By JORDAN ROBERTSON,AP
Posted: 2007-09-06 18:18:19

SAN JOSE, Calif. (Sept. 6) - Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs apologized and offered $100 credits Thursday to customers who shelled out $599 for the most advanced model of the iPhone, only to have the company unexpectedly slash the price $200 in a push to boost holiday sales.



In a letter on the company's Web site, Jobs acknowledged that Apple disappointed some of its customers by cutting the price of the iPhone's 8-gigabyte model and said he has received hundreds of e-mails complaining about the price cut.

But Jobs added that "the technology road is bumpy," and there will always be people who pay top dollar for the latest electronics but get angry later when the price drops.

"This is life in the technology lane," Jobs said.



Jobs' tone was less conciliatory immediately after the cuts were announced Wednesday, tartly rebuffing criticism about whether some of Apple's most die-hard fans would be miffed by the company's latest actions. In an interview with USA Today, Jobs was said iPhone owners who bought their device that morning "should go back to where they bought it and talk to them. If they bought it a month ago, well, that's what happens in technology."

Jobs then apparently had a change of heart. In his letter, he said the company is still making the right decision by lowering the iPhone price but needs to "do the right thing for our valued iPhone customers."

"(W)e need to do a better job taking care of our early iPhone customers as we aggressively go after new ones with a lower price," he said. "Our early customers trusted us, and we must live up to that trust with our actions in moments like these."

Jobs said Apple will hand out $100 credits for Apple's retail and online stores to iPhone customers who aren't eligible for a rebate. An Apple spokeswoman said the company did not have an estimate of how much the program would cost.

Customers who bought an iPhone within 14 days of the price cut can get a refund of the price difference if they have the original receipt.

The price cut - and the phaseout of the 4-gigabyte iPhone, which retailed for $499 - came less than 10 weeks after the two products hit the market June 29, angering early iPhone adopters who were startled to have their prized gadgets plummet in value.

Investors were also rattled by the news, sending Apple's shares down a total of more than 6 percent over the past two days, a drop that has wiped out about $8 billion in shareholder wealth.

Some worry that Apple is cutting the price to make up for waning demand, a concern Apple countered by saying the device is now affordable to more people and has the potential to be a blowout seller this holiday season.

Apple has said it's on track to sell 1 million iPhones by the end of the current quarter.

Apple's stock, after falling 5 percent on the news of Wednesday's announcements, fell another 1.3 percent Thursday to close at $135.01, or $1.75 lower than Wednesday's close.


It wasn't the first bump in the road for Apple's iPhone. Thousands of customers in August were upset by 400- and 500-page bills, but AT&T has since resolved the problem.


Just a few weeks ago, 17-year-old George Hotz broke the electronic lock that ties Apple's iPhone to AT&T's wireless network, enabling him to make a deal to trade the gadget for "a sweet Nissan 350Z."



Copyright 2007 The Associated Press.

When are people gonna learn?

that's what happens when something doesn't sell that well.

sassybritches said:

wasn't there also some sort of recall on it because the keybad was to small? or people just had big fingers...

Jobs can say all he wants about how prices are higher when new technology is introduced BUT damn, it should at least be 6 months before the price drops.

CHIC0 said:

i don't know.

all i know is people who are are willing to spend 600 bucks on a phone obviously have the money to part with and shouldn't be bitching about the price being dropped. they are just salty that the exclusivity of the product is lost already and they paid for that exclusivity.

Lothan said:

not if the product is not selling well.

sassybritches said:

That was the funniest thing about the guy in my office bitching. He makes assloads of money but is bitching about 200 hundred bucks.

Lothan said:

it's not about the money. it's about having something that, God forbid, everybody else has. he's not special anymore and his dick is still small.

sassybritches said:

Well, if he had held out til Xmas, he still would have got his 200 bucks.

If he makes the phone compatible with someone other than AT&T, whom I loathe, he would have sold more.

Lothan said:

this is true. that was a bad move, especially considering that most people are in contracts with their phone providers and can't switch.

sassybritches said:

Someone gave him bad advice.

Lothan said:

Lothan said:

So they should keep on over charging just to make early buyers feel better?

FancyFread said:

Did those early buyers feel overcharged? And really, who didn't know the price was going to drop?

I wonder how much the bill is every month

The sheep get their due.