For most of us, I think it's primarily a pocket computer. If you really just want a phone, you are massively overpaying if you get an iphone. I mean, sure, it has phone functionality as well, and that's handy, but just because we still call it a phone, don't think that most of us use smartphones primarily for audio communication.
Upset that a smartphone behaves like a single-purpose landline? Certainly. I believe a fullscreen dialer is terrible UX.
Smartphones are very rarely marketed _as phones._
They are marketed based on differentiating features: everyone knows that the flagship Androids and the iPhone are plenty good at making calls.
This leads you to sell the device based on it's lifestyle features: like Siri, or Google Now. Often they are touted for their entertainment capabilities, or marketed as portable media players.
These devices are sold as though _they're more than a phone._
So I don't think it's entirely unrealistic to expect the dialer to be designed to cooperate with other apps.
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My phone has more CPU cores, more RAM, and more storage than many netbooks. So I find it a bit strange that Skype on my netbook doesn't demand my full attention, but Skype on my phone not only demands it, _ but commands it._
I'm too. I'm upset that my phone behaves as a phone when I'm driving, and late at night. It doesn't need to (and it can ask me the important numbers that can call me at night).
Why is that so absurd? The only reason these things are called "phones" anymore is tradition and inertia. The "phone" app on my "phone" is one of the least frequently used.