Mac laptops cost twice as much as PC laptops

Off Beat Michael » The Waning of Jobs’ Influence Over Apple?

Off Beat Michael » The Waning of Jobs’ Influence Over Apple? — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 16:30:54 GMT

Pingback from Off Beat Michael » The Waning of Jobs’ Influence Over Apple?

Mac laptops cost twice as much as PC laptops - Buy Macbook ♦ Apple MacBook and MacBook Pro News

Buy Macbook ♦ Apple MacBook and MacBook Pro News — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 20:03:08 GMT

[...] an interesting post was made today on this site [...]...

re: Mac laptops cost twice as much as PC laptops

rmcq — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 03:17:38 GMT

I just read another article that said that on average BMWs cost twice as much as Toyotas! BMWs are such a rip-off!

So, my point here is not that Macs are like BMWs, but that cheap, low-cost Mac laptops do not exist. The quoted article compares the AVERAGE SELLING PRICE of laptops. Everyone knows that Apple do not sell laptops in the bottom-end of the market, where a lot of Windows laptops live. You know, the big heavy clunky things with the 15 minutes battery life that most of your friends buy before they ask your opinion.

Personally, if I was a retailer, I'd be loving my Mac laptops that attract the higher spender.

In summary, the article has nothing to do with the price of comparative laptops, and the headline provided by Paul is misleading in the extreme. If this tabloid journalism is what I can expect reading this site, I think I'll be taking my eyes elsewhere. Sure, a sensationalist headline might work once, but discerning readers are turned off a second time.

re: Mac laptops cost twice as much as PC laptops

jeffsters — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 19:59:11 GMT

Since Apple is pretty much selling all they can make...guess some people feel differently and as long as there are why should Apple change? To become just another HP or Dell?

re: Mac laptops cost twice as much as PC laptops

chuckb84 — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 15:01:03 GMT

@gorath

Yes, they do teach "maths"; mine went through Tensor calculus. And even poor techies also learn the definition---an logical fallacy-- of an Ad Hominem rebuttal.

If you have a point to make, make it.

The main point I was making was this,

"As for the main point in the original article, I think that the comparison is not legitimate. This gets to be a very complex issue, and almost impossible to resolve in a non-partisan manner. However, it only matters in one way: Does the "higher price" of Macs constrain the growing market share (which is still small globally)?"

Since Mac sales are going up very rapidly, the questions are (1) would a cheaper low end Mac increase this, or would the inevitable lower quality compromise the brand? (2) Will the (yes, only slowly increasing, yes, still small) apple global market share increase markedly if Apple sells really cheap Macs?

Those are legitimate questions, and are really marketing questions, not Fanboi (Mac or PC) posturing.

re: Mac laptops cost twice as much as PC laptops

gorath — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 10:55:59 GMT

"With Mac sales increasing at 3 times the rate of the PC market overall, that's a hard case to make."

oh no, god no. Here we go again. Do they really not teach maths (math) at school anymore?

re: Mac laptops cost twice as much as PC laptops

DRWAM — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 23:27:20 GMT

Yeh sub, why didn't you just use the Winmouse, unless it was a PS2? I use an MS mouse and a Logitech. Both are laser and work on both platforms. The new one is the MX Revolution. Logitech replaced my MX 1000 was was charging poorly [probably a bad base station as I cleaned the contacts] since it was still under the 3 yr warranty. The MS mouse is in my weight room so I don't know the model as I'm too lazy too go down to check. Wait until you're my age!

re: Mac laptops cost twice as much as PC laptops

chuckb84 — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 21:50:09 GMT

@subzerohitman721

"With regular upgrades and maintenance, you can make any good PC a worthwile investment."

True of desktops, not laptops, which are much harder to upgrade. You can do memory and disk, but memory will max out on slot limits and ram density. Nothing can typically be done with the cpu.

"As a former Mac user, I found it to be one of the most frustrating parts of using a Mac. After using Windows mouse controls, it felt archaic to use a single button mouse. I love the fact that I have a built in scroll wheel so that I can just use my finger."

Of course, any multibutton mouse (USB or BT) that you use with Windows can be used with a Mac (well, almost all). The mouse I'm using now is (egads!) made by Microsoft, and works fine. Perhaps the only MS product with which I've had so little trouble! The point being that the old canard about the "Apple one button mouse" is just that. Use any mouse you like.

As for the main point in the original article, I think that the comparison is not legitimate. This gets to be a very complex issue, and almost impossible to resolve in a non-partisan manner. However, it only matters in one way: Does the "higher price" of Macs constrain the growing market share (which is still small globally)?

With Mac sales increasing at 3 times the rate of the PC market overall, that's a hard case to make. That said, I hope Apple does make a foray into the well-under-$1000 laptop world---they would sell a lot of them.

re: Mac laptops cost twice as much as PC laptops

subzerohitman721 — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 21:33:10 GMT

With regular upgrades and maintenance, you can make any good PC a worthwile investment. The problem is that most individuals do not take the time to maintain their PC's. How hard is it to buy a compressed air can and to clean out the bay? Many people with poor habits, don't even bother to clean up their monitor. With regular upgrades to the processor, memory, hard drives, video cards, and other components, a PC can have a really good resale value. It just comes down to how serious you take that investment and maintain it.

I've been able to resell older PC's up to $500 USD. Sometimes the models will feature older processors, but the upgrades elsewhere still make them relevent today. Thats why my systems that I've done have lasted up to 7 years, before needing a power supply swapout.

BrightrevCarl said:

"Finally, the single trackpad button on Apple laptops seems ridiculous. It more or less requires the use of a Bluetooth mouse. Having to double tap or hold a keyboard button to right-click is silly. I need to right-click to use a computer. Apple has made this difficult for me, so it really puts me off their machines."

My comments: I agree. This notion that the 2 or 3 button mouse isn't a good solution is ludicrous. If my 3 year old daughter can get used to a two button mouse, then any adult should have no excuse. I know many people who absolutely despise trackpads and would feel comfortable with a mouse. Especially in America where physical devices with tactile response is very popular.

As a former Mac user, I found it to be one of the most frustrating parts of using a Mac. After using Windows mouse controls, it felt archaic to use a single button mouse. I love the fact that I have a built in scroll wheel so that I can just use my finger. I don't think the mouse is going away anytime soon, because gesturing technology is still in its infancy. I think part of the argument of freedom to choose that is lacking on the Mac side.

re: Mac laptops cost twice as much as PC laptops

murdocdv — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 17:48:21 GMT

@BrightrevCarl

No one with a Mac laptop needs a 2-button mouse. All you have to do is turn on the trackpad preference "For secondary clicks, place two fingers on the trackpad then click the button". This is a right-click in OS X, Windows in a VM, and the drivers Apples supplies for running Windows natively have this as well.

I think it's a better solution too than cutting up the button and having to hit the correct half, or even third on the Thinkpads, to get left click or right click, since the target button is huge on Apple laptops. A related feature is placing two fingers on the trackpad, anywhere on it, to scroll in either direction.

re: Mac laptops cost twice as much as PC laptops

DRWAM — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 13:41:39 GMT

The 9 yr old G4 runs Leopard very well and speedy. That's why I bought another on Ebay for my exercise room, before I bought my Pro Tower. Also, I have a 6115 series Performa from 1995 that still works as do two of my friends'. I have a beige G3 from 1997 that still works and runs 10.2 well. I was preparing to give them to charity so I had to turn them on and reformat tha drives to rid personal info. So, my experience is that none of the Macs went bad. These are all desktops, not laptops.

re: Mac laptops cost twice as much as PC laptops

techboy2000 — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 05:30:48 GMT

I recently bought the $1299 Macbook and feel like a sucker. I purchased the Macbook to write iPhone apps and because the fanboys finally wore me down with their Mac praise.

For a hefty $1299:

The integrated graphics are shockingly bad.

The 13 inch screen is too small (15 inch is the sweet spot for me).

OSX is not particularly snappy.

It only has 2gb of memory and a lousy 180Gb hard drive.

Likes: Cute, nice keyboard, runs Handbrake well, magnetic power cord, iLife suite is cool, good resale value.

It seems that I could get a similar Vista machine and save $300-400. MBP's have good specs but take overpriced to a new level. I have buyer's remorse when I go to Frys and see the attractive Sony laptops with the Macbook style keyboards (Sony needs to ditch the hideous stickers plastered over their machines). The ThinkPad is still the laptop standard.

re: Mac laptops cost twice as much as PC laptops

Cfischer83 — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 05:06:11 GMT

Joe:

I have an almost 8 year old E-machines that I got for $550 that's still chugging away... I'd say that's pretty decent.

re: Mac laptops cost twice as much as PC laptops

joe-dokes — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 04:54:10 GMT

Weedmonk,

Why are you laughing at resale, go over to ebay and check out the auctions, used Macs are actually worth something. You may not believe it, you may want to stick your head in the sand but here are some auctions that have g5 imacs for over 500 USD. I paid 1500 for my G5, it's nice to know that it is still worth something.

Sorry your computer after three years is a f-in door stop in terms of value.

Any time this discussion comes up I am always reminded of the old adage, "He knows the price of everything but the value of nothing."

I honestly believe and know that Macs are more expensive, are they twice the price? No way. Are they cheaper, well I would argue that they are, in the long run. For example DRWAM has a 9 year old tower that still chugs away.

So considering Apple's features, resale and longevity, I think Apple offers a hell of deal.

Regards

Joe Dokes

re: Mac laptops cost twice as much as PC laptops

Cfischer83 — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 03:12:21 GMT

Paul, a couple of things.

1. I agree with you. I'll probably never buy an HP ever again.

2. I bought a desktop in April that had a 2.4ghz QUAD core, 3GB ram @ 800mhz and a 500GB hard drive. It was $499. I then went on to add a few bells and whistles like 19 in 1 media reader, Wireless N, high end wireless mouse/keyboard, Adobe Premiere and Photoshop Elements and 2 years of at home service and paid $808 after taxes. I went to Apple to configure a similar system (although it was impossible to get it exact, I got it pretty darn close) and it came to almost $3,000... and for what extra? Bluetooth? iMovie? iPhoto? My wireless N with 8 USB ports, Adobe Premiere and Live Photo gallery are all better than those anyway.