I had the same impression of the "shaking" functionality. Samsung's phone has an 'Accelerometer' built-in to calculate and ascertain movement in three dimensional space and then carry out commands according to those calculations. It's an interesting technology, but I see greater benefits in recognizing that the phone is being dropped, or using it in a device like a portable MP3 player with a hard-disk, so you can park the head of the drive and stop play before it hits the ground. Apple is/has applied for a patent on this technology. Of course, IBM invented it a couple of years ago... go figure! I suppose Apple feels invincible these days?!
-Paul
Blogologist