Speaking as a user, I've never liked Android. It feels bad using it; it's not as quick or fluid, the ui animations aren't as crisp, the tapping seems less accurate, and I have serious trouble with their keyboards (on-screen and physical). I've met people who feel the same, and I've met people who make similar comments about the iPhone. In the end, people will buy what they like, and Apple makes a product of a level of quality that is easy for lots of folks to like, and they know exactly what level of quality to expect. Android is a hodgepodge of devices that range from cool to embarrassingly rough. My opinion is that until they do some serious cleaning up of their ecosystem and their OS, they've got a long hard battle for actual mindshare in the general public.
As a developer, I find myself inspired by form factor. That's my own limitation on creativity, I suppose. I don't think of an idea, and then imagine a device that would work for it. I look at a device, and imagine ways to use it. I am inspired by the iPad, and my position is that I will do whatever is necessary to make the app that I want to use. If that means learning to be proficient in Objective-C, so be it. I'm not saying what Apple did is fair, but I don't see how it would stop me.
But then again, my livelihood doesn't depend on, and I would never try to put myself in the situation where it did.