Tech-wise, I don't remember any devices with a 3.5" capacitive touchscreen + multitouch before the iPhone came out. That was imo the most important hardware feature of the iPhone, given that the "accepted" mode of interaction with similar devices was a stylus on a resistive screen.
Similarly, there aren't any shipping devices with a 7-10" capacitive touchscreen. Whether or not any of the various tablets with one announced at CES beats Apple's to market, the kinks in said displays weren't ironed out before this year.
I don't agree with your assessment here. While there wasn't an existing product with the exact same specs as the iPhone in existence there were products that could do everything an iPhone does (Windows Mobile Phones) and there were multi-touch screens out there. What made Apple successful is combining those elements in a way that was attractive to average users.
In that same sense there are Tablet PCs and so called "Slate PCs" out there. What will make Apple successful is creating a package that can appeal to the average user.
> there were products that could do everything an iPhone does (Windows Mobile Phones)
Windows Mobile was never designed to be friendly for the average consumer.
Did it ever occur to the WM designers that wiping the entire handset for a OS upgrade isn't the best experience. iTunes isn't the best program but it's day when compared to the night of a WM upgrade.
"Installing the new software will erase all data on the device."
"All third-party applications and data that remain on the device prior to downloading will be deleted and unretrievable"
There are a few pre-CES shipping devices with 12" capacitive multi-touch screens. The HP TouchSmart TX2 for example. These are more traditional tablet/notebook PCs, but with Win7 they do allow for "iPhone-like" gestures. The TouchSmart in particular is a mix between awesome and frustrating -- the screen is great and the multi-touch is fabulous, but it's too heavy, its battery life is awful, and mine just died for no apparent reason.
Similarly, there aren't any shipping devices with a 7-10" capacitive touchscreen. Whether or not any of the various tablets with one announced at CES beats Apple's to market, the kinks in said displays weren't ironed out before this year.