The Communicator wasn't so bad for emails or sms either. It was also pretty damn convenient as an extended-form idea pad. Notepad is not an equivalent, for all kinds of reasons.
So - less of the 'blind' please. Sometimes if someone doesn't instantly love an Apple product to absolute bits, there may be good practical reasons for that.
I bow to those with far more experience, but in the world-view of unsophisticated but harried drones like me, this is a dream. "Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage." - Anaïs Nin