Apple, faced with an iPhone customer revolt following a 33 per cent price cut, has announced that customers who bought the iPhone at the higher price will receive a $100 (€73) voucher. John Collinsreports.

Apple chief executive Steve Jobs made a rare admission that he had got it wrong in an open letter to "all iPhone customers" published on the company's website.

During an announcement of a total overhaul of the iPod range of music and video players on Wednesday, Mr Jobs said the price of the 8GByte iPhone would be reduced to $399 from $599. The 4Gbyte version will be discontinued.

Mr Jobs subsequently received hundreds of e-mails from iPhone buyers who had purchased at the higher price. The iPhone was launched on June 29th. "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," Mr Jobs conceded in the letter.

The voucher can be used at any Apple shop in the US or at its online store. Details of how the programme will operate will be released next week.

The vouchers will be provided to early iPhone buyers who are "not receiving a rebate or any other consideration". Mr Jobs said the technology road is bumpy and there will always be customers who miss out on a price cut.

Some analysts suggested the price cut was an indication that the iPhone is not selling as well as expected. Apple has not revealed how many iPhones have been sold to date, but on Wednesday Mr Jobs said one million will have been shipped by the end of the month.

Apple has not revealed when the combination smart phone and music player will be made available in Europe or which networks it will partner with. It is expected to go on sale in Ireland next year.