The iPhone isn't a BAD device. For what it is, it's a very solid piece of hardware and software. The main reason I do not like it is because I don't like Apple's attitude towards just about everything.
With that being said, I'm perfectly content with Android and the iPhone has never tempted me.
I agree. And, like it or not, the iPhone is the standard by which the media and a lot of the public measure whether a phone is "good" these days. The more "iPhone-like" something is, the better they perceive it to be. (It's not fair, but I think it's a fact.)
Apple intrusion drives me nuts, too. Apple tends to act as is they "own" your device (and everything on it), and users are merely "renting" its use.
Customer support is a good thing; perpetual control isn't.