Apple has been a niche company for years that has survived by selling a few computers with a high mark-up instead of the industry norm of cheap systems at high volume numbers. It has worked so far, so why would the company deviate from the established path? It [probably] won’t.
Kingsley-Hughes goes into this in detail, but think about it. Instead of marketing to the very low-end consumers like almost every PC company, Apple goes after the middle and high class. The brand isn’t Wal-mart material and doesn’t have to be in order to survive in the market thanks to ample money in the bank and a great brand image. Folks that want a Mac will probably still find a way to buy a Mac and those that don’t, will probably look at the thousands of PC options available. Apple has an established business plan and that doesn’t include cheap Mac.
Now that we’ve established that, can we stop worrying about it’s market share?
“A case for why Apple’s not going to produce an inexpensive Mac”
if ifanbois are willing to buy Apple products as they are now, (expensive) why the HELL would they have cheap products?
except most PC comparable systems have comparable prices to macs. the apple tax is a combination of having a better standard operating system and the cost of the aluminum chassis.
the author also forgets apple has made several branches into the low end category from the ipod nano’s and shuffle to the mac mini.
it is in apple’s interest to maintain its imagine as a high quality product and that might mean maintaining the higher prices point. however, given where the price of most current technology is going, it shouldn’t surprise anyone to see apple introduce a $500 to $700 laptop in the near future and keep it in the white plastic body.
lol, i Spent my Highschool Graduation money on my Mac/iPhone/Me service..
Yea, we will find a way to buy great products…
It’d be nice for a lil more in-expensive products, but that’d just suck because their quality would be worse!
I agree with the previous comments 100%… they might not have come out with a cheap Mac because maybe they haven’t found a way for their OS to operate quicker than a Vista laptop, at a comparable price, with less RAM. This could be the only thing holding them back right now, i know its not the cost of aluminum because the costs of metals is going down except for of course silver and gold…
I made the switch from Windows PC to Mac back in 2000 and as a work tool have never regretted it. The initial outlay is proportionally much higher, but for me spending hours sorting out IRQ conflicts & upgrading Radeon cards is no longer fun. If you add up time sorting out these issues it soon racks up. Most common applications for business seem to be covered using “Office for Mac”
The family PC (Windows Vista) is always causing trouble/conflicts, so much so I’ve stopped helping the kids with it.
I believe that most of the issues emanate from Windows OS. Which is similar to running cheap gas in your motor.
I would recommend having a look at Linux OS for anyone who can’t afford a Mac but wants a reliable and stable alternative to MS-OS There are loads of sites providing “open source” software.
Yeah, that pious attitude worked for Jaguar too. For a while.
I really don’t think the fact that your kid’s computer is having problems can be blamed on Vista. They’d find a way to screw up a Mac too. :)
If I were Apple, I wouldn’t be looking to sell a cheaper computer. Keep doing what you’re good at! Apple MUST keep themselves seperated from the norm in order to survive.
Simply put: You get what you pay for.