It was such a staggering leap! In my memory this was a bit different though, or more nuanced at least. There was progress towards smartphones starting halfway

It was such a staggering leap! In my memory this was a bit different though, or more nuanced at least. There was progress towards smartphones starting halfway the 90s, then somewhere around 2000 there was internet access and the first devices with mail/GPS maps etc came out. Then the first iPhone came, and indeed it was a big step, but cdefinitely not out of nowhere: most or all of the tech itself was already there. Just less polished and not always all of it in the same device.