I don't really understand what you're trying to say. Your first two statements are true, but not related to the posts we are discussing. Your second two points actually agree with MG's point.
For people who prefer the iPhone the UI-responsiveness isn't some arbitrary line in the sand, it is what they judge to be important (one of the things). And MG's whole point is that some people don't find this important and will probably love the Galaxy Nexus, and that is fine. Josh is the one getting huffy.
His point is that the first two points are not true. It's not even that people disagree on how important freedom is, they even disagree with what freedom means.
The same is true for your views on iOS and Android. Here, let me throw it back at you.
"iOS users just don't notice the small details. Things like built im turn by turn navigation. Being able to fully dictate all text throughout all applications. The ability to return purchases on the market place. Full disk level encryption.
You either see it or you don't. For a lot of users, details and features like these don't matter. You might be happy with your Toyota, but I prefer the full featured BMW."
See how easy it is? Perhaps you'll also see how obnoxious these types of posts are when it's turned around.
I still don't see the problem. Yes, for people who really care about built in turn by turn navigation the iphone probably isn't the right phone. Some probably aren't even aware its possible, and others just don't need it. That isn't obnoxious, its just a fact.
The first two points are true - if people didn't disagree on the importance of freedom then much of 20th century history would be very different.
Imagine if you will that I release a phone that everyone in the world unanimously decided had a more responsive and beautiful UI than iOS, but only a battery life of 20 minutes. Would MG and every other person "whom the little details like UI responsiveness are supremely important" stand in line for weeks to get? Of course not.
Decisions as simple as "What phone will I buy" are an insanely complicated calculus of thousands of micro-decisions and trade offs.
People like MG like to pretend that they have themselves all figured out, and THE reason that the iPhone is superior for him is "the little things," or they buy Android because "its an open platform."
Its all bunk, they bought it because, hey the phone does what they need it to, and for some damn reason that particular configuration of options happened to strike a chord with them.
So isn't that a defence of MG's article? It was even titled "An iPhone Lover's Take on the Galaxy Nexus". The point was describing his impressions of the nexus from the perspective of someone who does* care about the things that the iphone does well.
Of course its a combination of lots of things. And for people who like the iphone, they are happy with the combination of tradeoffs that it makes. UI responsiveness and battery life being two of the important ones for the iphone.
No it's not. Look, MG didn't use a comparison of a Toyota to a Honda -- brands considered to be on equal footing. He likened the iPhone to a high end brand (Mercedes) and the Nexus to an economy brand (Honda).
This is not a comparison of equals, but a comparison of Luxury vs. Standard. That's no longer about preferences, that's about one being better.
No, he didn't compare the iPhone to a Mercedes and the Nexus to a Honda, at least not as flat comparisons. Read it again. He was explaining that to an iphone fan, ICS still does not have the same level of "polish", even though its features may be great. He gives examples, such as: how you have to click again to type in text fields, even after you've selected them; pages not rendering correctly on the browser; tap to zoom not working quite right; occasional stutters in the UI; crashing apps.
For people who prefer the iPhone the UI-responsiveness isn't some arbitrary line in the sand, it is what they judge to be important (one of the things). And MG's whole point is that some people don't find this important and will probably love the Galaxy Nexus, and that is fine. Josh is the one getting huffy.