Many iPhone Owners Relish Being First

The new Apple iPhone, left, is shown in front of the new Apple iPod Touch, right, in San Francisco, Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2007. Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs unveiled new versions of the company's market-leading iPod media player Wednesday, including an iPod Nano with a 2.5-inch screen for watching movies and playing games. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma) (Paul Sakuma - AP)

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- They're the guinea pigs willing to pay top dollar for cutting-edge gizmos, whether the gadgets are half-baked, potentially doomed or harbingers of a revolution.

The customers who bought Apple Inc.'s new iPhone know the pain and the pleasure. They're early adopters. And in many cases, the group can play a pivotal role in a product's fate.

Early adopters know the prices of tech products usually fall over time. But Apple, which historically has enjoyed premium pricing on account of its brand and innovation, angered even some of its most loyal customers by lopping $200 off the $599 iPhone, a 33 percent reduction, less than 10 weeks after the gizmo went on sale June 29.

In response to hundreds of complaints, Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs issued an apology on Thursday and offered every iPhone user a $100 credit for Apple stores.

But for many, money is not and never was an issue. They were after the gratification of knowing they were among the first owners of something that is cool and, for those who agreed with Apple, revolutionary.

"If they told me at the outset the iPhone would be $200 cheaper the next day, I would have thought about it for a second _ and still bought it," said Andrew Brin, a 47-year-old addiction therapist in Los Angeles. "It was $600 and that was the price I was willing to pay for it."

The hullabaloo arose over Apple's price-slashing only because it came a few months sooner than expected, said Fareena Sultan, an associate professor of marketing at Northeastern University.

Enjoying that period of being among the first _ before the price drops and the product reaches the masses _ is part of the pleasure, Brin and others say. And in much of the tech world, the usual expectation is that six months will pass before there's a major price cut and a year before a next generation of the product _ usually an improved version _ appears.

The looks of envy and attraction are an elixir.

"It's better than a dog, if you want to meet people," Brin said of his iPhone.

Jack Shamama of San Francisco, who was among the thousands nationwide who lined up for iPhones on the day they first went on sale, said he got some smug text messages and phone calls from friends on Wednesday after Apple announced the price cut.

But Shamama is taking the price cut in stride, saying such cuts come along with being an early adopter.