When the StarTac came out, it was revolutionary in size and function. I don't know what you think was wrong with its usability, but compared to other phones of the time, it was pretty great. Let's see more engineering driven projects!
It'll be interesting to see what happens to the 'indie' image-manip apps now the big brand has entered the marketplace. There are plenty of people who would just search for 'Photoshop' on the App Store, or buy the app on brand trust, regardless of alternatives...
It's the equivalent of Apple buying a pile of old Motorola StarTAC phones and slapping an "iPhone" sticker on them.