[General Questions and Answers] eightbitpotion:
I agree with OP. I was a manager of an AT&T corporate location, and then got "promoted" (lol) to one of a handful of repair techs within the company, so I literally spend 8 to 10 hour shifts on the devices. So I feel that I have an opinion to offer on the subject.

iPhone- The iPhone is simple. Every app must be approved beforehand. The interface is very straight forward (maybe too much so?). Customization is at a minimal to say the least. They're efficient devices for the everyday user. I think one thing that's ALWAYS avoided is the fact that iphones are BUILT better than ALL android devices. I'm not sure how many of you have actually opened up an iphone, but you're it's two panes of glass sandwiching an aluminum chassis. The PCB spoons the battery.... and everything has it's place. When I use or work on an iphone I feel that it's on par with other apple products... which is old tech in a new standard of chassis.

Android devices- Obviously I can't ignore the fact that some android devices are simply awesome. With stuff like the Galaxy S2 for example... it puts older (and some newer) netbooks to shame and fits in your pocket. The massive lcds and digitizers really make you feel like you're using a pseudo tablet which is wonderful for videos and web browsing. That's pretty much where it stops though. The devices are flimsy plastic. Android itself, while I'm a MASSIVE supporter of open-source (Arch user here), I feel that's the problem with android devices. There's so many inconsistencies between the flavors that it's absurd. You have multiple desktops, and then you have multiple folders on the desktops... very Linux like which I like. Then you have the drawer.... multiple drawers even- I compare this to getting on a Windows desktop and seeing three clock widgets accompanying the taskbar's clock. Then you have the problem with multitasking which makes you hold down the home button? Waste of my time. Then with the inconsistencies between the hardware of the devices comes the problem with force closes which isn't a small deal imo. I find the infrastructure to be the worst ever- pro-android users... have you ever thought about WHY the Settings menu is pretty much in no particular order? How about the annoyances like adjusting sms/mms volume independently from ringtone volume? I could go on, surely that's enough.

I think that it really does come down to what you think is important. For example I find that run of the mill flimsy plastic laptops that are really powerful aren't worth my money because it's a lot like putting a Ferrari engine in a Prius (though this would probably be fun to watch). An iPhone on the other hand is like... a luxury vehicle that has just enough power. I think most of these issues with inconsistencies on android will be resolved in the near future since Google's acquisition of Motorola and their patents... hopefully they'll start setting some standards. But until then I'll just alternate between devices depending on my mood.

Apps don't really matter- everyone picks between 5-10 apps at most that they like to use daily and there's a great chance that they're on both devices. Anyone that says they use "way more" apps than that probably bought their phone yesterday and the new factor hasn't worn off yet.