I personnaly think the Appstore was awful on the iPhone 1G. You would connect, try to find an app. Some app you couldn't download because it was not available in the app store of your country. Then when you download an app it goes back to the home screen and prompt you with a new thing to accept before downloading it. Then you have to enter your password again (I hope for you its a short one). Then finally it's downloading. Of course you were looking at several apps so if you want to install 2 or 3 in the same time or make a queue you can't, you have to go back in the app store et re-find that other app you saw and install it.

I thought it was a mess and that nobody would really get into it.

Then people started making crappy/fun apps to play with their iPhone/iTouch. And this is were it all started. Imo it's because of the huge number of people who got an iPhone/iTouch that it works. Eventhough we were struggling with the appstore, the possibility of getting new apps like our phone was a computer was something appealing.

The appstore didn't make the iPhone, the iPhone made the appstore.