Social behavior and brand devotion among iPhone innovators

Convergence of communication technologies and innovative product features are expanding the markets for technological products and services. Prior literature on technology acceptance and use has focused on utilitarian belief factors as predictors of rational adoption decisions and subsequent user behavior. This presupposes that consumers’ intentions to use technology are based on functional or utilitarian needs. Using netnographic evidence on iPhone usage, this study suggests that innovative consumers adopt and use new technology for not just utilitarian but also for experiential outcomes. The study presents an interpretive analysis of the consumption behavior of very early iPhone users. Apple introduced iPhone as a revolutionary mobile handset offering integrated features and converged services—a handheld computer-cum-phone with a touch-screen web browser, a music player, an organizer, a note-taker, and a camera. This revolutionary product opened up new possibilities to meld functional tasks, hedonism, and social signaling. The study suggests that even utilitarian users have hedonic and social factors present in their consumption patterns.