Which build OS and XIP versions? Note that I did specifically say, this is with any build that has been tweaked by FormerPalmOS, which I believe are only builds 21109, 20954, and 21015. SSK is one of the few kitchens (if not the only one) that I know of that gives you a whole slew of OS choices (I believe there are eight now?) so for you to compare performance and say you are on the same kitchen doesn't mean a whole lot.
I am on build 20954 and yes, every time I open the Windows folder in File Explorer, it opens in no more than 2 seconds. And when I open the keyboard, it rotates in less than a second, EXCEPT my Weatherpanel plugin, which usually does take a couple seconds to pop back up after rotating (there will just be a blank area until it repopulates). Someone want me to take a video of this? I will be glad to take the video if someone will host it or upload it to a site for me.
And I agree with Jmorton, I like the feel of the keys on the VZW keyboard better, and I'm already used to the layout. I type 90% of my forum posts here, on my Touch Pro. And anyone who knows me knows I tend to type fairly long posts
I also agree that I could go w/o the hardware keyboard entirely if need be, and had HTC made a Diamond that had a camera flash and SDHC slot that I could have hacked to work on VZW, I'd have been all over that. I use the standard HTC on screen keyboards (usually the "Sure Type" 20 key) with T9 turned on and can type pretty quickly and comfortably.