The iPhone could from the day they released the 3G model.
The multiple app thing is also why the brick they call the Droid has terrible battery life, Tradeoffs for everything, and you don’t find Droid chargers everywhere.
Finally, the ‘new standard’ is the same one ATT will be upgrading to, 4G LTE. Thing is.... ATT’s 3G phones will be compatible with it. Verizon’s 3G phones won’t.
And, of course, the first Android phone, the T-Mobile G1, set a disturbing precedent - seems that the G1 owners are going to be shafted, Android 2 won’t run on their hardware with a factory install. Which extrapolated, means that the Droid probably will be unable to run Android 3....
Meanwhile, my 2.5G original iPhone, handed down to my subordinate, is happily running iPhone OS 3. :D
Interesting.