http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,295917,00.htmlApple iPhone Owners Outraged by Huge Price CutThursday , September 06, 2007
By Paul Wagenseil
Apple iPhone owners, to put it mildly, are ticked off.
The unveiling of Apple's completely revamped iPod line Wednesday in San Francisco was overshadowed by a detail head honcho Steve Jobs tossed off almost as an aside: Less than 10 weeks after the much-ballyhooed combination cell phone/media player/Web surfer went on sale, its price was cut by $200.
That means early adopters who rushed to get the devices despite the high prices paid a premium of at least $20 for every extra week they could say they had the summer's hot new gadget.
"I feel like I just got punched in the face," said one commenter on the MacRumors blog. "Fanboy tax indeed."
The 8-gigabyte iPhone, once $599, was cut to $399. The 4-gigabyte model, formerly $499, was discontinued, and will sell for $299 until stocks are gone.
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"People who bought the iPhone weeks or months ago must really be annoyed," said Tim Beyers, an analyst at The Motley Fool research and investment group. "They might think twice about being the first to buy future Apple products. This smacks a little of desperation, and it's very unlike Apple."
Wall Street seemed to feel the same way. Apple stock dropped more than 5 percent after the price cut was announced, closing at $136.76, down $7.40. In extended trading, the share price fell another $1.01.
Jobs said Wednesday that Apple was on pace to sell 1 million iPhones in the United States by the end of September. The drastic price cut made that number even more attainable.
Analysts said quick discounts are typical for the cell-phone industry, if not the computer industry. The world's best-selling cell phone, the Motorola Razr, for instance, debuted at $499 but now can be had for less than $100.
"This is about Apple learning how to become a cell-phone retailer," said Jeff Kagan, an independent telecommunications industry analyst based in Atlanta. "All of a sudden it's in the cell-phone business, and everyone is trying to figure out how to measure it, and we don't know yet."
That didn't do much to alleviate the chagrin of iPhone buyers, however.
"I realize this is not their problem: I agreed to the original price — it's my fault," said 32-year-old Ryan Roth of New York, who plunked down $599 for his first iPhone — his first cell phone ever — mere hours before Jobs' speech Thursday. "It just kinda sucks."
Roth, however, is one of the lucky ones, having bought his iPhone within the past two weeks.
Apple spokeswoman Natalie Kerris said anyone who purchased an iPhone within the past 14 days and has the receipt can get a full refund under Apple's return policy if they haven't opened the product. If they have opened it, they still can get a refund of the price difference.
Outside that window, though, tough luck.
"I am on DAY 15!!!" lamented a commenter on the Engadget tech blog. "I might shoot myself in the face ... it was nice knowing you all."
Also sinking in was the realization that many of the most impressive features of the iPhone — the finger-activated touchscreen, the full-fledged Web browser, automatic screen-orientation and brightness adjustment — were now also available on the iPod Touch.
"The iPhone isn't Apple's golden child, the iPod is. Even Steve said that the iPhone is the third priority after the iPod," said another Engadget poster. "The iPod touch is THE touch screen device. The multi touch thing was initially destined for the iPod but Apple are very smart."
Of course, on the Internet, there was no shortage of Schadenfreude to go around.
"Suck it up — you wanted to be the coolest kid on the block and you were for a few weeks," gloated one poster to the Gizmodo tech blog. "Isn't that worth at least $200?"
Another saw the practical aspects of the price cut.
"Maybe I'll get an iPhone and an iPod Classic," said the wise guy, "for about the same price people paid for the iPhone two days ago."
