Apple moves to calm iPhone gripes

Apple's decision to cut the price of the 8GB iPhone in the US by $200 (around £100) has seen the company receive a glut of complaints.

According to Apple, it has received "hundreds of emails" from upset customers, angry that the price has been dropped only two months after the product was launched.

In an open letter published on Apple's website, chief executive Steve Jobs said: "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."

Apple is offering these customers $100 (£50) of store credit that can be used at Apple retail stores or the Apple website.

However, the tone of Jobs' letter and the fact that no such offer was mentioned at the press conference where the price cut was announced suggests that Apple did not anticipate this backlash.

"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," Jobs wrote.

"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 iPhone has not been launched in the UK and no official information about an exact date or launch partner has been released. However, it is expected that it will be available before the end of year and that O2 is the network operator selected by Apple.

www.apple.com/hotnews/openiphoneletter

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