Dave, in my not all that humble opinion, your statement above shows a rather myopic view of history in things you must not have been as 'intimately' knowledgeable about as you are in the forklift industry. unless you believe Apple's patent claim that they invented the rectangle, then you are only seeing or claiming a limited view of how 'interpersonal communication devices" (not 'just telephones') have evolved in the last 30 years, and how Apple managed to use advertising to leverage a loyal customer base to sell their product as if it was some new thing, rather than an Apple wrapper for the same thing others had already created. {I am soooo tempted to ask if you think Microsoft invented software or computer operating systems, too}
I am all for 'thinking outside the box', but I sometimes think we don't give enough credit to those whose shoulders we all stand upon as far as having tried and retried other methods of doing things that have been rejected over a long term as 'not the best way currently'.
I would greatly disagree that Apple has either changed an industry they were not part of, nor have they changed what "premium" means. IMNSHO, the Apple business model is closer to what SAAB was aiming for in the early 70s than what Google has been in the last 30 years.