I think the extra few pushes and the few extra seconds it takes to do that isn't exactly hard or draining, but I understand what you're saying.
yes maybe it needs getting used to but I find touchscreen not comfortable for texting. When I played with my friend's iphone it took me at least 2 times more to do basic stuff I do on the go with my normal phone. When I write a text message I don't want it to take me more than 20-30seconds.
I'm always looking for phones that are good for calling and texting, then there's camera, music player and all that stuff because it's less important imo. If I'd need a good music/video player on the go I'd rather get a small and reliable phone + an ipod touch (or any other good multimedia player). Also I have everything I need (maybe except wifi) on any mid-end modern phone which is smaller, more reliable, faster to use and usually has much better camera .