As someone who spent the better part of the year comparing a Pre and iphone 3GS, i'd say the OP is right on. I also have owned several Palm OS phones and one HTC WM phone.
The iphone is simply in a class by itself.
Quality of hardware, resale value, quality apps, number of apps, able to SHARE apps, polished features, media available at the tap of a button to rent/own, accessories everywhere, great desktop mgmt, etc etc.
The Pre is like buying a Kia which on cheaper Sprint may seem like a good deal...but in time, multiple exchanges due to crappy quality and a pain since Palm lacks a decent backup/restore system, half baked apps that can't be shared, no media to rent or download other than music/podcasts, no desktop app, crappy resale value, core apps that are still in a rough beta state, broken itunes sync that Palm pushed on people, etc .
The iphone is like buying a Lexus in comparison. You'll pay a premium on AT&T, but its a worthwhile one.
I can't tell you how much time i've spent putting stuff back on wife's or sister's Pre, dealing with Sprint with exchanges, dealing with refurbs, while i've never had problems in this manner with iphones.