The iPhone was such a ground breaking device that it went far beyond what anyone thought a 'phone' could do.

The problem Apple now face with techies is the same problem any techie faces with mortals; they've set a benchmark.
I get asked questions from the technically challenged people at work like 'can't you just integrate our sales and invoicing systems' as if it's plugging a couple of Lego bricks together. Why do they ask this? Because they've seen other systems that do it. It might have been in a multinational or a complete bespoke system, but they've witnessed it, so it's possible.

"Can't you just spend a couple of hours on it?"

Just like they have NO idea of the complexities of linking a web-based sales system with a beta API to a notoriously closed source and antiquated accounting package, I have little idea of the complexities involved in making an iPhone work. But, there's things I can do on my Windows 7 laptop / Exchange server / even my old Windows Mobile PDA I can't do on my iPhone. Can't Apple just spend a couple of hours on them?

Why can't I search my 4 6GB Gmail accounts instantly from the spotlight search?

Why can't I use the same tagging system in Thunderbird, Outlook and on my iPhone?

Why can't I create some real estate and make the browser bars disappear by shaking the phone?

The answer is because I have no idea what I'm talking about. The difference is, I know I don't, so I shut the fuck up.

That said, I do remember when my iPhone (3Gs) was stable, user friendly, and a joy to use. It was before iOS4. The backward steps Apple have taken with the new OS are because they started listing to people. A camel is a horse made by committee.