For the record, I don't have any negative associations with the phrase "idiot proof" either. It means, "designed in such a way that a clueless user can't break it". Note this is not the same as, "designed for clueless users".

On phone vs. computer. I was forced to use a spare Android phone for two weeks while I was dealing with certain issues on my N900. Both devices have a hardware keyboard and the same screen size and resolution, yet the difference was quite striking. The N900 is clearly a computer with a by-the-way phone functionality while Android is clearly a phone that by the way can also run "apps".