Doesn't seem like it was that long ago. Interesting that over time people started to believe Google itself created Android, when it's actually closer to being a hiptop successor.
But different? I don't think so. The technological foundation of Android (linux for the kernel, small C library and functionality-rich runtime for a custom VM supporting Java-ish programming language) is the same today as it was 5 years ago and is just an evolution of what Sidekick did in 2002. Sure, they made lots of technical progress, added bunch of APIs, polished the UI, changed the business model, but technology is the same, just improved (like you would expect after 5 years).
Rewrites of religion motivated or language motivated don't end up well often. Luckily Google didn't decide to rewrite Android just because some people don't like Java.