I strongly suspect that the vast majority of people--even here--&quot;remember&quot; a number of Apple&#x27;s biggest wins as being inevitable from Day One. In fact, as you say, the iPhone didn&#x27;t become a must have smartphone until 3G&#x2F;3GS timeframes. Similarly, until the 4th gen iPod with the click wheel, the iPod was pretty much just another reasonably well-regarded, albeit pricey, MP3 player.