Correct me if I'm wrong, as I'm not very familiar with iPhone restrictions, but as I understand it your average Android-based phone can provide more openness out of the box in terms of how much functionality a given app may have, as well as allowing the installation of unsigned apps. Would something like Swype (as in a completely new keyboard application, overriding the stock kb) be allowed on the iPhone?

Sure, you may not be able to tether on the stock phone, but the OS definitely provides a more 'loose' environment to work with compared to that of Apple.

I thought we had gone over this whole "fix" of Microsoft's a few days ago? If anything, the OP should've focused the article more on its effect on the Toshiba model, because that's more recent news to me. Anyways, I doubt Microsoft is going to do anything else about this issue. The average consumer is willing to put up with a lot, especially if it happens once every few years, and, even then, doesn't give the user THAT much hassle. Plus, this IS Microsoft we're talking about. They have enough trouble fixing their larger hardware/software malfunctions, on products that sell better, let alone tending to things with which they hold a rather small market share for.