The price spread ought to be shaved. Fair is fair and this would get the card in the hands of more Mac users, and make more customers feel warm and fuzzy towards the company. This is the controversial issue. Their obligation is to employees and stockholders, after all. They are one of the most-watched companies in the business, more so than larger corporations.
Apple tends to have an adversarial view of the fourth estate.
They are justified, in part, of course, because some journalists are not always worthy of the title. But there are lots of hard-working folks out there who are really on Apple's side, and the company ought to be a little more cooperative in getting the word out, and not get so paranoid over speculation about unreleased products. If folks violate NDAs, there are less public ways to deal with the issue, without hurting the company's image. Well, it never hurts to move more products, even if per unit profits are sacrificed a bit. With the holiday season upcoming, it may be a good idea to take the necessary steps to move boxes.