Agreed. I tried news:yc out for the first time yesterday and wound up deleting the app pretty quickly. The toolbar at the bottom was probably the biggest thing other I didn't like. It just felt wrong.
I can't fix it without any help: I want to make something that's a pleasure to use. If you have improvements or even just issues with the choices I've made, could you submit an issue so I can fix them?
I'll reinstall on the simulator and make a few notes for you later today.