Interesting read over on Slate.com: Android vs. iPhone: Why Apple still has the edge over Google’s operating system. Before you, faithful Android user and UFies.org reader (I know there’s at least 3 of you), this is not an ‘Android sucks’ article, in fact, the author rather likes Android. The key is here:
But then, at the last second, the phone makers and the world’s cellular carriers snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. They ruin the phones’ potential with unnecessary features and apps that lower the devices’ battery life, uglify their home screens, and make everything you want to do extra annoying.
And later:
If you get the Play edition of these phones, you’ll see Google’s version of each of these apps, and you’ll come away impressed by Google’s tasteful, restrained, utilitarian design sense. But if, like most people, you get your phone for $199 from a carrier, you’ll find everything in it is a frightful mess.
Or put in simpler terms, “design by committee sucks fat hairy wookie balls”.