Steve Jobs’s iPhone Mea Culpa

In an attempt to quell the rebellion yesterday over the $200 iPhone price cut, Steve Jobs is offering a $100 store credit to anyone who bought the 8GB iPhone at its original price of $599.

This is an unprecedented move, and one that will likely win back a lot of fans that were soured by the surprise price drop.

Apple has a long history of customers who are dissatisfied after model upgrades or price cuts. It’s happened for over 20 years: whenever Apple introduced a new Mac, it was guaranteed that some people had just bought the old version a few weeks before and felt screwed.

You don’t see this in the PC industry as much, since PCs can change price, components, and configurations by the week. Plus, older models tend to be discounted, even before news of a new model reaches the public. That’s something that almost never happens at Apple.

Still, this is a sign of goodwill from Jobs. And one that’s sorely needed given the huge amount of press attention the iPhone has had since even before its introduction.

To all iPhone customers [Apple]

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