The truth is, you've been brain washed by all the crap apple fills your head with, and that is the point this thread is trying to make. So don't say "if it wasn't for apple". And it's kind of sad, their phone didn't support 4G, maybe android devices should sue apple for making the Iphone 5 support 4G. And apple is think it's funny their having to play catch up because their getting surpassed.
So instead of reading someone's opinion, why not go to the link below and see what the #1 Android phone maker was making up to June of 2007 (June is when the iPhone was released - it was announced in January).
All Samsung phones - page 7
The only thing in that link, or in earlier models, that looks close to an iPhone was the F700. The F700 was a slider, with a resistive touch screen, and a UI that the Palm Treo and Blackberry would put to shame - it was basically a feature phone.
I remember the first attempts to one-up the iPhone. Remember the LG Voyager? So I took the bait and got one - lots of these reviews and articles like the one you point to made it sound like the Voyager would be a good alternative to an iPhone. Laughable now, but quite a few 'hands on' reviews seemed to think it was competitive with its plastic screen, resistive touch, fold out keyboard, pay per month apps, etc.
I have a good memory of that time, because I had a need and was looking hard for a 'convergence' device - phone, PDA / email, GPS, all in one. The iPhone became the device that implemented that convergence and ushered in a completely new generation of mobile devices, and anyone who doesn't acknowledge that is lying to themselves or simply plain ignorant of what came before (maybe too many twenty-somethings who don't remember those kickass treos, the awesome HP iPaq, or all those wonderful feature phones - I have a box full of that crap btw).
I find it quite sad to think that people actually believe that these companies were doing creative work paralleling Apple when all you need to do is look at their product offerings over time - and you can see how profoundly Apple affected these companies products.
So all that said, just because apple started the revolution doesn't mean that they're still the best or will stay the best.