iPhone price drop blues

Late last month, I picked up an 8-gig iPhone from the Apple Store at Somerset Mall in Troy, Michigan. Though I can’t unlock it for use with Fido yet, it’s still a pretty great iPod and portable email/web device, and I’m anxiously awaiting a full software unlock.

Today, in addition to announcing a new family of iPods, Steve Jobs announced a price drop on the 8-gig iPhone. From $599 to $399 USD. That’s a pretty big drop, especially for a product that’s only been out for two months.

So-called “early adopters” are pretty peeved about this.

TUAW and CrunchGear both have some suggestions for upset iPhone owners.

Luckily, I bought my iPhone on August 25. And according to the back of my receipt:

Should Apple reduce its price on any Apple-branded product withing fourteen (14) calendar days of the date of purchase, you may request a refund of the difference between the price paid and the current selling price.

I plan to call the Apple Store tomorrow to request my refund. Not sure how it’ll work since I’m in Toronto. I’ll post the details here when I find out.

Update: I phoned the Somerset Apple Store this afternoon, and spoke to a very friendly man named Charlie. He told me that I could probably bring the iPhone into the Apple Store at the Eaton Centre. When I called the Eaton Centre store, they told me they “don’t do cross-border refunds.” So I called the Somerset store back. Charlie took down my name and phone numbers, and told me that someone would get back to me tonight or tomorrow. I’ll keep you posted.

In the meantime, Steve Jobs offered refund-ineligible iPhone customers at $100 credit.

Update 2: Nobody from the Apple Store got back to me, so I called again and talked to manager Ryan. Within two hours, he sent me an email with a PDF receipt (right) for the credit. Thanks Ryan!