An Open Letter to iPhone Customers

To buy, or not to buy... that's your problem!

史老大在 9/5 公佈唉鳳降價策略

4GB iPhone 咱們不要了！

8GB iPhone 降價 200 美金！

隨後沒多久

就在網站上發表這封名為 "An Open Letter to iPhone Customers" 的公開信：

To all iPhone customers:

I have received hundreds of emails from iPhone customers who are upset about Apple dropping the price of iPhone by $200 two months after it went on sale. After reading every one of these emails, I have some observations and conclusions.

First, I am sure that we are making the correct decision to lower the price of the 8GB iPhone from $599 to $399, and that now is the right time to do it. iPhone is a breakthrough product, and we have the chance to 'go for it' this holiday season. iPhone is so far ahead of the competition, and now it will be affordable by even more customers. It benefits both Apple and every iPhone user to get as many new customers as possible in the iPhone 'tent'. We strongly believe the $399 price will help us do just that this holiday season.

Second, being in technology for 30+ years I can attest to the fact that the technology road is bumpy. There is always change and improvement, and 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. 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 good news is that if you buy products from companies that support them well, like Apple tries to do, you will receive years of useful and satisfying service from them even as newer models are introduced.

Third, even though we are making the right decision to lower the price of iPhone, and even though the technology road is bumpy, we need to do a better job taking care of our early iPhone customers as we aggressively go after new ones with a lower price. Our early customers trusted us, and we must live up to that trust with our actions in moments like these.

Therefore, we have decided to offer every iPhone customer who purchased an iPhone from either Apple or AT&T, and who is not receiving a rebate or any other consideration, a $100 store credit towards the purchase of any product at an Apple Retail Store or the Apple Online Store. Details are still being worked out and will be posted on Apple's website next week. Stay tuned.

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.

Steve Jobs

Apple CEO

首先

從英文書信的觀點來說

這封信是繼史老大在史丹佛大畢業典禮演說

的 "Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish" 演講稿以來的又一篇佳作

小鵝非常好奇

史老大背後的文書稿槍手究竟是誰？

再者

史老大這封信裡

把科技電子產業的消費市場做了非常精闢的分析

沒錯

"The technology road is bumpy... This is life in the technology lane."

常常有人問這個該不該買那個該不該買

除了業界明顯缺失的產品 (如: Vista 之流的！噗疵～)

不然特別是以硬體產業來說

必須有『買了就落伍了！買了就賠了！』的決心

買進時間點的評估

必須單純就自己的需求來決定

其實小鵝認為

這封信早在蘋果內部決定要對唉鳳進行降價策略的同時就擬好了

甚至可能更早在唉鳳登場前

就有這樣的市場實驗策略在進行

兩款機種的發表

單純是為了進行實際的市場調查

史老大早就料到消費者對於兩個月內削價的反應

而 8GB 版本的唉鳳真正利潤合理價格可能就是 399 美金

這些撲溯迷離的公司策略

完完全全都在原本的計畫當中

陰謀論？或許吧？