No Black Friday Blues for iPhone

Even if others are worried about the iPhone, Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) isn't. Not yet, anyway. The iEmpire chose not to discount its 3G handset for today's Black Friday sale at its retail stores. And what deals it is offering are, at best, meager:

• iMacs are on sale for between $51and $101 off, but not the highest-end model, VentureBeat reports.
• MacBooks, but not the MacBook Pro, are also selling for between $51 and $101 less.
• All iPod models feature anywhere from $11 to $21 in discounts.
• Apple TV gets a $21 haircut.

Translation: We're still Apple, and it's still going to cost you a premium to buy our stuff -- especially the iPhone.

And why not? As good as it looks, hardly anyone is claiming that Research In Motion's (Nasdaq: RIMM) new BlackBerry Storm is going to seriously hurt the iPhone, let alone kill it. The new Nokia (NYSE: NOK) 5800 gets a touchscreen but High Tech Computer had a touchscreen phone in Europe before Apple and it's done little to dampen enthusiasm for Apple's device. Why discount a winner?

The answer, of course, is that you don't. As if that's news. But several news agencies are reporting Apple's lightweight strategy anyway.

Here's a reminder, Fools: Apple rarely discounts anything. And when it does discount, it's usually a sign of newer models in production. Think of how Deutsche Telekom's (NYSE: DT) T-Mobile and France Telecom (NYSE: FTE) discounted the original iPhone leading up to the launch of the 3G model.

That's the right way to read this sale. Not that Apple has somehow missed an opportunity but that it's planning a refresh of its iMacs, iPods, MacBooks, and Apple TV.

Take a bite of more golden delicious Foolishness:

• Apple's biggest bargain: itself.
• You don't need a netbook, Apple.
• Has anyone seen Sgt. Pepper?