While that may be technically true for a strict definition of “smartphone,” there’s no denying the iPhone redefined the concept in a way that its competitors were forced to copy to have any hope of keeping up. Nobody hears the word “smartphone” and thinks of a Blueberry or Treo anymore.
replyWhat exactly did the iPhone do better?
replyPerfected multi-touch touchscreen
replyBefore that we had touchscreen but they sucked.
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2002: FingerWorks makes advances in multi-touch technology
2005: Apple acquires FingerWorks and its patents
2007: iPhone launchesThat's a subjective question, so I'll give a subjective answer. The browser, for better or worse, was a lot less dumbed down for mobile than competitors, the stylus-less touch interface reduced UI friction and the odds that you'd lose a critical (if inexpensive) component, and the slew of contemporary iPod users could easily migrate their libraries over.
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