Early adopters and technology trend leaders only comprise about 24% of subscribers in the U.S. and Western Europe however they account 38% of revenue. Since they comprise the users who will adopt 3G technologies first, they make an obvious target for carriers to focus on when launching next generation networks, especially since their spending habits are just what the operators need to recoup those high spectrum costs. Initially, early adopters sound like a great market, there's just one problem: they have no loyalty to carriers, they barely have loyalty to manufacturer or OS brands. They are loyal only to technology -- whoever can provide them with the coolest devices and network features gets their business -- until someone else can provide something cooler.
But don't disregard them. They become the mavens, who then chat with the salesmen and connectors. Precisely why it's important to make a good first impression. Possibly why we're seeing more of this "beta movement" people have been talking about - the desire to converse with the market to get it right before officially announcing a "finished product". Reduces the risk of turnover.