until I used a Gingerbread tablet for awhile. The software "buttons" on a Gingerbread tablet are

I used to assume the same thing (I love the buttons on my N1!) until I used a Gingerbread tablet for awhile. The software "buttons" on a Gingerbread tablet are pretty much identical to the capacitive buttons on most Android phones, but they have the advantage of rotating with the tablet. Turn it any direction: sideways, upside down, etc. and all the buttons are still in the same relative location. It's nice actually.