HONK!
Love it. I've not owned an iPhone but I do have an iPod Touch. The market's got fewer apps than the AppStore, but I'm yet to find anything missing, and in my view it's more than compensated for by the fact that there are no restrictions imposed before an app can be offered up. For instance, I have a Squeezebox music set-up. There's an excellent app available for the iPhone / iPod (which is the reason I bought one), but it's missing a key feature present in all the Android equivalents, the ability to download tracks direct to the device. Apparently Apple say this is a no-no for them. WHY??!! I hate that attitude.
The ringer is a bit quiet, it must be said. If I'm expecting a call I maximise the chances of hearing it. If I'm not, I call back if I miss it. Not a big deal for me really.
So far as battery life is concerned, yes, it needs charging frequently. But you can really abuse batteries these days and they just suck it up. No need to drain before recharge etc. So, I just stick it on charge on my bedside every night and keep a spare USB cable at the office in case I forget one night. Plus, you can swap the battery in and out, so keep a charged spare, replace should battery life dwindle etc., unlike the iPhone. There are various ways to increase battery life too if it's a concern (switching to 2G only, switching off synch and GPS if your'e not using them etc.). There are apps to do all this for you automatically based on location, time of day etc. so it's not like it's a chore.
If you like the out-of-the-box approach - does what it does well and without issues but no more - then stick with the iPhone. If you want to climb over the garden wall and go exploring, go Android. I've not owned any other smartphone, so couldn't compare the N1 with other Android devices - sorry.
