It's not really a matter of being against positive forward steps for me... but rather a matter of priority. Lesser-needed features (anything entertainment related) preceding more important features (communications related) annoys me. But it's just my personal opinion that communication is more important than entertainment.

Integral to one is not needed to all,

Which feature of the Iphone would that NOT apply to? If that were the criteria for inclusion, the iPhone would be your basic candybar phone.

Adam said "integral to many", and with more states passing hands-free driving laws the definition of "many" is growing every year when it comes to bluetooth functionality.

Without bluetooth capability, voice control still leaves you fiddling with the phone when you should be driving.

vlingo is another free app, and I like how it works better than the Google app -- say "find X" to look for X on a map, "search X" to search google, and "call X" to dial, assuming of course X is in your contacts.

You have Map and search functions via voice already. Install the free Google application. Why does it have to be via "vlingo" (whateverthehell that is)?

Though if they want to go beyond just voice dialing, I would much rather see the Maps and Search functions from vlingo as core services before any playlist controls...