I'm from Australia. The reason I call it a US status symbol is because of the observably different attitudes in different countries, not because I've got an axe to grind. I understand that most of the Americans who use iPhones do actually like them, but there's a perception of Android as a budget option and iPhone as a premium option that I found to be less common in Australia.
I quite like the iPhone and I've considered switching on the basis that it seems to have a better security model.
Android is the budget option. The average worldwide selling price of an Android phone is about $400 less than an iPhone. Why get a cheap Android phone when the price difference over a 24 month interest free payment plan is $11/month?
I quite like the iPhone and I've considered switching on the basis that it seems to have a better security model.