The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)

Okay, I must admit that the late adopters Google ad does seem as though Apple is kind of giving us early adopters the finger. But the $100 voucher appeases me. :)

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i wonder if i can get the 100$ my iphone is a 4gig Refurbished iPhone. I payed 399.00. i missed the 14 day cutoff... by one day lol

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It just shows you that the $100 from Apple is a token offer that costs nothing and that they don't mind slapping the faithful in the face over and over again. I am going to take my money and run, but probably not back to apple after the coupon.

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uh, this wasn't an Apple ad, it was posted by an affliate to the Apple Store...
The official Apple links use a display URL which is www.apple.com/store, when this particular person used store.apple.com
A click on the link revealed further information: a CJID variable, which denotes an affiliate link.

So poor taste, yes... but not from Apple

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Then I have no beef with Apple. :)

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@2 - miguel

Take it back now! Do not wait another day. They will most likely give you the difference if you're just over the 14 days and especially since there are no more 4GB iPhones. You have a clear case. I would take it back and talk to the people at the Apple Store. In my experience, they're always willing to do right by the customer in cases like this.

Cheers and good luck,
FL

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The ad doesn't bother me and neither does the price drop itself. I don't begrudge Apple new customers at all, the iPhone is great and I love mine.

On the other hand, I remain very dissatisfied with Apples gesture toward those of us who bought the iPhone in the first 69 days.

I posted my reasons for being upset yesterday on Cult of Mac, chiefly a feeling of betrayal of trust by a corporation I adored. Apple currently runs at 36 percent margins, so at the most, each credit voucher will cost them $64 out of pocket.

Factor in that this credit will probably be used most frequently for peripherals, software, chargers, cords, headphones–whatever, and the out of pocket costs drop to maybe $50, as the margin is higher on these products. Then factor in that many credits will never be claimed (my guess is half unclaimed) or used as a credit on a larger purchase, and the cost to Apple (offset by higher profits on items that would not have otherwise been purchased) and my guess is that the true cost to Apple is $20 per phone, or somewhere around $14,000,000 or so.

Therefore, my conclusion is that this is not really a sincere effort on Apples part. $20 bucks a person. Big deal.

Apple has been quoted as saying that this price drop was planned long ago. My guess was this ‘credit’ program was as well. Apple has grown arrogant, and it is showing. And in the end, Americans hate arrogance, and will sooner or later grow weary of this type of cynical corporate behavior. Sure, people will still buy, but unless Apple changes its attitude toward its best customers, it will not be pulling down those 36 percent margins 5 years from now.

I would have been completely satisfied with $100 cash money back. That would have cost Apple about $70,000,000 and in my opinion, restored the breach in trust.

As it stands, no trust has been restored with me. Sure, I will take my credit and do something with it, but my emotions toward the company will never be the same. From now on, it’s Caveat Emptor, baby, all the way, the same attitude I have toward every other corporation on the planet.

Of course I will still buy Apple; they make great stuff. But maybe I will skip a generation of this or that, or do without Leopard until whatever is next comes out, or buy something from Amazon instead of impulse buying it at the Apple store on a Saturday afternoon, or buy my nieces something other than the iPods I bought them last Christmas.

This is just me, my feelings, one person’s reaction. And it is an emotional reaction, not a cerebral one. But it is real, and Apple’s unresolved betrayal of my trust will cost them much more in long-term lost profits than the $100 cash refund would have.

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This is really weird, and kinda pathetic. It's like Nokia used to be the big popular kid, then Apple came along, and now Nokia is like "wait, me too! me too! look at me!!!!!!!"

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All this stuff about Apple "betraying" and "screwing over" early iPhone customers is a bunch of bullshit.

1) Apple is new to the mobile phone market. This type of thing may not be normal for Apple's past products, but it certainly is for certain "hot" phones (i.e. the RAZR, etc).

2) If you paid $600 for an iPhone when it came out you either a) could afford to pay $600, or b) really really wanted one and bought it even though you couldn't afford it. Either way it doesn't matter that NOW it costs less.

3) People think to themselves "if only I waited two months I could have saved $200"... well yes, but you had no way of knowing that at the time, hindsight is always 20/20. It's like saying "oh if only I bought Microsoft or Apple stock 15 years ago"...

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Andronicus: How about if somebody just break Steve Jobs' legs? Would that suffice, seeing as how Apple (i.e. Steve Jobs) suffering seems to be what you demand out of a peace offering? I'm quite a vindictive fellow myself, but a free $100 voucher is pretty sweet, even if it costs Apple very little. After all, Steve Jobs could have left it at "That's technology."

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I've been a Mac user since 1986, and I still hate Mac owners. Nokia's playing a joke, guys, and MOSH is kinda neat, just needs a few more bumps in users, and works great with the iPhone.

In case you guys hadn't noticed, Nokia's been doing this a while, and they have some great upscale phones out there. Most Apple users wouldn't notice, since they figure the iPhone is the first phone with a real web browser and a music player. :P

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