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

Apple on Wednesday cut the price of the eight-gigabyte iPhones by 200 dollars to 399 dollars, in a surprise move that some analysts said could give the California company "a lock" on the market for smartphones.

But the move left customers fuming after paying full price for the device launched just over two months ago.

"I'm feeling a bit burned by Apple. Is this how you treat devoted ... loyal customers?" one blogger wrote Wednesday on the MacRumors Web forum.

Jobs, in his statement, said it was "the correct decision to lower the price" of the iPhone.

He said the "iPhone is a breakthrough product, and we have the chance to 'go for it' this holiday season. iPhone is so far ahead of the competition, and now it will be affordable by even more customers."

Although some reports suggest iPhone sales have been disappointing, Apple has gotten strong reviews for the touch-screen devices, which combine Internet, telephone and iPod-like music and video play.

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