Sept. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Apple Inc., after cutting the price of the iPhone by $200, started offering $100 in credit to early buyers and said they can use it to purchase iTunes gift cards.

Apple's Web site says the credit isn't good for iTunes gift cards but the page is incorrect and is being revised, spokeswoman Natalie Kerris said. Users can't add the credit directly to their iTunes accounts.

Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs cut the price of the iPhone last week by $200 to $399, angering buyers of the combination iPod media player and phone. Jobs announced the rebate a day later, apologizing to customers after receiving hundreds of complaints. Apple has sold more than a million iPhones since the handset's release on June 29.

``People will get their $100 and they'll find lots of other gadgets to buy,'' AndyHargreaves of Pacific Crest Securities in Portland, Oregon said. He rates the shares ``outperform'' and owns some. ``You'll get people buying new iPods or another iPhone.''

Customers need to submit a claim by Nov. 30, Cupertino, California-based Apple said today.

Apple shares gained $1.61 to $138.81 at 4 p.m. New York time in Nasdaq Stock Market trading. The stock has surged 64 percent this year.

Customers who bought their phones between June 29 and Aug. 21 can submit their details on Apple's Web site and will then receive a text message with the credit.

Store Credit

People who bought iPhones after Aug. 21 can return to stores to receive a $200 refund. If they don't do this by Sept. 19, they can claim a $100 store credit, Apple said.

Items priced less than $100 at Apple's stores include games, keyboards and iPod accessories such as cases and earphones. An armband for the iPod Nano costs $29, while in-ear headphones cost $39. There's also the $79 Shuffle, Apple's cheapest music player.

The iTunes store, which sells songs for 99 cents each, also offers movies, TV shows and audio books.

Apple announced the iPhone's price cut on Sept. 5, the same day the company unveiled updated iPods and a new player called the iPod Touch. Jobs, 52, said the new products and the lower- priced phone will attract buyers during the holiday quarter, a period that typically accounts for about a third of Apple's sales.

The iPod Touch, which has the same touch-screen technology built into the iPhone, is available today at some Apple stores, the company said. It costs from $299.

To contact the reporter on this story: Connie Guglielmo in San Francisco at cguglielmo1@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: September 14, 2007 17:25 EDT