> with Ive now in charge of software design we can at least expect some more aesthetic polish

I hope he delivers something more than polish - if he can make the human-machine interface more intuitive/seamless while toning down the visual cruft that would be great.

> their biggest strength is providing a good platform (hardware and OS) for third party developers to shine

Definitely. That seems to be their angle with the iPad mini vs the better spec'd & competitively-priced competition.