[Madness64]

That's what I try to say in the article. This is "A" possible future, and it is a first iteration of a totally new product. The first iPhone wasn't a success, and many people were convinced a phone without a keyboard couldn't be the future.

[dougmccune]

I'm certainly curious what metric you're using when considering the first iphone to be unsuccessful...

[KristenJ]

The iPhone 3G was the blockbuster hit. The first iPhone was at best modestly successful. The most obvious indicators were that Apple gave it a significant price drop after 3 months and then introduced another model with more storage after 7 months to bolster sales.

[shurcooL]

It wasn't as popular as today's iPhones.

It was successful for a first gen device, but it pales in comparison to today's success of iPhone.