That's not quite the full story. Since 2000 Opera showed ads if you didn't pay for it, and they removed those in 2005, a good bit before smartphones really star

That's not quite the full story. Since 2000 Opera showed ads if you didn't pay for it, and they removed those in 2005, a good bit before smartphones really started. In a way they were ahead of the curve, considering how popular ad-based models with optional removal purchases are these days.