Apple announces new gear; Screws early adopters
[UPDATE: It looks like it never hurts to bitch. Thank you Apple!]
There is no way to write this post without sounding like I’m whining, so prepare to be whined…
Ok, I’ll make this short and sweet.
First things first. Hooray for Apple. They updated their whole iPod line with cool new stuff at great prices. Read another Mac site for full details.
Now, on to the REAL issue.
As one of the idiots loyal Apple fans who supported Apple and bought an iPhone on day 1 (well, day 2, actually), I am well and thoroughly pissed. Just 2 months after launching the iPhone, Apple today announced they are slashing the price by a full THIRD, knocking $200 off the price of the 8GB iPhone model. And to rub salt in our wounds, they decided to do it on the day they announced the Wi-Fi touchscreen iPod (with more storage) that most of us bought the iPhone for in the first place.
This type of price reduction is unheard of, especially on a device selling as (allegedly) well as the iPhone, and even MORE so from a company named Apple, who traditionally has never discounted any product within 18 months of its introduction, let alone TWO!
Above: (Click to enlarge) Apple’s own discussion forums went down briefly, but half an hour after coming up, there were over 1000 angry comments and growing. Apple is allegedly now deleting these threads.
This behavior is so uncharacteristic of Apple, I feel all iPhone users have a right to be outraged. I was even contacted by an Apple Store employee who got a free iPhone and he’s pissed at Apple. THAT’S how major this slight is. I do not begrudge Apple their right to lower prices (in fact, $399 is about what I think the iPhone is worth, and I LOVE IT), but they really pissed in the mouth of some of their most avid fans here (sorry for the visual).
“drater“, a poster on the Macrumors forums summed up what most of feel when he wrote: “I feel like a $200 whore”.
To that end, I am calling for Apple to step up, and do the right thing. Offer a $100 gift card to the iTunes store for all current iPhone customers. It really is the least you can do. This is a LOT Of money you got us to plunk down for your gadget, and its early success and hype was very important to you. Dropping the price by as much as your new video iPod nano is a real slap in the face. In the past, when you launched OS X and tried to make the beta testers pay full price, you were guilted into being a “bigger man” of a company, and eventually did the right thing. I certainly hope you do the right thing now.
Fanboys, you may now commence defending Apple.
This is becoming one of the dumbest thread ever.
Please read carefully mr. Manganelli’s post and try to understand; your feeling pissed, although partially justifiable, is the logical consequence of being so frantically compelled to be the first one on the block to own a new electronic gadget.
It’s no secret that every kind of consumer gadgetry is revamped/less-priced/obsolete every other month.
Anyway, I really hope the whining bitch at Apple is located AND fired ! You can’t spit in your own lunch plate (Italian proverb)