Early iPhone Buyers Are Left With Memories—and Debt

The new 3G iPhone makes one thing obvious, writes Brett Arends in the Wall Street Journal: Consumers who bought the earlier models were chumps. The fans who stood in line a year ago are out $300, and for what? Apple says the new phone is twice as fast. “What that says about last year's model is painfully obvious,” writes Arends.

“Yes, the earliest adopters got their iPhones early. Perhaps the happy memories will keep them warm.” But the coolest features—third-party apps—are just coming out. Arends argues that all those credit card-happy, 20-something early buyers should have invested their $300 in retirement accounts instead. By age 65, they’d have earned $2,700 for that year of waiting. (More iPhone stories.)