Steve Jobs gives us $100 back — regardless!
Steve Jobs just posted an open letter on Apple.com, and we applaud you, Steve!
"To all iPhone customers:
I have received hundreds of emails from iPhone customers who are upset about Apple dropping the price of iPhone by $200 two months after it went on sale. After reading every one of these emails, I have some observations and conclusions.
First, I am sure that we are making the correct decision to lower the price of the 8GB iPhone from $599 to $399, and that now is the right time to do it. iPhone is a breakthrough product, and we have the chance to ‘go for it’ this holiday season. iPhone is so far ahead of the competition, and now it will be affordable by even more customers. It benefits both Apple and every iPhone user to get as many new customers as possible in the iPhone ‘tent’. We strongly believe the $399 price will help us do just that this holiday season.
Second, being in technology for 30+ years I can attest to the fact that the technology road is bumpy. There is always change and improvement, and there is always someone who bought a product before a particular cutoff date and misses the new price or the new operating system or the new whatever. This is life in the technology lane. If you always wait for the next price cut or to buy the new improved model, you’ll never buy any technology product because there is always something better and less expensive on the horizon. The good news is that if you buy products from companies that support them well, like Apple tries to do, you will receive years of useful and satisfying service from them even as newer models are introduced.
Third, even though we are making the right decision to lower the price of iPhone, and even though the technology road is bumpy, we need to do a better job taking care of our early iPhone customers as we aggressively go after new ones with a lower price. Our early customers trusted us, and we must live up to that trust with our actions in moments like these.
Therefore, we have decided to offer every iPhone customer who purchased an iPhone from either Apple or AT&T, and who is not receiving a rebate or any other consideration, a $100 store credit towards the purchase of any product at an Apple Retail Store or the Apple Online Store. Details are still being worked out and will be posted on Apple’s website next week. Stay tuned.
We want to do the right thing for our valued iPhone customers. We apologize for disappointing some of you, and we are doing our best to live up to your high expectations of Apple.
Steve Jobs
Apple CEO"
If this is no BS… Jobs has stepped up to the plate and delivered, unprecedented for a big company to give back this much dough, unbelievable!
WOW-
I was never one to bash Apple or steve jobs. I have no dislike for the Iphone, despite my long love affair with ms (and my lack of desire to switch carriers), but it has been a long time since I was so blown away by a company who responded in a (seemingly) positive way to the outcry of its dedicated following..
Good on you Steve J.
You IPhone guys (and gals) have something else to brag about to your friends now…
color me jealous. my palm doesn’t show me much love these days…(I mean my treo you sick little monkeys…)
-db
eh… better than nothing I guess… store credit… aka buy more apple stuff!
thats VERY considerate of him, and as an early iPhone buyer myself, I feel less annoyed with the price drop
Pretty good Steve, $100 is pretty good, what other company would give you anything. And to have a letter for the CEO no less, I say good job Steve.
Store Credit is pretty good since Ipod/Iphone accessories are such a big part of owning these devices.
Wow this is huge in my opinion…do you see Bill Gates doing something like this if people wrote in en masse? I think this is a stepping stone for Apple to surge ahead in the marketplace.
I will be buying more Apple products in the near future. Can’t decide which ipod to buy!
Lets think about this now, normal products come with a mail in rebate and also the price drops with a 2 year plan, could we say this $100 is just a substitute for that?
The early iphone adopters received no awards but now that something happens that shows their stupidity they react by flooding the apple site.
Also I must point out Apple is known for overpricing all of the products they make (if you disagree, you have been bent over in front of apple for too long)so them dropping the price like this means now they are selling it towards its actual price and the iDiots who bought it the first day it came out need to shush since they paid to be the “cool kid on the block”.
Forgot to mention the $100 is in store credit which means you will buy more Apple products which will mean apple looks better to investors. So either way it goes Apple is playing all the early adopters like fools.
Good job Jobs.
Isn’t it funny how quickly the tone turns back to worshipping and bragging about Apple when yesterday we were all condemning them to all the worst things we could possibly conjure up relating to life and death and anything in between.
Though, I’ll admit I’m happy. With $100 here and potentially another $100 from my credit card company for price protection, I may have just got this phone for $200 less than I originally planned.
Good on ya Apple.
OH COME ON.
Remember that ALL you early adopters were all like “600: i’d pay it to be one of the first. I love apple and will pay through the teeth for this ‘jesus phone’. I NEED this. now, can’t wait, won’t wait.” And this you did, knowing from all the naysayers that it really isn’t worth it in terms of capability.
NOW, 2 months later, you are whining like little girls telling both JOBS and yourselves that it wasn’t worth it! I want my money back, wha wha. He was right the first time. Thats how tech. goes. Deal with it.
Another switch in tone I am noticing;
yesterday it was all those who paid $600 for their phones that were angry.
Today it’s all those who were telling us to suck it up that are angry cause we are getting money back.
I agree ryan but this is very good move on Apple’s part. It will cost them alot of money but it will help sales. If you want to see how the tides have turned just go to the apple discussions, they are very happy to see this from Steve. Good Job Apple.
Gracias, el Jobso.
A very nice gesture (without precedent that I can recall) that is good PR, good customer relations and good business for Apple.
As an early adopter, I was not in a tizzy about the price drop. No one held a gun to our heads, right? But I do appreciate Jobs’ acknowledgement that we trusted Apple to deliver on the hype and those customer relationships are a lot more valuable to Apple than a hundred bones (especially when you consider their costs on $100 worth of retail product, which makes the financial impact minimal).
Well done.
This is what happens when your stock loses $7.40 the day all of this hits the waves.
BTW – Regardless of the reason given, it is a good move.
I am sure that with the$100 in store credit, the sale will be more than $100. So it is still win-win for all.
A good gesture. As stated above one that will probably benefit apple more than anything else. You’ve placated the masses who were angry with you dropping the price. More than likely satisfied investors since many will spend 100+ in the store.
However, the iphone buyers. You get $100 in free stuff but its not cash in your pocket. So do you win? I guess if you want exactly $100 in stuff from apple you do. Otherwise no not really
Good move,we will give you $100 dollars (in credit)= you buy some of our stuff = we sell more iphone crap= YOU ARE SILL SUCKERS!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well there is one thing that is certian we will never see a “special price drop” like this ever again from Apple. So if an item comes out 599 or whatever plan it sticking that way for a very long time.
Only if we can get more Americans this passionate about healthcare, politics, bad china products, or the enviroment. LOL
MY bad (STILL SUCKERS), an Im a goof!!!!!!
$100 in store credit = about 3 1/2 car chargers. Cost of 3 car chargers? Maybe $12 total?
I’d give up $12 any day to come out squeaky clean to all of my adoring fanboys. All you gotta do is put the koolaid in front of them and they’ll do all of the drinking themselves.
Don’t get me wrong, I love my iMac, and my nano is going to find a dark space in my closet when I can get my hands on an iPod Touch. I just don’t think $100 in store credit is all that impressive. Unprecedented, yes, but not impressive. Its the same as drooling over a Nokia 3595 with a gold plastic faceplate.
Regardless of how much I might not like the current iPhone, I can’t help but respect a company that is willing to do this for their customers. I hate to say it but I am seriously considering getting the next iPhone and/or a mac as my next computer just for the responce that he gave regarding this situation.
I wonder if they planned on giving us this money the whole time. They may have waited out so everyone is mad then all of the sudden apple looks like they are being so generous and taking care of their customers haha.
Hmmmm Meez wonder if the stock did good would there be this $100 credit? Meez wonder….