Also, the launcher situation can be significantly improved by using Launcher Pro Plus (the paid version).
You can have up to 7 screens with a rotating dock at the bottom with up to 15 slots where you can load your own app shortcuts. On top of that, you can add 15 more apps to the dock in the "swipe" mode. So, the dock can handle up to 30 (!!) apps to launch. You will be amazed how quickly you will fill 7 home screens, especially using the quality widgets offered by LPP (ex: calendar, people, facebook, friends, etc.)
For contacts in People, when you touch the photo of your person, you get a pop-up where you can choose call, open contact info, text, email or find the address on a map with directions.