I don't think I'm over estimating the ignorance of people at all, and I think you're comments are bordering on offensive, please stick to the subject matter, petty derogatory comments will only undermine your argument.
When I speak to friends of mine (yes shock horror I do have some friends) with an iPhone and they see my phone, 8 times out of 10 they have no idea what it is, even when I tell them the name and the operating system it runs. When I show them the phone and what it can do, most of them say they'll consider switching when the time comes. So yes, I would say many people are ignorant of the capabilities of other phones.
Now here's the key point, the reason they are ignorant isn't necessarily their fault. The Google marketing machine is poor at best, so the information just isn't out there for the average person that has little time to devote to their next smart phone purchase. Keeping abreast of the latest and greatest phone is not top of everyone's list.
When Apple brought out the first iPhone is was truly revolutionary and changed the market forever. I remember the first time I used it, it blew me away. Now, imagine someone that got an iPhone during this time period or saw someone else who had. It's streaks ahead of anything else at the time. But like most people they're not really interested in the goings on in the smart phone market as time passes, their phone works well and that's all they care about. Why not just get the next iPhone when it comes out. So yes, I do think most iPhone buyers are ignorant to the competition, why else would anyone now buy an iPhone, but I certainly understand the reasons for their ignorance.