You are exactly correct. Why would I care about anyone else's opinion over mine to determine my product purchases? Or should I let you decide what I buy? That just seems like a recipe for failure.
Since I know exactly what I want and/or need in my phone, then I am the only opinion that matters. So yes, compared to android, blackberry, Microsoft, and any other phone maker, Apple is the only one who understands what I want and can deliver that product. If another company wants to try to convince me they are more than welcome to roll the dice and try. No one is stopping them from bringing a better product to market. Of course up to this point, they all pale in comparison. I will admit though, that I am very picky, so they have their work cut out for them. I don't expect any of them to out-Apple Apple.
I apologize as I am new to these boards, but I come here because I enjoy all things technology and the discussion it brings. So I am sorry if I missed a post in which you have said you have tried those other devices and you have noticed a difference that Apple has over other brands, most notable the Android platform since that is a very similar end user experience. Could you elaborate where Android has failed and that Apple has excelled? I've noticed on a lot of forums that most iOS users are only familiar with earlier Android OS and devices so perhaps past perceptions are no longer the case?