Heh. I've just ordered an n900, to replace my aging first-generation iPhone. While four years old now, and starting to show signs that the (non-replaceable) battery can no longer hold a full charge, my iPhone does have a capacitive touch screen with a fully touch based UI, a slim design, and a fast and vibrant application store.

It sounds to me like you're describing not what "High-end smartphone users" currently expect, but rather what "High-end iPhone users" currently expect. Steve Jobs pretty much created his own concept of what a phone should be, and so now most of the industry falls over itself trying to create iPhone clones. Which, hey, I'm not going to argue with, as it has been kinda like a license for Apple to print money, but I'd really like to see some fresh new ideas out there.

Android is an iPhone clone -- it does just what the iPhone does in just the same way that the iPhone does it. People who like the iPhone will like Android, and since so many people like the iPhone, there are many people who like Android. That's all there is to it.