[nika]

I think it is quality as you say, but also having a vision.

The iPhone comes from a perspective on the "right way to interact with touch computers" and everything follows out of that.

All the other attempts to replicate the iPhone are focused on replicating the iphone, not on understanding the iphone's vision and attempting to come up with "the best way to interact with touch computers". This is why android, for instance, is such a lower quality experience.

I think google engineers may not focus on fit and finish as much as apple engineers, but they probably are as good in terms of code quality. But even with quality code you can't have the level or quality of interaction when the hardware maker is some random company that downloaded the source from the net and then built a phone. Even when that company is a big one like HTC. Maybe especially.