I'd place less emphasis on "apps". Remember, the original iPhone was released with a total of zero third-party apps; all third-party content and functionality w

I'd place less emphasis on "apps". Remember, the original iPhone was released with a total of zero third-party apps; all third-party content and functionality was delivered via the Web. The disruptive event was the sudden confluence of always-available data, a decent web browser, and an interface friendly enough to make use of it. "Apps" had been around for years on the "smartphones" of yesteryear, be it J2ME, Windows Mobile, Blackberry, etc. They were a clunky mess, however, and you had to pull out a stylus or fuddle around with a tiny joystick to use them. Their browsers just plain sucked. Webkit on a device that could render full-screen Web pages like candy is what Apple contributed to the cellular arena, and that is what changed the game. Coincidentally, the browser is the main point of what reviewers of the era missed; most of them were lamenting the lack of apps.