It was an original, exciting, and ground breaking product in a market that had plenty of unoriginal, boring players. See also MP3 Players and smartphones. Both

It was an original, exciting, and ground breaking product in a market that had plenty of unoriginal, boring players. See also MP3 Players and smartphones. Both markets looked boring and well-trodden until Apple blew fresh air into them. The key to this kind of success is finding a segment that is currently niche but won't be for ever. Cloud storage, mobile internet messaging, portable MP3s, portable Internet -- all potential mass markets that were kept niche because the products in the market didn't have mass appeal.