How Important is a Hardware Keyboard?

I am dependent on the hardware keyboard of my G1 to do any typing on my phone. I try the soft keyboard built into Android 1.6 now and then just to see if there's a change of heart. I feel like the suggestion feature breaks up my flow but I can't use the soft keyboard without it since I make too many typos with my big fingers.

Because the Nexus One has no hardware keyboard I am reluctant to buy one. I hear rumors that the next big Android phone from Google will have a hardware keyboard, so I will probably wait.

What about you? How important to you is a hardware keyboard when purchasing a mobile phone?

Photo by sugree