If you're arguing that someone who's actually dedicated to understanding how his or her Android device works can achieve a higher level of information density and functional utility without sacrificing substantial battery life, I won't argue with you -- I agree. However, you've described a very small minority of buyers; they're called system administrators.
On of the knocks that I've heard about Windows Phone from iPhone users is that WP has two app lists (the Start screen and the alphabetical list to the right) and that it's confusing. Explaining that they're different lists for different purposes doesn't work with some of them because they are used to the static grid that can be swiped back and forth. They aren't accepting of a new (or, apparently, conflicting) concept isn't going to get into their heads. They certainly aren't going to pay attention to which widgets or apps are sucking up the battery -- they're going to complain that the phone is no good because it won't last all day.
In the end, Microsoft has been trying to walk a line between the total lock-down of iOS and the wild west of Android. Almost every decision has been a compromise between these two. (Don't bring up a notification center since they're already said yes, but haven't yet delivered. When they do, we can see if their implementation takes this same iOS/Android compromise.)
Tiles are greater than the static icons of iOS while less functional and frequent than the widgets of Android -- yet they bring a visual consistency if the developer uses the standard templates and don't threaten battery life. The user gets part of the benefits of widgets (the glance-and-go/read-only part) without the risk of a badly programmed widget killing the phone by 4pm.
Could a dedicated user have the best of both worlds? Sure. But most consumers aren't dedicated. Hell, the "VCR blinking 12:00" was a joke for almost 20 years because so many people couldn't bother to learn how to set the time on a device that they stared at all evening. (We were saved from the joke by the elimination of VCRs and their clocks, not because users learned something.)
On of the knocks that I've heard about Windows Phone from iPhone users is that WP has two app lists (the Start screen and the alphabetical list to the right) and that it's confusing. Explaining that they're different lists for different purposes doesn't work with some of them because they are used to the static grid that can be swiped back and forth. They aren't accepting of a new (or, apparently, conflicting) concept isn't going to get into their heads. They certainly aren't going to pay attention to which widgets or apps are sucking up the battery -- they're going to complain that the phone is no good because it won't last all day.
In the end, Microsoft has been trying to walk a line between the total lock-down of iOS and the wild west of Android. Almost every decision has been a compromise between these two. (Don't bring up a notification center since they're already said yes, but haven't yet delivered. When they do, we can see if their implementation takes this same iOS/Android compromise.)
Tiles are greater than the static icons of iOS while less functional and frequent than the widgets of Android -- yet they bring a visual consistency if the developer uses the standard templates and don't threaten battery life. The user gets part of the benefits of widgets (the glance-and-go/read-only part) without the risk of a badly programmed widget killing the phone by 4pm.
Could a dedicated user have the best of both worlds? Sure. But most consumers aren't dedicated. Hell, the "VCR blinking 12:00" was a joke for almost 20 years because so many people couldn't bother to learn how to set the time on a device that they stared at all evening. (We were saved from the joke by the elimination of VCRs and their clocks, not because users learned something.)
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