International Journal of Information Management 31 (2011) 524–532 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect International Journal of Information Management journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijinfomgt How iPhone innovators changed their consumption in iDay2: Hedonic post or brand devotion Emílio J.M. Arruda-Filho a , Mark M. Lennon b,* a Social Economy Research Center, University of Amazon, Av. Alcindo Cacela 287, Belém, PA 66060-902, Brazil b College of Business, Frostburg State University, Marketing, Finance, and International Business, 101 Braddock Road, Frostburg, MD 21532, United States article info Article history: Available online 20 August 2011 Keywords: Innovative usage Latest consumer Consumer behavior Hedonism Utilitarian and social presence iPhone Netnographic studies Mobile phones abstract Using netnographic evidence on iPhone usage, this study suggests that devoted and innovative consumers adopt and use new technology for hedonic experiences and social positioning, which generates experi- ential outcomes. This article presents an interpretive analysis of consumption behavior of iPhone users after their experience with iPhone v1 and its successive iterations, prior to the release of Apple’s latest model the iPhone 4. The day the iPhone v1 was released was dubbed iDay1 by Apple brand aficionados, and the anticipated release date of the iPhone 4 iDay2. While the original iPhone v1 was seen as very cut- ting edge, successive releases (the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS), were far less innovative. Each successive iPhone release has not had as devout a following as the original. This raises the question: will innovation seeking consumers abandon the iPhone for a newer, more technologically innovative device? This study suggests that innovators prefer really new products instead of upgraded ones, because they cannot see the advantage of using an upgraded version of a product which has already been widely adopted. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction New products in the market are initially evaluated by early adopters who define, test, and ultimately approve (or not) the product’s value and type of usage for later consumers. Looking at technological adoption, preference, and usage, consumers desire both hedonic and utilitarian product attributes. Even when prod- ucts are positioned as purely utilitarian devices (e.g. notebooks) their features, attributes, and usage are often connected to mul- tiple benefits beyond just the utilitarian ones. Katz and Sugiyama (2006) found that in the case of mobile phones, these devices pro- vide not just functional benefits but also enhance enjoyment and provide ways to signal social status. Social benefits are seen as an important positioning for communities that desire attention and differentiation (Schau, Mu ˜ niz, & Arnould, 2009) from others who define their self-worth from possession of these devices (Mittal, 2006). Consumers have different perceptions when the product is a really new product (Hoeffler, 2003) as opposed to an upgrade or new release in which there are few perceived additional benefits (Dahl & Hoeffler, 2004). Technology designers have worked hard to develop not just innovative designs for new devices, but also new usage concepts that provide benefits to various user segments * Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 617 504 0852; fax: +1 410 617 2117. E-mail address: markmlennon@gmail.com (M.M. Lennon). (Danaher, Hardie, & Putsis, 2001; Gill, 2008; Harris & Blair, 2006; Kim, Lee, & Koh, 2005; Mukherjee & Hoyer, 2001; Nunes, 2000). Some benefits can be readily perceived by consumers when the product design has elements that enhance productivity, profitabil- ity, performance, or result in cost reductions. This in turn engenders customer satisfaction and loyalty to the brand (Gemser, Jacobs, & Cate, 2006). In the updated versions of the iPhone, there were no substantial changes and thus did not motivate or create enthusiasm in their old consumers as the original release had done. The first exposure for consumers to the iPhone device was the haptic communica- tions with the product in the Apple Stores, wherein consumers could touch, play with, and produce an experience with the new device without pressure from sales people. The iPhone was the first mobile phone with a touch screen which enabled this haptic experience. These tactile experiences were important in the deci- sion making process as consumers use their hands to explore and evaluate products based on their material properties prior to mak- ing a final purchase (Peck & Childers, 2003). With later releases of the iPhone, the haptic experience was the same as there were no modifications to the touch screen. The first version, the iPhone v1 reached two kinds of consumers: (1) the devoted – known as Apple acolytes (Belk & Tumbat, 2005), whose loyalty to the brand is so strong that they will ignore any performance problems of the new model (Pimentel & Reynolds, 2004); and (2) social users who define their mobile technologies as tools to integrate into their body and social roles (Katz & Sugiyama, 0268-4012/$ – see front matter © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2011.04.007