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Apple to give $100 credit to early iPhone buyers
Reuters ^ | 09/06/2007

Posted on 09/06/2007 1:38:46 PM PDT by Responsibility2nd

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Apple Inc, faced with an outcry from iPhone customers who bought the device before a sharp price cut, will offer them a $100 store credit, Chief Executive Steve Jobs said on Thursday.

The offer applies to people who bought iPhones at either Apple or AT&T Inc stores and not receiving rebates or other considerations, Jobs said in a letter posted on Apple's Web site.

While Apple has not disclosed how many units it has sold to date, it has reported selling 270,000 iPhones on the first two days and expects to sell 1 million units by the end of September, potentially costing the company tens of millions of dollars.

Apple shares fell 1.2 percent to $135.06 in late afternoon trading on Nasdaq.

"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," Jobs said.

Apple also has a policy to refund the difference to customers who bought a product within 14 days of a price drop.

On Wednesday, Apple slashed the price of its $600 iPhone model to $400, saying it wanted to make the device -- a combination cell phone, music player and Web browser -- more affordable. AT&T is the exclusive service provider for the device.

Web sites and online forums were quickly inundated with messages from irate iPhone buyers, some of whom felt that they had been punished for their early support.

"Our early customers trusted us, and we must live up to that trust with our actions in moments like these," Jobs said.

Jobs' full statement can be read at www.apple.com/hotnews/openiphoneletter/


TOPICS: Business/Economy; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: apple; iphone
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To: pierstroll

If? The thing’s selling like hotcakes still, and we’re coming up on the Christmas shopping season. Sales are only going to increase.


21 posted on 09/06/2007 1:56:19 PM PDT by Terpfen (It's your fault, not Pelosi's.)
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To: Terpfen

I understood the sales were below company projections. If not, I stand corrected.


22 posted on 09/06/2007 1:57:32 PM PDT by pierstroll
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To: RegulatorCountry

Just my kids old Pentium III PC that I bought from Gateway back in October 1998.

Glenn Beck actually had a funny bit about Apple today. Seems their support isn’t quite what it used to be. The transcript can be found here:

http://www.glennbeck.com/news/09052007a.shtml


23 posted on 09/06/2007 2:01:27 PM PDT by Hurricane Andrew (History teaches that wars begin when governments believe the price of aggression is cheap.)
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To: Terpfen
It’s the rate plan that’s killer.

That's what's keeping me from getting one.

24 posted on 09/06/2007 2:01:32 PM PDT by RegulatorCountry
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To: Terpfen
It’s the rate plan that’s killer.

And that's why I'd bet the new iPod Touch will kill the iPhone in sales. I'd guess it'll be the first really successful hand-held web browsing device ever. Also a nice hand-held video device. And no association with the cellular companies and their slow, overpriced data offerings. If only Apple had seen fit to deliver this thing with a microphone - get a practical VoIP application running on it and wonder why anyone would ever sign a cellular contract.
25 posted on 09/06/2007 2:02:02 PM PDT by AnotherUnixGeek
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To: Terpfen

I’m interested in the new iPod that receives wi-fi signals and has Safari. There are enough places that get wi-fi that it would be like having an ultra-small Mac.

Ed


26 posted on 09/06/2007 2:02:29 PM PDT by Sir_Ed
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To: Hurricane Andrew
Just my kids old Pentium III PC that I bought from Gateway back in October 1998.

So you're basically using it as a toy. I'm still doing work on my G3.

27 posted on 09/06/2007 2:02:46 PM PDT by RegulatorCountry
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To: Responsibility2nd
Wait awhile. Wait for the bugs and defects to be corrected.

In the world of consumer electronics, this might never happen - the developers are too busy working on the next product offering to fix the bugs in the current one.
28 posted on 09/06/2007 2:04:14 PM PDT by AnotherUnixGeek
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To: Responsibility2nd
Their 160GB ipod classic and the ipod Touch just got released today as well. The 160GB ipod classic? Hell, I'm about ready to buy another one and it's 349.

The ipod Touch is a nice stab in AT&T's back. Expect the iphone to crash soon.

29 posted on 09/06/2007 2:05:55 PM PDT by Centurion2000 (“Jesus Saves. Moses Delivers. Cthulu Reposesses...”)
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To: Red Badger
I bought an Apple ][e for $2200 back in 1983. Can I get a rebate too?

/actually I didn't. Just making a point.

30 posted on 09/06/2007 2:11:15 PM PDT by FreedomCalls (It's the "Statue of Liberty," not the "Statue of Security.")
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To: Centurion2000
Expect the iphone to crash soon.

Well, you could look at it that way, or you could see what's as plain as the nose on Steve Job's face, and expect the voiphone. He's all about synergy and using existing tech in surprising, elegant and useful ways.

31 posted on 09/06/2007 2:13:09 PM PDT by RegulatorCountry
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To: AnotherUnixGeek
If only Apple had seen fit to deliver this thing with a microphone - get a practical VoIP application running on it and wonder why anyone would ever sign a cellular contract.

Maybe somebody will hack the thing and write a third-party VoIP app to do exactly that.

32 posted on 09/06/2007 2:14:00 PM PDT by lesser_satan (FRED THOMPSON '08)
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To: RegulatorCountry

Gee, and you wonder why people call Mac users condescending...

Here’s something that should really irk you, those new all mighty Intel Macs they’re selling for around $1500, yeah, you could build an identical machine with a 19’ wide screen LCD for around $600.

So you’re basically paying more than twice the price for a PC, not really all that smart if you ask me...


33 posted on 09/06/2007 2:16:39 PM PDT by gjones77
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To: gjones77
Gee, and you wonder why people call Mac users condescending...

Oh, don't be so thin-skinned, lol. It's just a bit of a hangover from hearing the exact, same "toy" remark from pocket-protecter PC geeks for twenty years, that's all. Let me have my little table-turning fun, spoilsport.

34 posted on 09/06/2007 2:18:59 PM PDT by RegulatorCountry
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To: Responsibility2nd
From $600 down to $400? Still overpriced.

At $399, Apple won't make a lot of money on the phone. It will make the big bucks on the kickbacks from AT&T, which are estimated at $150 per phone plus $9 per month per phone for a minimum of 2 years. Apple will easily MAKE more than $400 per phone, probably over $500.

35 posted on 09/06/2007 2:21:10 PM PDT by Always Right
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To: Izzy Dunne
You clearly don’t own one. It is a very nice device. I’ll be glad to take the store credit. I love this thing and plan to buy more Apple stuff. I got mine the day it went on sale and don’t give a rip about 200 bucks. I’ve saved 200 dollars in mental anguish from not having to put up with all the other crappy pdas out there. I can actually make a phone call from inside my home now rather than from my driveway as was the case with both Palm and Blackberry stuff. The Iphone V standard PDA’s is like riding bicycle v driving a Porsche.
36 posted on 09/06/2007 2:21:44 PM PDT by Boat Rocker
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To: AnotherUnixGeek

And they have to go to APPL to redeem it-this will drive their store counts up right in time for Christmas.
Smart move.


37 posted on 09/06/2007 2:23:34 PM PDT by mikeybaby (long time lurker)
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To: AnotherUnixGeek

Just wait until VOIP enabled WIMAX hits its stride.
ATT just got jammed.


38 posted on 09/06/2007 2:29:03 PM PDT by mikeybaby (long time lurker)
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To: RegulatorCountry
I have 200 MHz Pentium with Windows 95 still running equipment over IEEE-488 in my lab. I’m working on phasing it out though. No USB and the networking sucks.

As far as productivity and old PC’s go, it all depends on what you’re doing with it. Old PC’s work fine for word processing and other like tasks. Many of my engineering programs will run on old PC’s with Win2k but execution time is important as many of these type programs are very demanding. So I upgrade to newer faster hardware to save time, not because it failed.

If you are talking about still functional, then I still have my IBM PC 1 (the very first version). It came with 16k of RAM and a monochrome monitor... I upgraded the RAM to 640k, added a second color monitor (it worked with two monitors at the same time) added dual floppies, added a 20 MB hard drive, added a real time clock so I didn’t have to type the date and time in every time it was booted. I got rid of the color monitor many years ago and the hard drive was replaced with a more modern one about 15 years ago and the rest of it still works like the day I bought it.

39 posted on 09/06/2007 2:29:45 PM PDT by DB
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To: Responsibility2nd
There are always techno-geeks who gotta be the first one with the latest electonic gizmo and they gladly pay more than the real value of that item in order to get it.

Somebody's gotta pay for the R&D, glad it isn't me.

40 posted on 09/06/2007 2:32:35 PM PDT by dfwgator (The University of Florida - Still Championship U)
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