So did a smart guy say once about Apple. I went from being a hardcore Android fan to just falling in love with my Lumia phone. Everyone I know who has a windows phone has been happy with it. So no I don't think it is a dismal failure.
I have found replacements for most Google services but there doesn't exist or may never exist one for Youtube. I was a user of Youtube before Google was a buyer, so yes it sucks to be given a second class treatment because you made the unpopular choice for your phone. Hope this doesn't repeat, you know with Ubuntu and Firefox phones coming out.