The biggest learning curves with my G1 were using a touchscreen and a slide-out keyboard – and not accidentally pushing the volume keys (easy to do when holding it sideways).

And as I mentioned on Twitter, Trish wasn’t too wild about the G1 when she first tried it – thought it was too complicated – and now she’s warming up to it and wants one for Christmas. And speaking of your niece – Emma-Grace is getting pretty good at using it too. She does pretty well playing Solitaire on it. :)

And then there was me, who’s probably upper-middle class tech savvy. Even I had trouble learning the Storm, because there’s a definite art to the way you touch the touch pad. I thought it was just me until my 13-year-old niece struggled so much for a few days that she was ready to throw the phone across the room. It was a major ego boost for me. YES! I’m not old and not “with it.” At least not on this issue.

I like your checklist, and it’s similar to the one I’ve always used. I think the first point is hardest to calculate, though I did well when I bought my last desktop computer. I didn’t buy the best technology available at the time, but I did buy upper end because I wanted to get into video editing. Four years later, the desktop still is rocking along. Or, at least it would be if I’d just stop long enough to reformat.