Apple giving $100 credit to early iPhone buyers

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- After receiving hundreds of emailed complaints from existing Apple iPhone customers angry about a steep price drop, chief executive Steve Jobs says the company will give a $100 credit to certain customers who bought the gadget.

Customers who purchased an iPhone from Apple or the iPhone's sole service provider AT&T (down $0.08 to $24.02, Charts), and did not receive any rebates, will receive a $100 credit toward any purchase at an Apple retail store or on its Web site. Further details will be posted on Apple's Web site next week.

Apple recently lowered the price of its 8 gigabyte iPhone to $399 from $599.

While Jobs defended the drastic price reduction, saying every new device has price cuts and improved models on the horizon, he apologized to customers who paid the original price for the iPhone.

"We want to do the right thing for our valued iPhone customers," Jobs wrote in an email to iPhone customers. "We apologize for disappointing some of you, and we are doing our best to live up to your high expectations of Apple."

Jobs also cited hopes for a boost in holiday sales as a reason for the price reduction.

"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," Jobs wrote.

Apple (down $1.75 to $135.01, Charts, Fortune 500) shares fell 1.3 percent on the Nasdaq Thursday afternoon.