Ok, maybe not so much the original 2007 model, arguably it wasn't until the iPhone 4 (2010) until it really came into its own. But few products released in my lifetime changed modern life as the iPhone did. And unlike most other seismic tech products (world-wide-web, linux) that took years to build momentum, it had lots of pre-release hype.
Until that iPhone unveil, no-one had ever seen swipe-to-scroll, now its second nature to at least half the planet.
Video of the 2007 unveil: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vN4U5FqrOdQ
Before the iPhone became popular, there was so much variety in phone design like the Juke or Nokia Ngage. Today billions of people use a phone that resembles an iPhone.
>Ok, maybe not so much the original 2007 model
It was. Original iPhone was extremely hyped before it was announced in the tech / Apple circles. In case anyone arguing that is a small niche, the same argument could be used for Games as the OP used in examples. It is very rare to see Technology Announcement being used on Front Page newspaper.( Remember that thing we used to buy every day?) And this wasn't just in US alone.
Original iPhone ( 2007 ) was only available in US, and it was very expensive at the time, $499 with contract. And Apple was selling every iPhone as fast as they could make it. And around the world iPhone continue the same strategy of only contract with iPhone. Arguably it wasn't until iPhone 5 before it was readily available , I guess Steve Jobs relented on making iPhone Just in Time before passing away because it could never match the huge demand.
And yes, not only did it lived up to its hype, it was more than anyone could ever imagine.
Apple themselves positioned the iPhone against devices with physical keyboards: https://i.imgur.com/hXtRmbG.png
I would argue "decent virtual keyboard" is an oxymoron :)
FWIW, I remember my uncle in 2007 trying to game his contract with Verizon just so he could get AT&T and the iPhone. I thought he was being stupid for what I gathered was a useless toy. But now...
