Lack of applications
I think this is just as much political as it is small development houses looking for a better place to publish their applications. You just need a couple of big-time players willing to commit to the platform or for a small time developer to find a way to do things more efficiently and show the rest of the community the way. No, I'm not talking about the next Temple Run or hipster app that becomes a Windows Phone exclusive either. We need mainstream applications, but more importantly updated mainstream applications. Getting a game brought to market that is two or three revisions older compared to the iOS and Android variant isn't acceptable. Microsoft applications should work best on Windows Phones, but at the same time should be compelling enough for users on Android or iOS to see how great they are and possibly switch.
Hardware
If your Lumia seems crappy, it probably is. Swap it out. Trust me, complaining to a message board is about as effective as sending a direct email to the guy behind the kiosk in the mall selling cases for everything but your phone. Go to the store, call up Customer Service, use the warranty. Please, don't commit fraud though. The camera is awesome. Audio is awesome. The screen is gorgeous. For what it is supposed to be and do, it's an excellent device. Weighing it on the strengths and weaknesses of other platforms is fine, but isn't the apples to apples comparison you should be making. First, decide which OS meets your needs - WP, iOS, Android or even BlackBerry. Then, compare devices and carriers. Then, make a purchase. This is why people are loyal to RIM despite a perceived lack of innovation over the years. This is why someone coming from iOS to Android might squirm a bit.
Your experience is not typical. It is unique to you and your preferred tastes.
I left my Lumia for Android. Twice. Once with the Lumia 900 and again with the Lumia 920. In the end, Windows Phone spoiled me with things that just work. I see the direction now that Google is taking with Android and I hate it. Eventually what people have liked about the platform will go away and you will have more of a walled garden akin to Apple. I see no reason to continue supporting a company that is being restrictive with their services (Gmail, Maps, etc. on competing platforms) when other companies are doing the opposite.
I really hope that Windows Phone takes off to even greater heights in 2013. It has a perception problem, which is why I think I can relate to it better than any other OS I've tried. It may lack the pizzazz of other operating systems, but it's slicker than **** through a goose. Very stable, very accessible.