I'm considering getting this phone, but still waiting, like you, Irate Iguana, for the Optimus Black to come to VM, before I make a decision. A hardware keyboard is certainly appealing, and the OV seems to be very well liked by its users so a second generation OV with a keyboard, should be quite a hit, too.
Off topic - Does anyone else besides me find it a bit odd that the OB/Marquee seems to have generated so little interest from the Sprint users here on Android Central? I know Sprint subscribers have better phone choices in general than those of us on VM do, but still, the OB looks pretty decent, and I would have thought there would have been at least a few threads about the Marquee by now, or some sort of feedback from Sprint folks in the Optimus Black forum... :shrug:
Holly