The whole point of console gaming was to have each console be a single standard that could play all games, as opposed to PC's which have so many customizeable parts that affect performance. The 360 isn't quite all the way back there yet but it's still at the point where it's confusing to the consumer which model to buy. Different colors are completely different 'cause there's no technical differences between the models.

Since you brought up Apple, lets just go from there.

Apple is a company known for their clean and concise marketing, in both products and the way they advertise.

Lets look at the iPod. They pass the first rule - always offer three distinct product levels. Why is this? Simple - you want people to pick the middle option and not cheap out. The classic example is Wendy's. Wendy's offers the single, double, and triple cheeseburger. A few years back, Wendy's management saw that the triple was rarely sold, so they eliminated it from their menu. The result? Wendy's lost double sales too. Now why is this? When people see three options they generally see the cheapest option as being the stingy route, and say well I don't think there is enough value there. They see the middle option and think that looks good. Then they see the biggest option and think 'thats the overkill option' and decide to go with the middle option. In marketing, this is a popular and often used practice. Dell does it, Ford does it, the list is ridiculously long. Now back to Apple.

 The iPod line has the shuffle, the nano, and the regular iPod. I don't include the iPhone because though it shares the music playing functionality, it is not marketed in the same category as the iPod line.

Each block has only one or two different product levels. There is only one option on the shuffle. The nano, the most popular brand now, has three sizes currently offered, and a variety of colors. Colors do not really do much in changing marketing, they are a superficial change that help to catch eyes, not really to create different product levels. Once again though, this passes the rule of three. Not surprisingly, the middle option is the most sold.

The Halo 3 special edition pack is more and more sounding like a falcon model designed to make an extra quick buck. Why sell it in premiums and cores for 280 or 350 when you can sell it for 400? It makes more of a profit than the old consoles, so putting it in a line that will probably sell out its product run means there is extra profit to be made.

As an aside, Arstechnica is reporting that falcon will show up in both core and premium in late august to september, so spending the extra 50 dollars for a falcon may be even less of a prudent investment for the Halo edition, unless you really like pea green console colors.