> If resources are that plentiful and the OS is still completely open-source then its only a matter of time until this is exploited and the phone starts to lag.

It's really not a function of plentiful resources. It's that the contract only allows applications to keep running, it doesn't guarantee it. So if resources are a bit low, Android has the right to kill -9 any background process.

In Android 2.2+ this actually works really well, in my experience.

I do agree with your other points, though. Matias Duarte is good at making it pretty, but his designs tend to be quite cluttered and complicated, IMO. I wish they would focus on simplifying and making the interface more welcoming.