Following the surprise announcement yesterday that Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) was slashing the price of the 8GB iPhone model by 33 percent, Steve Jobs was sanguine about the effect on customers no longer eligible for a refund. “That’s what happens in technology,” he told USA Today. Many customers were not as willing to shrug it off though and—facing some harsh criticism—Jobs now says the company will give existing iPhone customers a $100 credit.

In his letter to iPhone customers, Jobs states flatly that he is sure the company is right to lower the prices to $399 from $599, that this is the right time to do it and repeating the sentiment above. But he also acknowledges the unhappy campers out there, saying he reads every one of the hundreds of emails from upset customers: “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.” He even uses an “a” word you don’t hear often from Cupertino: “We apologize for disappointing some of you, and we are doing our best to live up to your high expectations of Apple.”

Details about the credit are still a few days away but it will be an Apple store credit good online or in person.

Not everyone was upset by the yesterday’s announcement. I heard from people who shrugged it off, explaining that the use of the device was worth it for them. Then there were customers like PR vet Steve Rubel, who twittered: “It’s horrifically rude that Apple cut the price of the iPhone by $200 just 9 weeks after it launched.”  His latest message: he’s satisfied with the credit.