I agree with you that their core value is a better user experience. In my mind, offering their own apps is actually the natural continuation of this core value -- since the underlying storage is just a commodity, they can differentiate by having really well-designed apps that sit on top of it.
Or have well designed apps that sit on top of something else, the constraint is unnecessary and I argue a net negative.
Was that quote from Jobs made before or after Apple's attempt to acquire Dropbox got turned down?
It was made to the CEO of Dropbox as he was trying to acquire it.
So standard negotiation tactics then.
Doesn't make it not true.
I like dropbox, don't get me wrong, but they need to recognize the core value they brought to the table (and may still have) is better user experience design, not infrastructure. Simply offering more apps that are bound by the constraints of one's Dropbox account seems profoundly myopic.