>>27528490Here's the difference, and I'll use a blatantly cheesy/obvious reference for this one just to make it clear.
The original iPhone, no matter how you feel about Apple and their products, was probably one of the most influential phone products out there. It did what most phones couldn't do and didn't care to do; one of the key selling points was being able to view full-page websites from your phone, along with the modernized touchscreen and a number of additional features.
But do you know what it would've been if they had listened to customers, if they had gone with what customers were actively asking for? Well, it would've been exactly what Motorola and Blackberry were doing at the time- customers asked for better texting, better keyboards, thinner, smaller phones. They wanted the Razr and fliphones that could slide into your pocket, they wanted full-scale physical keyboards because they claimed tactile feedback was essential to typing. They cared more about calling, texting, and email than web browsing, music playing, or touchscreen features. But what Apple did with the iPhone gave customers what they didn't know they wanted; mobile browsing has become such a cornerstone of web design now, and the touchscreen is basically standard in the industry whereas before the iPhone it was always stylus-based or required pressure and had very little mainstream appeal.
Sure, say what you will about Apple and their company's direction since, but something like the iPhone doesn't happen because they give consumers what they're asking for. They gave consumers what they didn't know they wanted until it was sitting in front of them.
