I wouldn't recommend it to "normal" people - just because it's still a bit big and doesn't have that many apps. But for hackers it's just perfect imho. The real keyboard feels nice. You've got open access to whatever you want (and open-source access to almost everything). You can deploy your own scripts / apps. You can use multiple IM and voip accounts by default.

If you want to try the interface, you can install the maemo sdk (scratchbox) which will just run the real interface on your screen via X display.