I guess it is a matter of taste, I am an old school roleplayer, started in 1976 and the fourth edition is what has brought me back to D&D after a looong break. The rules are the best written D&D I have ever read. They still aren't great, I spend a lot of time trying to find where things are hidden, but they are much better than the white box or the first AD&D books. As for roleplaying I think that goes down to the DM and the players. The rules are just a way of keeping things organized, it is all down the ref and the players to tell their stories.
I have played three sessions of 4ed D&D and they have all been fine. There is a bit of miniatures game feel to the combat, but it moves quickly and is fun for everyone even at level one. A real achievement in my view. I certainly had more fun than the one session I tried of 3ed. The players in the 3ed game I was in were all about the rules, multi-classed Ninja/Woodchuck/Paladins with psionics that were mowing down all the poor DM could throw at them. If that is what people are missing from 3ed I can give it a miss. As I said, 4ed isn't perfect, the fact that they won't even sell you the bloody toy soldiers unless you buy them in random boxes is madness and even the new rules aren't easy for kids to pick up, but I am enjoying it and would describe our group of old fogies as pretty role play heavy.
As far as the electronic tools they seem to be vaporware so far, I think they got into a deeper pool than they thought they were getting into and are now trying to figure out what promises they can actually deliver on. I will happily give it a look when it comes out but I expect I will be puttering away at my maps just as I did in the seventies, only with much more expensive electronic markers than the old colored pens I used then.