Android does this to a certain degree but it's obvious from the level of polish that their focus is not on these small things. And, BTW, that's fine - for someone like me, I'd rather see the stuff that Android is making progress in - but for many people, the iPhone UI still has that special 'something' that can't be described or measured.
They are basically pissing off everyone - so they still don't have a free navigation app with turn-by-turn to compete with Google and they will struggle for some time to get that done. Now they got to do their own ads too. Own CPU too - so it's going to be longer than competitors to get a great dual core ARM CPU out. I understand there are different teams and Apple can hire as many people as they want but in reality it just doesn't scale in the long term. (They still need to shuffle teams between OS X and iOS as far as I can tell.)
But Apple knows they cannot play the numbers game - so they will stay a #2 or #3 and get away with it by increasing their profitability - that's a no brainer. But how it affects their competence in delivering new features and hardware advances against competitors - that remains to be seen.
Judging by Apple's rapid increase in portable computer sales in the last decade, I think many would say "picking a battle against the entire industry" hasn't worked out too terribly for them. Apple's one-model approach for mobile devices (with a small set of possible hardware configurations) has and will continue to pay off big for development purposes and will allow for more advanced features to be integrated thoroughly and simply across the platform more quickly (examples - GPS & gyro now & touch sensitive back & NFC technologies in the future).
The bottom line is that I would expect Android to continue to push the industry forward on many specification style features like high quality cameras, speedy hardware, and storage space while the iPhone will have more "leapfrogging" features like the examples listed above. Android software implementations will probably continue to be piecemeal while the iPhone implementations will be more thoughtful yet limited. (example - push notifications & UI)
There's a great article about Apple and vertical integration (specifically the PA Semi acquisition) here: http://www.forbes.com/2008/04/24/mitra-apple-pasemi-tech-ent...
I read that at the last launch in London, the queue for the Apple store went past several independant stores that had iPhones in stock.
It's all a tacky PR stunt which you would think was beneath them. Why Gruber has recenty become fixated on this as an indicator of platform health I have no idea, it's like reviewing a movie based on how long some geek in a costume is prepared to wait outside a theatre.
The long lines for the latest Apple release are an indictment of the Apple fanbase. They should never been seen as a benefit of the platform.
I see the same thing about the endless gloating about Apple profit. "Hey everybody, look at how much I overpaid! I surely picked the right horse to back!" It's a bit incredible.
The modern world is amazingly capable of huge feats of fulfillment without demanding that the hordes line up for the cameras at 5am. That practice is a ridiculous anachronism.
Sure, you or I might fine it strange that people do this but so what? What you've written smacks of the tired depiction of Apple customers as marketing victims.
Plus, linking to a Nexus S "line" that the photographer admits was posed? Here's some numbers. There are 323 Apple Stores in the world. There are over 1,150 Best Buys. That is Apple's real problem. They can evoke all the emotion they want, but they picked a battle against the entire industry. I doubt they can remain the profit leader for long.