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1. Fanboys. Okay, there are plenty of fanboys. These are the people who think camping outside a retail store for hours to make a credit card purchase is a momentous event that will be the high point of their summer, worth preserving in photos for their future children.
2. Rockstars. Not internet rockstars, real ones: Madonna, Bono, Paris Hilton, et al. An entire cadre of popular musicians, movie stars, and Hollywood's elite (even politicians) are obliged to own the device and be photographed using said device while sipping a mocha-chino, pushing their babies in a stroller, or speeding away from the paparazzi. They'll send their personal assistants to the local AT&T or Apple Store or make a personal plea to Steve Jobs himself -- if they are famous enough to get his attention. The more frugal stars will wait for the next event with $10,000 bags o' swag.
3. Extravagant Executives. They've been issued crackberries by the IT department, but they don't give a damn. They can bend IT policies to their will, ignore them entirely, or never paid attention to the unending stream of corporate text messages anyway. They know their significance is their image as power brokers and rainmakers. A status symbol, a conversation starter is more potent in their hands than the latest memo from HR and other operational minutiae.
4. Savers. Not every Apple user can afford the latest gear. Many are still squeezing the last breath out of toilet seat iBooks and G4-based Macs... G3s even. They're acclimated to Apple's release cycle and must plan their purchases months, sometimes years in advance. They've been saving every penny since January's announcement.
5. Debtors. 16 year olds who borrow daddy's car and work part-time at Starbucks, college students eating Ramen to save beer money, San Franciscans and New Yorkers living with three roommates and still struggling to pay rent. There's no way they can afford an iPhone... Fortunately, they just had their credit limit bumped to $600.
6. "Daddy, will you get me...?" Many are concerned about the iPhone's limitations or costs -- luckily, they have a wealthy uncle, well-trained parents, or a sugar daddy to take the brunt of those concerns. Many purchasers do not know or care about the iPhone -- they just know they will be making their niece, child, or mate very happy... and that's all that matters.
7. The Just Rights. They've been waiting for a widescreen iPod, hate the limitations of their current phone, don't need corporate connectivity, are willing to dump their current carrier, and/or the expense is perfectly manageable. Rather than a series of limitations, they see a confluence of desirable features they are eager to own.
8. Conscientious Consumer. They're waiting for lines to die down, for reviews to roll in. Maybe they're waiting for their phone contract to expire, the inevitable price drop, or version 2.0. Whether their wait is 2 months or 2 years, they can already be marked down as inevitable iPhone owners.
9. Doubters with Disposable Dough. My favorite category. They're tech savvy, already have more capable devices, and are self-aware of their perception as early adopters. They include bloggers Robert Scoble, Paul Thurrott, and Valleywag's own Nick Denton... and probably every tech reporter who has expressed their concerns for the average consumer. But they win either way: if the iPhone delivers, they own a sexy device and receive innumerable page views from their glowing blog review. If it doesn't deliver, they receive innumerable page views from their scathing review... They can return to using their current smartphone and pass the iPhone on to their struggling contributing editors. (Pretty please.)
Okay, so most of these categories are motivated by the coolness factor or aren't concerned about cost... but... they aren't all wealthy Apple fanboys either.
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