Well, it is definitely true that this is a lacking feature -- don't expect Google to give up their best stuff to the competition (so easily).
I have nothing but Macs at home, an iPad, and an older iPhone and two new iPhones; but my next phone will probably be a Samsung. I love Apple's design and functionality and how everything "just works". But honestly, I'm tired of Apple's refusal to budge on certain design aspects.
They're right about not listening to the customer when it comes to producing a product. But they're completely wrong about towing that line once its out there. Feedback is what helps make things better. The iPhone has been out for 5 years now and it is the same cr** 3.5" screen (different resolution, yes, but same size screen) -- go to an AT&T/Verizon/T-Mobile/Sprint store and just hold a phone with a 4" or 4.3" or 4.5" screen. The difference is amazing -- more to the point they actually make much better use of the phone's space. There is less of a bezel top/bottom and on both sides.
Now when it comes to Navigation, sure, we have lots of options through the App Store, but why does every aspect of how we organize and gather information need to be regulated through Apple? And worse yet -- things should get BETTER now WORSE in this regard as the market matures -- Apple did this with iTunes; they got the Labels to let go of DRM. So why are things going in reverse on the iPhone/iPad ecosystems?
At some point people need to vote with their wallets to express their discontent. I doubt the next iPhone will be anything larger than a 3.7" or 4" screen and it will no doubt keep all icons/apps in the same restrictive space. But I think I'm going to skip on this and go with Android (as much as I despise Google) or perhaps even Mango (though it is a very nice interface the phones are pretty limited in choice) and try it out for a while and see if my growing frustration with iPhone designs can be relieved by this platform or if I'll come back crawling on my knees for a new iPhone shortly thereafter.
I hope Apple continues to make quality products; I just hope that they'll loosen up a bit and adopt some better features...