I'd been using a Windows CE device up till then, so the iPhone didn't really look revolutionary to me - the big deal was that the capacitive touchscreen made the interactivity model possible. You can't build the iPhone UI without that touchscreen - driving it with a stylus and a resistive touchscreen just wouldn't work.
Which is why I do get a little annoyed about the "Steve Jobs visionary" claims surrounding it - the market was circling the "single slate" concept for a good long while, the big innovation was finding a price-point and a way to manufacture the iPhone with that touchscreen technology and get it into consumers hands (and being willing to gamble on it).
Actually, I had a Dell handheld (Axim?) but never really found a use for it. I think it was the contrast and reactiveness of the iPhone that stunned me.
Which is why I do get a little annoyed about the "Steve Jobs visionary" claims surrounding it - the market was circling the "single slate" concept for a good long while, the big innovation was finding a price-point and a way to manufacture the iPhone with that touchscreen technology and get it into consumers hands (and being willing to gamble on it).