Hello Dave,
As a newbie in mass production I am wondering why you don't make a poll about some features which seems to "bug" some members (ex. lcd). It looks like you did a research (referring on Newhaven on older post)
It doesn't matter what you do you will never be able to please a majority. Product design by poll or public opinion does not work.
No it doesn't, though more eyes on a problem can often come up with good ideas or spot things you've not considered - just needs suitable filtering
Design by committee produces the most horrible products. Besides, it's been shown that people will happily vote in a poll, but don't always put their money where their mouth is afterwards. If you at least believe in your product, it won't be so bad.
It is true that most good designs are spearheaded by a single architect, so I agree that Dave should follow his vision on the product. That said, it is also just as important to remember that just because
you think your product is great, doesn't mean everyone else will think the same. This seems to come up on The Amp Hour pretty frequently. Whether it was Bunnie or Gerry Roston or others, they all emphasized the importance of
really understanding what the customer (or the world) needs before jumping into product design. That's something I've definitely learned over time, too.
So on that note, as Mike has said, a lot of nonsensical feature requests will come your way, but there also may be some really valuable input buried in that "noise".