Actually, I never asked for anyone to give me solutions. There was one question in my original post, in case anyone missed it:
Is my experience unique in the android world?
Now, if you read that as a call for tech support, you need to get your eyes checked. I've already spent hours troubleshooting phones with an iPhone on Sprint and then TMobile now. And nothing ever got better (well, TMobile has been mostly better than Sprint, at least) . Just like reading a newspaper, same shi* different day.
Though I do appreciate the few people who offered some insight and suggestions without taking my critisism of cell phone marketing and upgrade tactics as personal attacks, I've got no more time to spend on the rest of you Android fan boys.