*Thinks of the market share penetration of the iPod line. That actually saved the Mac line from obscurity.
No. The original multi-colored iMacs saved Macs (and Apple) from obscurity. The iPod brought Apple more into the mainstream consumer market, which has further helped Apple's computer sales.
No. The original multi-colored iMacs saved Macs (and Apple) from obscurity. The iPod brought Apple more into the mainstream consumer market, which has further helped Apple's computer sales.
I think the iPod is the least of the "halo effect" strategies that have helped sell more Macs. The new Mac stylings, the new OS have helped, but the Apple Stores seem to have contributed the most. People can finally test and handle a Mac for the first time. I can't imagine many people saying they want to get a Mac simply because they like their tiny Mp3 player.
I think the iPod is the least of the "halo effect" strategies that have helped sell more Macs. The new Mac stylings, the new OS have helped, but the Apple Stores seem to have contributed the most. People can finally test and handle a Mac for the first time. I can't imagine many people saying they want to get a Mac simply because they like their tiny Mp3 player.
I can't disagree with that. But, don't discount the halo effect the iPod has had on Mac sales. If it weren't for the iPod, several friends and colleagues I know would not have even considered buying a Mac, but they did. We seem to forget how truly revolutionary the iPod and iTunes was at the time, with those colorful silhouette iPod ads everywhere.
But as far as "saving Macs from obscurity," that was definitely a result of Steve Jobs coming back to Apple and then introducing the multi-colored iMacs and clamshell MacBooks. Before that, there were constant rumors about Apple going bankrupt (and Apple stock was selling for about $10 per share, which is when I bought mine).
Exactly! Everything in the UK is overpriced if you ask me.
I can't understand why they tolerate it. They should all stop buying everything in protest.
Seriously, the cost of living varies a great deal from country to country, and gets even more difficult to compare when current exchange rates are figured in. I don't know why this comes as a surprise to so many people.
I am not hugging anything. You, in the other hand, keep clinging on to the notion that Apple operates in some kind of vacuum, shielded from the vagaries of national economies and fluctuating currency markets.
Sure About that?
iMac base model: Less Vat (15%)
2008 £ 680.00
2009 £ 825.22 Price difference = £145.22 MORE.
Is that what you are talking about?
Want to try the same exercise in dollars? You do know Apple is a US company?
iMac base model: Less Vat (15%) Converted to $ using exchange rate on day of release.
So yes, you are right Lemon. The UK Pound got dumped in the shitter! Apple put there UK prices up on NEW models and yet they are taking home LESS dollars.
It seems like they must have done it... just to annoy you.
Seconded on the informative vote front! I was going to do this myself, as it is the obvious reason but you did it (better than I would). And I think Lemon Bon Bon has shut his/her yap. Double bonus.
To back this up - a low-spec unibody AL MacBook for $892GBP at Dabs Direct, take off the VAT (US price are ex-VAT) and covert to $ at the current X-rate and you get an AL MacBook for $1085 (vs. $1299 in the US)
Current white MacBook at PC world is $684GBP inc VAT (595GBP ex-VAT) which is $832 (way less than the US - $999). It is also not Apple's fault that you pay 2x+ the VAT of most US states.
Overall, this is exactly the same situation we face in the US where there is no Apple laptop for less than $1000 (currently).
And so we return to our regularly scheduled argument!
PS I am an expat Brit living in the US long-term and at this current exchange rate, the UK is a bit of a bargain for my $$s - the exact opposite of what it was a year ago and for years before that. Them's the breaks.
I can't say that it was obvious to me. I know i've seen the VAT removed from the price many times on these boards and others, but never the exchange rate taken into account to compare to the price in the US and overseas.
I see what you mean but Lemon was in the UK and was waiting for the new desktops. Even if he hadn't noticed the UK Pound's slide against the dollar he might have considered some other reasons for the price rise other than opting immediately for the "Apple is just greedy" card.
I actually agree that Apple perhaps could and should reduce there Mac prices a little but I don't use the next 'flavour of the month" reason to justify my wishes.
I see what you mean but Lemon was in the UK and was waiting for the new desktops. Even if he hadn't noticed the UK Pound's slide against the dollar he might have considered some other reasons for the price rise other than opting immediately for the "Apple is just greedy" card.
I actually agree that Apple perhaps could and should reduce there Mac prices a little but I don't use the next 'flavour of the month" reason to justify my wishes.
Apple is going to maintain their margins. What some countries do to add a lot of taxes is beyond their control, as are the exchange rates moving rapidly up and down. I'm just happy they're moving in the direction they are as it will make sending my daughter to school there cheaper. I hope it stays low for the next four years.
like my wife's iphone and will probably get one this year for myself, but mac's are overpriced
it's not like the old days when computers cost a lot of money and you bought one to last. technology moves fast, computers are cheap, cell phones are cheap and it makes sense to buy something cheaper and dump it in 2-3 years and buy the new thing that's out.
most people don't care that an imac has a better quality LCD than a Dell and that you have to upgrade the LCD on the Dell to get the same one. most people will never notice the difference
I must disagree. Yes, even Apple has said that they expect the average user to use their computers for around 3 years, but to be honest with you, I am a big Apple fan but disagree completely with this idea. I am not extreme in my frugality, but I do tend to run my computers into the ground.
I am currently typing on an iBook G4 that is 5 years old. This replaced an iMac G3 that is almost 10 years old and which is now being used as our "kidputer." In another year or two we will likely replace this iBook with an iMac and will transition this laptop to the "kidputer, " although I have every reason to suspect that the iMac G3 will serve as a great kidputer for another 5+ years.
Point is that although many things (printers, some DVD players, some phones, etc.) are becoming "disposable," as you say, I do not believe that the same goes for a computer, which is meant to be a tool, and when running software that fills a need can still fill that need years and years later if the need does not change.
Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without.
Comments
*Thinks of the market share penetration of the iPod line. That actually saved the Mac line from obscurity.
No. The original multi-colored iMacs saved Macs (and Apple) from obscurity. The iPod brought Apple more into the mainstream consumer market, which has further helped Apple's computer sales.
Just about everything is more expensive in the UK, except maybe a pint of beer.
Exactly! Everything in the UK is overpriced if you ask me.
No. The original multi-colored iMacs saved Macs (and Apple) from obscurity. The iPod brought Apple more into the mainstream consumer market, which has further helped Apple's computer sales.
I think the iPod is the least of the "halo effect" strategies that have helped sell more Macs. The new Mac stylings, the new OS have helped, but the Apple Stores seem to have contributed the most. People can finally test and handle a Mac for the first time. I can't imagine many people saying they want to get a Mac simply because they like their tiny Mp3 player.
I think the iPod is the least of the "halo effect" strategies that have helped sell more Macs. The new Mac stylings, the new OS have helped, but the Apple Stores seem to have contributed the most. People can finally test and handle a Mac for the first time. I can't imagine many people saying they want to get a Mac simply because they like their tiny Mp3 player.
I can't disagree with that. But, don't discount the halo effect the iPod has had on Mac sales. If it weren't for the iPod, several friends and colleagues I know would not have even considered buying a Mac, but they did. We seem to forget how truly revolutionary the iPod and iTunes was at the time, with those colorful silhouette iPod ads everywhere.
But as far as "saving Macs from obscurity," that was definitely a result of Steve Jobs coming back to Apple and then introducing the multi-colored iMacs and clamshell MacBooks. Before that, there were constant rumors about Apple going bankrupt (and Apple stock was selling for about $10 per share, which is when I bought mine).
MS gave people legitimate reasons to look elsewhere, and fair play to Apple...they stepped up.
This is not rocket science.
Exactly! Everything in the UK is overpriced if you ask me.
I can't understand why they tolerate it. They should all stop buying everything in protest.
Seriously, the cost of living varies a great deal from country to country, and gets even more difficult to compare when current exchange rates are figured in. I don't know why this comes as a surprise to so many people.
I am not hugging anything. You, in the other hand, keep clinging on to the notion that Apple operates in some kind of vacuum, shielded from the vagaries of national economies and fluctuating currency markets.
Sure About that?
iMac base model: Less Vat (15%)
2008 £ 680.00
2009 £ 825.22 Price difference = £145.22 MORE.
Is that what you are talking about?
Want to try the same exercise in dollars? You do know Apple is a US company?
iMac base model: Less Vat (15%) Converted to $ using exchange rate on day of release.
2008 Rate 1.990 = $ 1353.20
2009 Rate 1.403 = $ 1157.78 Price difference = $195.42 LESS
So yes, you are right Lemon. The UK Pound got dumped in the shitter! Apple put there UK prices up on NEW models and yet they are taking home LESS dollars.
It seems like they must have done it... just to annoy you.
Seconded on the informative vote front! I was going to do this myself, as it is the obvious reason but you did it (better than I would). And I think Lemon Bon Bon has shut his/her yap. Double bonus.
To back this up - a low-spec unibody AL MacBook for $892GBP at Dabs Direct, take off the VAT (US price are ex-VAT) and covert to $ at the current X-rate and you get an AL MacBook for $1085 (vs. $1299 in the US)
Current white MacBook at PC world is $684GBP inc VAT (595GBP ex-VAT) which is $832 (way less than the US - $999). It is also not Apple's fault that you pay 2x+ the VAT of most US states.
Overall, this is exactly the same situation we face in the US where there is no Apple laptop for less than $1000 (currently).
And so we return to our regularly scheduled argument!
PS I am an expat Brit living in the US long-term and at this current exchange rate, the UK is a bit of a bargain for my $$s - the exact opposite of what it was a year ago and for years before that. Them's the breaks.
Seconded on the informative vote front! I was going to do this myself, as it is the obvious reason .....
It's not obvious to ... Lemons.
It's not obvious to ... Lemons.
I can't say that it was obvious to me. I know i've seen the VAT removed from the price many times on these boards and others, but never the exchange rate taken into account to compare to the price in the US and overseas.
I can't say that it was obvious to me.
I see what you mean but Lemon was in the UK and was waiting for the new desktops. Even if he hadn't noticed the UK Pound's slide against the dollar he might have considered some other reasons for the price rise other than opting immediately for the "Apple is just greedy" card.
I actually agree that Apple perhaps could and should reduce there Mac prices a little but I don't use the next 'flavour of the month" reason to justify my wishes.
I see what you mean but Lemon was in the UK and was waiting for the new desktops. Even if he hadn't noticed the UK Pound's slide against the dollar he might have considered some other reasons for the price rise other than opting immediately for the "Apple is just greedy" card.
I actually agree that Apple perhaps could and should reduce there Mac prices a little but I don't use the next 'flavour of the month" reason to justify my wishes.
Apple is going to maintain their margins. What some countries do to add a lot of taxes is beyond their control, as are the exchange rates moving rapidly up and down. I'm just happy they're moving in the direction they are as it will make sending my daughter to school there cheaper. I hope it stays low for the next four years.
like my wife's iphone and will probably get one this year for myself, but mac's are overpriced
it's not like the old days when computers cost a lot of money and you bought one to last. technology moves fast, computers are cheap, cell phones are cheap and it makes sense to buy something cheaper and dump it in 2-3 years and buy the new thing that's out.
most people don't care that an imac has a better quality LCD than a Dell and that you have to upgrade the LCD on the Dell to get the same one. most people will never notice the difference
I must disagree. Yes, even Apple has said that they expect the average user to use their computers for around 3 years, but to be honest with you, I am a big Apple fan but disagree completely with this idea. I am not extreme in my frugality, but I do tend to run my computers into the ground.
I am currently typing on an iBook G4 that is 5 years old. This replaced an iMac G3 that is almost 10 years old and which is now being used as our "kidputer." In another year or two we will likely replace this iBook with an iMac and will transition this laptop to the "kidputer, " although I have every reason to suspect that the iMac G3 will serve as a great kidputer for another 5+ years.
Point is that although many things (printers, some DVD players, some phones, etc.) are becoming "disposable," as you say, I do not believe that the same goes for a computer, which is meant to be a tool, and when running software that fills a need can still fill that need years and years later if the need does not change.
Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without.