[Gremlinn]

not exactly a "con job." More than likely the price drop occured only because of the new iPod Touch. Since it uses the same lcd screen (and likely a lot of the same hardware) apple is able to buy the parts in MUCH larger quantities, thus reducing the price for consumers.

That said, I'd be very pissed if I spent $600 on an iPhone and found out I pretty much wasted $200 to own it a few weeks earlier.

Sorry but I don't buy that at all. I'm prepared to accept that prices can come down due to economies of scale etc - but a 1/3 price drop in 2 months?, no way. Remember that this is the end consumer price, not the cost price too. No way are they getting 1/3+ down on the touch screen price - which lets remember is only PART of the overall BOM for the iPhone.

Simply put, Apple KNEW that the early adopter fanboys would practically sell their grannies to get their mitts on an iPhone. Once that initial flurry of purchases stopped, then they set the price point to such a level as to encourage sustained purchases from the "general" public - hence this price slash.