Suppose a decade ago Windows beat out Apple in releasing the 'iPhone', maybe a Zune Phone? Something that is basically the latter released and they'd have been great if they had been first phones.
Great idea but I think nothing.
Apple has really not been the first with anything. Maddox had a Windows-phone made by Nokia before the I-Phone that did everything and more than the I Phone.
Apple was not the first with touch screens. MP3 players. I bet they were not even the first with the pad.
Look at the iMac. What made it cool? The colors. Apple is a marketing company with decent electronics (my smart phone is dropped a lot and does not break, I know smasungs break quickly so I am not trying to apple bash.)
So, a Zune Phone would not do the trick. Someone would need to comandeer Apple's marketing and image. Apple sold more than a product that did stuff. They sold a lifestyle. People buy ideas, not products.