That is correct, there was a pre-established market that refused to advance (check the Sony Ericsson smartphones before the iPhone), same with the iPod. Once they got a product with market breaking features, it became a global phenomenon. I wonder what current markets are held down due to lack of imagination or greed.
why do we need batteries to last more than a day? plug in at night, job done. Any more capacity is just a waste of precious battery materials and extra bulk to carry around for no reason.
If you're a special case who for some reason has to go multiple days away from a charger, you have portable battery banks now.
...because modern smartphones to a shit ton more than pre-2007. if you want your phone to do more, as most people do, yeah, they are going to use more engery. it's hardly a con pulled on us.
modern smartphones are extremely efficient for what they do, to the point that Apple decided to redo their computer architecture based on their phones. their baseline laptops don't even need fans they are so energy and heat efficient.
Or put another way, they look your 15in mobile computer with a few hours of battery life, made it small enough to fit in your pocket, and extended battery life for an entire day.