I think there's a general misunderstanding of what the iPhone should be able to do.

Other smartphones with Palm, Windows, or Symbian operating systems allow user installed programs. Even the cheapest phones support Java apps. The iPhone is the exception here, especially for a device that has been called "a revolutionary mobile phone" and "a beautiful and breakthrough handheld computer."

People, including myself, expect to be able to install third party software on their computers.
This is one reason I have not bought an iPhone. (The others include giving my name, address, ssn, and credit card to Apple, the AT&T lock, and the need for iTunes and consequently Windows or OSX.)