Wait, what marking on the Q10 isn't implemented in software? All the printing on all the keys on mine are for things it actually does. I don't have any mechanical problems with mine, though I do have an issue with the battery compartment. (It's slightly too big. Drop the phone just so, and it reboots. They'd fix it, but I just stuck a paper shim in there. It's not worth the hassle of sending it in.)
The thing that gets me, is that in most Android apps on it, you can't press the Sym key and then touch the screen for a symbol - you have to press the physical key that maps to it. Which is okay once you figure that out, but rather frustrating until you do, especially for little-used symbols.
I read an article a while back about 'why no keyboard phones' and the writer interviewed a high-up at Sprint, who basically said it's because no one comparison shops phones any more. They used to walk in and go 'I want an iPhone', so we sold them that, or 'I want an Android' and they would look at all the phones we had. Now it's 'I want an iPhone' or 'I want a Samsung Galaxy' or other halo phone. They buy the heavily-advertised models, and don't actually check features.