ReVeLaTeD
Premium
join:2001-11-10
San Diego, CA
| [rant] Apple's pissing me off with their pricing.
So I decided to buy a Mac in the near future - probably for my birthday, depending on when my tax refund makes it into my account. After talking to some folks and getting a better understanding of the way this needs to work, I'd just end up doing Boot Camp with Windows 7 so I can take advantage of the media editing power of Leopard but retain the compatibility of Windows 7 with all of the applications I need.
I'm still not keen on the pricing and I think it's way off kilter, but I noticed something, maybe someone can help me here.
I know that generally speaking, the LCD panel of a laptop is the most expensive component, when you talk about wholesale pricing, followed by the processor, maybe the memory. In other words I could get a super tricked out 13" laptop for under $1k but if I wanted a 17" WUXGA laptop it's going to be well over $1200 in most cases. If I buy a tricked out desktop without a monitor I can usually stay under $900 and get a fairly powerful one, even build one myself with that budget. If I wanted a 24" monitor I can get one for around $200.
So you can imagine my pleasant surprise when I see the 24" iMac, quite powerful, for around $1200 at Fry's. Very fairly priced and quite a nice machine. I did toy with it for a bit, don't really care for the keyboard and mouse, but I can replace those.
My smile turned into a frown though as I got more peeved at the MacBook Pro's cost...the strongest MacBook Pro, which was a pale shadow compared to the iMac, was $2,400 - twice the price of the iMac with a significantly smaller screen and lower specs. In fact, the only thing the MBP had over the iMac was the illuminated keyboard and the fact that it's portable - neither of which should be worth such a premium. I understand laptop drives are a bit more pricey than regular drives, but come on now.
So I ask the folks here. Portability is important - not critical, but important - and I think Apple knows this. Can anyone explain the significant price difference between the iMac and the MacBook Pro assuming the MBP is really not overpriced as people claim? Because from where I'm sitting, the old addage that "Macs are overpriced" apparently now only applies to the MacBook Pro, and I'd like to understand why. |
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The Dv8or
DSLReports Forums -- The Mouse House 2.0
Premium
join:2001-08-09
Danbury, CT
clubs: | The 24 inch iMac is an old, discontinued model. The topped out 27 inch iMac is 1999.
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ilikeme
I live in a van down by the river.
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Denton, TX
clubs:
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| reply to ReVeLaTeD
I just recently got a 15" MacBook Pro and after upgrading the processor to 3.06Ghz, the price came out to $2600 after tax including my student discount. I think they could drop their prices a little bit, but it was still worth it and this is a great laptop. |
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jonnyz
Premium
join:2003-03-20
Canfield, OH
clubs:
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| reply to ReVeLaTeD
The top of the line MBP 15" that (I think) you speak of has:
- Unibody construction (much more solid than other laptops including older Apples)
- Full multi touch integration
- iLife software preinstalled (I just checked Dell's site - Sony Vegas is $70 and you still need something to burn video DVDs with. At least Picasa is still free for photo management)
- 2 graphics cards (not SLId; however, the 9600M GT + 9400M set up brings maximum battery life and h.264 hardware decoding with it)
- Extended life battery
Plus, Macs hold their value extremely well compared to PCs if you ever decide to sell them. Is there a high mark up? I'm positive there is, but people still buy BMWs even though you can get a Hyundai with all the same features for half the price.
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ReVeLaTeD
Premium
join:2001-11-10
San Diego, CA
| said by jonnyz  :The top of the line MBP 15" that (I think) you speak of has: No I'm referring to the 17"
said by The Dv8or :The 24 inch iMac is an old, discontinued model. The topped out 27 inch iMac is 1999. Fry's still sells the sucker, so I'm counting it. 27" is too large considering I'm going to be sitting right in front of the thing not 4 feet away. I have 24" monitors at work and at home and while it does fine at work, at home it's best suited as a cheap gaming monitor (which is its current purpose). |
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BloodRoses
Gods lend wings to tainted hearts
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1 edit | reply to ReVeLaTeD
You have to keep in mind the fact that the MacBook Pro uses an LED backlit 8-bit panel. No 24" display for $200 is going to match the quality of the MBP's display. Not to mention, the part in question is $600 by itself, and that's discounted. I think it retails for around $900. |
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ReVeLaTeD
Premium
join:2001-11-10
San Diego, CA
| said by BloodRoses :You have to keep in mind the fact that the MacBook Pro uses an LED backlit 8-bit panel. No 24" display for $200 is going to match the quality of the MBP's display. Fry's had the MBP right next to the iMac. I saw no appreciable difference in screen quality when playing movie trailers. Keyword is "appreciable". I also saw no appreciable quality difference compared to using DVI or HDMI on my Acer 24" with my PS3.
If you're referring to the general brightness that's not something I care about. LCD technology in general is bright enough these days. I can hardly stand looking directly at DSLReports on my Gateway because the white page is blowing my eyes away. |
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BloodRoses
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| said by ReVeLaTeD :Fry's had the MBP right next to the iMac. I saw no appreciable difference in screen quality when playing movie trailers. The iMac uses a comparable high quality panel. It's still going to be cheaper than the MacBooks panel due to the massive difference in pixel density. Higher density panels command a much higher price.
said by ReVeLaTeD :If you're referring to the general brightness that's not something I care about. That isn't the point of LED. The point is you can turn the backlight down significantly and it uses quite a significant amount less power than a comparable cathode backlit panel. This, among other reasons, are what enable it to have the battery life that it does. It all comes at a cost.
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ReVeLaTeD
Premium
join:2001-11-10
San Diego, CA
| said by BloodRoses :said by ReVeLaTeD :Fry's had the MBP right next to the iMac. I saw no appreciable difference in screen quality when playing movie trailers. The iMac uses a comparable high quality panel. It's still going to be cheaper than the MacBooks panel due to the massive difference in pixel density. Higher density panels command a much higher price. said by ReVeLaTeD :If you're referring to the general brightness that's not something I care about. That isn't the point of LED. The point is you can turn the backlight down significantly and it uses quite a significant amount less power than a comparable cathode backlit panel. This, among other reasons, are what enable it to have the battery life that it does. It all comes at a cost. Pixel density...that's an excuse.
You're telling me that I can get an iMac with an integrated 27" screen of, as you put it, "comparable high quality" to a MacBook Pro, the iMac is $2k yet the MacBook Pro at a fraction of the screen size and power is $400 more plus tax? And that seriously makes sense to you? |
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BloodRoses
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1 edit | said by ReVeLaTeD :You're telling me that I can get an iMac with an integrated 27" screen of, as you put it, "comparable high quality" to a MacBook Pro, the iMac is $2k yet the MacBook Pro at a fraction of the screen size and power is $400 more plus tax? And that seriously makes sense to you? It's no excuse. Manufacturing costs of panels that small with that high of a resolution are not cheap. The display is $300 more than the iMacs no matter which way you cut it. Throw the battery in, and yes, you're easily at or above that $400.
»accessories.us.dell.com/sna/prod···=U27114Y
Here's a display of similar quality to the 27" iMac by the way. So they're selling an $1150 display with an $850 computer. That doesn't sound unreasonable at all to me.
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SK
The member formerly known as Cow
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join:2001-05-18
Toronto
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| reply to ReVeLaTeD
said by ReVeLaTeD :Fry's still sells the sucker, so I'm counting it. Why is the 24" iMac so much more expensive that a Ti PowerBook? eBay sells it so I'm counting it. Tell me, I want answers, or something bad will happen to a kitten.
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andychrist
join:2005-02-12
New York, NY | reply to ReVeLaTeD
The resolution of the 17" MacBook Pro (1920 x 1200) is just about the same as that of the 24" iMac (1920 x 1280).
And you can pick one up refurbished from the Apple Store for only $1949, so quit whining and start buying. |
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The Dv8or
DSLReports Forums -- The Mouse House 2.0
Premium
join:2001-08-09
Danbury, CT
clubs:
| reply to SK
said by SK :said by ReVeLaTeD :Fry's still sells the sucker, so I'm counting it. Why is the 24" iMac so much more expensive that a Ti PowerBook? eBay sells it so I'm counting it. Tell me, I want answers, or something bad will happen to a kitten. Three kittens. Im going to go out and find a few today and hold them for potential torture if the answers dont come through.
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You're so vain... I bet you think this post is about you. |
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ReVeLaTeD
Premium
join:2001-11-10
San Diego, CA
| reply to andychrist
said by andychrist :The resolution of the 17" MacBook Pro (1920 x 1200) is just about the same as that of the 24" iMac (1920 x 1280). And you can pick one up refurbished from the Apple Store for only $1949, so quit whining and start buying. Your first statement is fair. I didn't notice that Apple nerfed the maximum resolution on the larger panels. So you'd be forced to buy the 27" to get any resolution higher than that - and then the price skyrockets.
Your second statement - I don't buy refurb, for good reasons. There are already going stories about how the protection plan is essentially mandatory given substandard quality in Apple's recent offerings. The product is already priced quite significantly high. I'd rather not buy a refurb and increase my chances of getting a dud out the gate. Besides, the refurb prices aren't that much better considering they're refurbished models. If I bought a refurb game system I can expect at least 30% off. Apples, oranges, yeah I know. I'm just saying. |
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andychrist
join:2005-02-12
New York, NY
1 edit | Not so
Apple Refurbs actually have the reputation of being quite reliable, often even more so than their new-in-box counterparts. And you can pick up current generations, unlike that 24" iMac which has been discontinued. |
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rugby
I think I know it all.
VIP
join:2000-09-26
Camby, IN | reply to ReVeLaTeD
Re: [rant] Apple's pissing me off with their pricing.
I have a CRT iMac DV on the floor acting as a doorstop. It works, you pay shipping. I'm selling it, does that count? |
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tpeng
join:2003-01-30
Forest Hills, NY
clubs:
| reply to ReVeLaTeD
So, would it be correct to say, since you are comparing the pricing of a desktop (iMac) to a portable (MBP) computer, the latter unfavorably, that you don't believe the premium charged for it being portable is justified?
Then get the desktop, problem solved.
If you need it to be portable, then you have to pay more, generally speaking. You lose some features and conveniences, and gain others. It's not really comparable.
Breaking down the component costs and profit margins isn't going to get you a better price from Apple or Fry's. Why not just decide what you really need and focus on getting the best price? It's healthier than ranting, and folks here are more likely to help you with ideas on how to save than they are to make you fond of Apple's business model. |
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Neyland
join:2003-02-04
USA | What's bad is if you want a 15" laptop from Apple. |
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Z80A
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1 edit | reply to ReVeLaTeD
Apple refurbs carry FULL factory warranty and qualify for Apple care. I've bought 4 and all arrived in as new condition with new accessories (eg KB/mouse), books and discs.
The only difference between an Apple new and an Apple refurb is the box it comes in....and of course the price. |
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bobrk
You kids get offa my lawn
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join:2000-02-02
San Jose, CA
·SONIC.NET
| reply to ReVeLaTeD
said by ReVeLaTeD :Your second statement - I don't buy refurb, for good reasons. There are already going stories about how the protection plan is essentially mandatory given substandard quality in Apple's recent offerings. The product is already priced quite significantly high. I'd rather not buy a refurb and increase my chances of getting a dud out the gate. Besides, the refurb prices aren't that much better considering they're refurbished models. If I bought a refurb game system I can expect at least 30% off. Apples, oranges, yeah I know. I'm just saying. I have a 5 year old Refurb Dual 1.8GHz G5 tower that has been running 24/7 since I got it. Refurbs are equivalent to new.
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