Apple CEO Steve Jobs has posted an open letter to all iPhone customers on Apple’s website. Here it is verbatim:
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
Source: http://www.apple.com/hotnews/openiphoneletter/
Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. – Steve Jobs, June 12, 2005
Above and beyond the call of duty? The squeaky wheel gets the grease? Insanely great or greatly insane? Too little, too late? The foundation of justice is good faith? I love it when a plan comes together? Do what you feel in your heart to be right, for you’ll be criticized anyway; you’ll be damned if you do and damned if you don’t? The customer is always right? It was preordained? Played like a fiddle? That you may retain your self-respect, it is better to displease the people by doing what you know is right, than to temporarily please them by doing what you know is wrong? Keep true, never be ashamed of doing right; decide on what you think is right and stick to it? The secret of life is honesty and fair dealing; if you can fake that, you’ve got it made? If life were fair, Elvis would be alive and all the impersonators would be dead?
Hey, we’ve got hundreds of ’em. What’s your take?
Okay… I’ve vented and let the dust settle. I knew a price drop would happen. Just not so fast. Steve is right. Technology is a gambit of bigger, faster, stronger, sooner. I like many of you, were shocked that sooner happend in 10 weeks and reduced the price by 1/3.
I wasn’t looking for the $200 back. I just wanted to know I could trust Apple again in the future.
This small gesture started to restore my trust in Apple. To know that I am not being punished (again this year, first for the AppleTV HD increase) for being an early adopter. But then I’m torn… as a stock holder I want the price cut so Apple can sell more phones.
$100 for being able to play with the iPhone 10 weeks early. That’s okay with me. Looks like I can upgrade to iWork ’08 for free or upgrade to Leopard for $29….
Or buy a new iPod Nano for someone for christmas.
Then Steve takes $100 more of my money…. plus the money from Leopard…. and then more than likely the money from iWork ’08…
Steve Jobs, you crafty business man.
MDN Word = term as in “I should come to terms with the fact that Apple owns my wallet anyways.”
Oh good… now you can all go buy a couple of $49.95, “I love Apple” tee-shirts (organic hemp of course)
wait, can i apply that $100 to the limited time 4 gig iPhone?
if so that is a $200 iPhone, and they sure as hell better last that long….
Geez, but SJ is a friggin’ genius. I’d bet my lost dollar that he had this all typed up before yesterday’s announcement. What a ringmaster.
Spoken like a true conspiracy theorist
The only people bitching now are those A) that WERE NOT early adopters, B) that got on these boards and attacked others for their early purchase, C) that attacked those who felt slighted by the early price slash.
You people can shut the fuck up now. It wasn’t a great move. Early adopters didn’t think so. The press didn’t think so. Apple didn’t think so. Steve Jobs didn’t think so.
Flame on all you want. The people have spoken. Apple has listened. Your attacks are irrelevant. You’re not getting your cake, and you won’t be eating cake.
Smart decision. It would not have been wise for Steve Jobs to alienate and piss off his very best customers.
Once again, screw all of you who complained about our “whining”. It was a bad decision by Apple in the first place and Jobs recognized that after the onslaught of emails.
That said, Steve indeed had restored my faith. It was the right thing to do, and I believe he should be commended for this action. A $100 store credit is an outstanding solution to this debacle, and is very fair.
And now I’ll be using it to buy an 8GB iPhone for my wife at the out-of-pocket cost of $299 (he he he).
I’ll save my credit and use it for my overpriced new battery that I’m bound to need very soon from my overuse of my beloved iPhone
Can the cynicism, guys. They did NOT need to do this, and they did it anyway.
Classy.
Bought our 8GB iPhone at La Cantera in San Antonio on June 29th and have been amazed by its funtionality and design. When I heard about the $200 price drop (via EDGE on iPhone while driving to Austin during Steve’s keynote!), I was surprised but still happy with what we had paid–after all, no one made us buy our phone. Will be going back to La Cantera soon to spend the $100 rebate. The decision to give us a break is a above and beyond the call of duty. Thanks, Mr. Jobs, for making this decision.
Hey justified,
I’m with you, dude. Your post says it all.
ferf
Wow, what a classy move by Apple.
I was in at the ground floor, and I wasn’t upset about the price cut… That’s the price we pay for early adoption. And besides, as an Apple shareholder I will easily make that money back in the next couple of months as even more people are now priced into the market for the iPhone.
“Above and beyond” is how I’d describe the decision to give me a $100 store credit for something I bought more than 2 months ago. now I have to figure out what I want to spend it on…
PS: All you asswipes finger-pointing and calling other “crybabies” need to shut your holes. You’ve got some scorned-kid-on-the-playground complex that you need to take care of offline. There’s really no reason for you to be commenting at all unless you’re all pissy that you don’t have an iPhone or that you were going to get some great deal and now your advantage has been lessened.
Whining is whining, and you bitches have been whining the loudest.
Not a 90M decision exactly — it is store credit, and so given apple’s margins, it’s more like at most a 45M decision assuming 900K units sold.
From what I have read, Apple’s margins are more like 30%, so it was a $63 million decision.
Was sad about it, but learned to live with it. But this is cool, now i get leopard for 29 bucks. Sweeeeet
100 more reasons why I’m proud to be an Apple user… and an Apple stockholder. This is how you run a successful business. Take the $100 million hit, and earn it back ten times in customer satisfaction and loyalty.
It was a wise thing to do. HOWEVER don’t anyone dare say way to go Steve, or thank Apple. The trolling anal MS apologists will be all over you for drinkin’ the cool-ayde.
You see, whatever you as an Apple product user, an actual Apple product, or Apple does, it will always be a damned if you do, but twice as damned if you don’t unless its 4 times as damned if you do situation. Nothing will ever make some “I’m entitled” snobs happy except for someone to fork over the entire world and everything in it to them, and even that wouldn’t be enough.
On this end, a big thanks to Apple & Steve. My son started saving for the iPhone the day it was announced. He got it a few days after it was out. (We were camping, just not at the AT&T;or Apple Store) He now has $100 to spend on something else iPhone/iPod/Mac related, and I can get almost 2 for 1 pricing on new iPhones for me and my wife. Happy day in our house!
Pure and Simple
An apology and a rebate: classy.
I could not be happier with Apple right now. Every experience I have had with my iPhone has been a pleasure. I bought a refurbished one about 10 days ago. Bought the least expensive one, 4gb, and paid 399.00. Now I just got a 150.00 dollar rebate which = 250.00 iPhone and I love it. Lots of cool features. BTW can’t tell ANY difference between my refurbished iPhone and a new one.
Thanks Apple
So, they still sting you for $100 and then entice you into the Apple Store to spend even more money. Could only be Apple. Think Different (TM).
I just hoped they learned from this. Apple customers rely on the fact that their pricing will be consistent, and they won’t feel ripped off two months later. It may be irrational, but it is what it is. This has deviated drastically from their normal pattern. I appreciate the $100 but the damage is done. I am going to be more careful about the way I spend my money at Apple.
It was a brand new product. They needed a margin in case of product recalls or other unforeseen problems that come with a new product.
Turns out the iPhone was designed better than they thought. No expensive problems. Time for a price cut.
The Apple Store credit (aka Aperture) was just what I thought they should do.
Good Job Apple!
“And all MS can do is offer a measly $50 rebate on the Zune? Now MS not only looks retarded but stingy as well. Maybe MS should start giving Zunes away to the victims of Hurricance Katrina or global warming or trans fat or something”
Good Lord in heaven above man, (or woman) Haven’t those poor people been through enough already? And on top of everything you’d force a Zune on them? Maybe the earth should just open up and swallow you whole right now.