At least I have an excuse. Running pre-release operating systems and firmware in production settings is part of my job description. I accept that "beta" items are exempt from expectations of day-to-day stability, backward compatibility, performance and feature completeness. When I took the iPhone 3.0 OS as my one and only system software for the device, I was fully prepared that existing apps would break, some software on App Store would prove incompatible, the device would freeze up, and in any imaginable way on any given day, the beta firmware would show itself as less than firm.
That's the point of a beta. It's the price that admins and developers pay for the privilege of knowing what's coming next. In the case of the iPhone, that's essential knowledge. iPhone 3.0 is a platform overhaul: new OS, new APIs, new SDK, new tools and new rules for App Store approval. Apple is dramatically changing the game. In the next three months, every iPhone owner will have a brand-new phone.
I take the frustrations of pre-release software in my stride and keep the glitches to myself. Most people do not. That's why handset manufacturers limit the distribution of pre-release system software. By nature, beta OSes and firmware destabilise the platform. For that reason, Apple wraps the iPhone beta in a barbed-wire NDA and issues the stern mandate that iPhone devices registered for development must be used only for development. Apple makes this rule while being aware that it is impractical and unenforceable.
App Store is jammed with titles from sole proprietorships, while you and I both know that the luxury of an extra, activated iPhone 3G is one that the typical iPhone developer cannot afford. In general, if you're using iPhone 3.0, it's likely all you've got.