That's not entirely true. We all have a chronic addiction to oxygen and that's not changing anytime soon.
Actually the 3GS is my fist smartphone. Before that I had an LG feature phone. As I stated in your third quotation of me:
the iPhone 3GS brought a ton of new abilities and that's always a welcomed change.
That is
precisely the point I was trying to make - Apple should give us something that is easier to use or more functional than what we have now. Shuffling UI elements around just to get this "new" feeling will only lead to frustration of not knowing where things are located. I admit, Apple values their reputation with the customers and the chances of the scenario just mentioned are slim to none.
True, but if the change doesn't better the experience in any way why would you welcome it?