With practice, one can keep face-to-face meetings on-track, mitigating the time-wasting factor
With practice one can write clearly enough to mitigate the "benefits of body-language and subtle queues to meaning."
I'm not so sure that's true. We're still discovering ways in which we receive information from others non-verbally.
Sometimes an e-mail is the right choice. Sometimes a meeting is the right choice. Sometimes both are the right choice. All else being equal (competence, availability) the face-to-face communication is always preferred in my book.
If my co-worker is a terrible person to talk to, I'll prefer an e-mail (all else not equal). If my co-worker runs terrible meetings, I'll prefer an e-mail. If my coworker has the reading comprehension of a two-year old, I'll prefer a meeting. If my co-worker is in another country, I'll prefer an e-mail. Those are all situations where not all else is equal. In most cases, where the choice is closer, the face-to-face meeting wins out.