>I don't know if it really matters to the average user to have root on their system; for technical people it certainly implies "true ownership" of the whole stack on the device.

The average user will find it very convenient when their technical friends can fix, upgrade or unlock features in their device. So even if the average user never uses it, they will benefit greatly by having root access to their device.

Remember back in the day when your friends would have you fix their computer? Has that ever happened with phones/tablets? Why not?