> (Remember the hue and cry when Apple initially said they wouldn't provide a market for third-party apps?)

No, I don't. But all my friends wanted an iPhone and they're not programmers.

I think most people didn't know or even consider one could develop apps for phones at the time. Or why would someone want apps on a phone. Or even what an "app" is. They only knew "programs" on Windows.

People bought what was available. There were starting to appear some apps for Nokia phones but it wasn't widely popular. It was also a hassle to download / update.