Iphone was first really smart smartphone. They changed the rules. I disagree with this. There were "smart" smartphones before the iPhone came out. Yes, the iPhone represented a major flashpoint in the history of smartphones, but part of it was simply because "it was Apple". Had a less significant company released the iPhone, I wonder if everyone would judge the iPhone on merit alone.
I'm not saying the iPhone wasn't/isn't good, but I remember watching people boast about what they could do with their first iPhone in 2007/2008, and my reaction at the time was that I could do the same things with my Palm Centro.