Premium-priced computer market dominated by Apple

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Comments

  • Reply 61 of 84
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by RichL View Post


    Why didn't you use one of the free alternatives on Windows, such as OpenOffice? I would have saved you a trip back to your hotel...



    Because it was already PDF. This always amazes my PC friends how you can manipulate and save in PDF so easily. Not to mention how OS X handles a ZIP file.
  • Reply 62 of 84
    brucepbrucep Posts: 2,823member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by christopher126 View Post


    Why bother? Some people are destined to live in a DLL world! I bet edward thinks horses sleep standing up, too!



    Your right some never learn

    .
  • Reply 63 of 84
    brucepbrucep Posts: 2,823member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by anantksundaram View Post


    That is funny (although, interestingly, Marie Antoinette never actually said it!).



    YES she did

    only she said it weeks before the end .



    good one thou
  • Reply 64 of 84
    unferthunferth Posts: 18member
    So what'd their share be if they raised the price of the plastic iBook by $1? All this 99 rubbish is for the hoi polloi.
  • Reply 65 of 84
    brucepbrucep Posts: 2,823member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by cameronj View Post


    Probably would have been smarter to omit the bolded paragraph entirely. Instead of making your point stronger, you just diverted attention from it, since many things on that list make no sense for various reasons.



    i understood it completely ./

    Not only do you get what you a pay for





    you also save on landfill space by buying long term well made devices .



    you prig

  • Reply 66 of 84
    brucepbrucep Posts: 2,823member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by unferth View Post


    So what'd their share be if they raised the price of the plastic iBook by $1? All this 99 rubbish is for the hoi polloi.



    97 percent
  • Reply 67 of 84
    nikon133nikon133 Posts: 2,600member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by winterspan View Post


    This sounds great, and it surely is, but how exactly is this measured. If I remember correctly, this is only for major retail stores and so-called "big boxes" like Best Buy, Walmart, etc, right? If that is the case, I'm don't believe these numbers are accurate. I'm sure Apple still has an enormous market share, but it can't be that big.



    The reason being most $1000+ PCs fall into three categories:



    1) Gaming PCs - most high-end gaming desktops/laptops are purchased built-to-order online from the likes of Dell, HP, Alienware, Falcon northwest, and other many other smaller botique vendors. These would not be included in the data.



    2) Ultraportable laptops - These would be laptops from Sony (TT, Z, etc) Panasonic (W5, T5, etc), Toshiba (various models), IBM (X300, X200, etc), Dell (adamo), etc. These are rarely sold at a retail electronics store.



    3) Workstation and workstation laptops - PCs like Dell's Precision line and similar are definitely not found in retail stores. They may also be discluded anyways as "business" computers, although many consumers buy them because of their quality/durability/performance.



    It would be interesting to see an analysis of these numbers..



    I was thinking in the same direction... specially when it comes to desktops.



    Form my personal experience - I know only one person with high-end branded tower (Dell XPS) purchased on-line, and around 20 with custom built towers... all between US$1000 and $1500.



    I have no idea what is situation like in US, but here in NZ custom built boxes for advanced home use (multimedia, gaming) are definitely much more common than branded high-end boxes...



    Corporate users do go for cheap, business grade boxes much more often than higher end units, but even they will not purchase their gear in retail shops. Comes to home user, for everything above basic tasks - Internet, email, Word etc... people tend to build or have their boxes built for them by friends, relatives or shops (and many small shops here will build for free if you purchase all components from them).
  • Reply 68 of 84
    roboduderobodude Posts: 273member
    Congrats to Apple - they've got the premium market on lock. However, I disagree with the attitudes (or should I say contempt) some of you seem to have towards lower end PCs. People who simply can't afford a mac should not be out of the opportunity of purchasing a computer. There are some very well documented caveats of using these cheap machines, but I'm glad I was able to get a cheap computer to start off before having the money to upgrade to a Mac. The fact that Apple are breaking records in a recession is certainly telling of consumer intelligence.
  • Reply 69 of 84
    hezekiahbhezekiahb Posts: 448member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by macxpress View Post


    Agreed! Some people though you just can't get that into their head. All they do is look at the price and the specs.



    I agree that a Mac isn't the right move for someone just looking for a computer to surf the web & check e-mail. However, if you buy a PC for base functions & then later decide you want to do much more then you are going to spend a ton of money.



    On the flip side, if you buy a Mac for web & e-mail, but then later decide you want to d some video chatting with family across the web, & then even later decide you want to get into creating professional looking documents without paying out the nose (iWork is nearly HALF the price of Office for Windows), then after your creative side gets sparked you decide you want to throw together all those photos & videos you've collected into a family home movie! But wait, perhaps you have some kids that are really into music & they decide they'd like to start recording some of their own stuff!



    You can do all those things with Windows, but by the time you pay to add those features to a Windows machine you might as well have bought a Mac! That's not even taking into account the fact that my 4 year old iMac runs faster & is able to do more than even some brand new $700 PCs running Vista! That's not even taking into account the fact that PCs get slower & slower overtime as they get cluttered with crappy software!



    Switched from PCs to Macs in our household 5 years ago, never even been tempted once to go back, not even for a netbook.
  • Reply 70 of 84
    nikon133nikon133 Posts: 2,600member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by wobegon View Post


    ...I have to think they have an even larger share of the premium laptop market, what with the desktop market being pretty over-saturated at this point and Apple sells more laptops than desktops.



    @winterspan,



    While you bring up some good points, I would wager premium PCs from Dell, Alienware, etc. aren't sold at retail in large numbers because they're only really popular with the hardcore Windows gamer niche.



    Macs, on the other hand, appeal to gamers, video and photography pros or 'prosumers', and well, most people who aren't cheapskates and have an eye for design. There are also many who are just frustrated by Windows, especially Vista.



    Macs appeal to gamers? With ATI 4850 being strongest video card in consumer Macs - and having handfuls of freezing problems?



    Riiiight... If there is a consumer market segment where Mac is completely irrelevant, that is gaming.



    On the other side, market for custom-built PCs is offering more exotic parts than ever before. Cases, active/passive cooling solutions, liquid cooling, high end components... I don't think a niche market would have such dynamic activity and such a rich offer.
  • Reply 71 of 84
    nikon133nikon133 Posts: 2,600member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by christopher126 View Post


    PC users take a very short-sighted view and don't make a value judgment based on what their time is worth (i.e., productivity). When you factor that into the equation, Apple wins hands down....even at twice the price!



    How about some examples regarding that productivity statement?



    Most people do their job related stuff in MS Office, Outlook... or use VPN connection to their Web Office on Terminal Server.



    How's Mac going to improve their productivity? By looking better..?
  • Reply 72 of 84
    seafoxseafox Posts: 90member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by OC4Theo View Post


    Apple should thank Microsoft for the free ad of cheap useless PCs vs Macbooks.



    When your strength is only how cheap you are, people realize that your quality is cheap too.



    Nobody in their right mind buy cheap these days. Quality sells, and Macbooks stand for Quality!



    Thanks Microsoft. Any other trick?



    This idea that Macs have have a much higher price compared to PCs due to such superior hardware quality is ridiculous. Yes, Apple hardware is better than eMachine and Dell stuff generally. But that doesn't justify the size of the markup. They still charge too much even with this taken into account.



    A few months ago I built a Corei7 system for less than $900 total. $900. And I didn't use el cheapo components. Gigabyte motherboard, 6GB OCZ DDR3, Western Digital drives, 850W Antec power supply and Antec Nine-Hundred case -- nice parts. It's easy for Apple to hold a huge piece of the "machines over $1000" market with the way they price things. If Apple even made a Ci7 system (which they don't, their idea of cutting edge is last year's tech) they would probably be charging $2000 for it.
  • Reply 73 of 84
    davidwdavidw Posts: 2,053member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by teckstud View Post


    So you do what you belittle? That makes sense. That's exactly what saving is:





    No it's not.



    "Waiting until they can afford one" can mean



    Waiting for your tax return check.



    Waiting for your bonus check.



    Waiting for your next pay raise.



    Waiting for that $500 birthday check from your Grand Parents.



    Waiting until your car loan is paid off.



    Waiting to win the lottery.



    Waiting for the price to drop.



    Waiting to enroll in college to get the educational discount.



    Waiting until your credit card balance is lowered.



    Waiting until some one make a decent bid on that item you have for sale on eBay.



    All of these has nothing to do with saving a little money every month until you have enough to buy a Mac.
  • Reply 74 of 84
    brucepbrucep Posts: 2,823member
    edits
  • Reply 75 of 84
    nikon133nikon133 Posts: 2,600member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by brucep View Post


    TO ALL THE people who feel apple is overpriced compared to dell .I hear you . Over and over i hear your stupid cracks .Time to put up or shut up /





    I SAY apple gives you a far better value for your dollars

    FAR BETTER.



    PROVE ME WRONG



    You didn't give any arguments that can be proved right or wrong, mate. Just because you say so doesn't make it an argument.



    If I'd go your path, I'd just say "I SAY Apple is far inferior performance for the money. FAR INFERIOR. I HAVE PROVEN YOU WRONG".



    But that would be childish.



    As it is... from my point of view, at least... Apple's offer is too limited for majority of users out there. If what they have is hitting your personal wish list sweet spot, Mac (whichever) might be the one for you. Everyone else might get better value for the money elsewhere. No matter how optimized OSX is, it can't cover for lack of additional 2 cores - if you need them. And it can't cover for lack of high end graphics in desktop/notebook - if you need them. Just to name a few.
  • Reply 76 of 84
    brucepbrucep Posts: 2,823member
    HEY

    i miss worded my thought

    shoot me

    i am SICK AND tired of all these asshole who know shit about the tech world saying apple is so overpriced blah blah blah . prove it . i say .



    I am stateing that all the people who claim apple is over priced to prove in a one on one comparison >>links and price workups a must >

    considering all things like a

    5 yr ownership

    resale value

    OS

    hardware

    software

    virus

    stuff

    chips

    sause

    components

    physical encosure

    ease of use

    syncing

    safety concerns for the earth ie; how green or toxic

    and anything else i left out





    Thank you nikon for helping out hert

    i hope this new post is clear

    APPLE IS CHEAPER THAN ALL OTHER COMPUTERS



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by nikon133 View Post


    You didn't give any arguments that can be proved right or wrong, mate. Just because you say so doesn't make it an argument.




  • Reply 77 of 84
    unferthunferth Posts: 18member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by nikon133 View Post


    Macs appeal to gamers? With ATI 4850 being strongest video card in consumer Macs - and having handfuls of freezing problems?



    Riiiight... If there is a consumer market segment where Mac is completely irrelevant, that is gaming.



    On the other side, market for custom-built PCs is offering more exotic parts than ever before. Cases, active/passive cooling solutions, liquid cooling, high end components... I don't think a niche market would have such dynamic activity and such a rich offer.



    Yeah, sounds awesome like a souped-up Dodge! The things you speak of DEFINE niche market. Most people buy a computer to get things done, rather than fetishize components.
  • Reply 78 of 84
    nikon133nikon133 Posts: 2,600member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by unferth View Post


    Yeah, sounds awesome like a souped-up Dodge! The things you speak of DEFINE niche market. Most people buy a computer to get things done, rather than fetishize components.



    You are missing the point.



    So many manufacturers and so many options can mean only one thing - they sell well and in big volumes. It might be niche in PC world, but I wouldn't be surprised to learn that number of units moving in "fetish" PC market is still larger than number of iMacs moving, which is making this study completely irrelevant. Being niche segment in market that commands around 95% of global IT obviously is generating loads of good old greens.



    All people buy computer to get the things done. Question is - what things. It just happens all people (that I know) who want to play games, among the other things - have custom built boxes. And I happen to know big number of them.



    Your experience might differ - for what I know, maybe you know equal number of people who want to do Garage Band thingie.
  • Reply 79 of 84
    nikon133nikon133 Posts: 2,600member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by brucep;


    5 yr ownership



    If you are trying to say that PCs can't last 5 years, you are wrong. Machine that was running XP back in 2001 still runs XP with same performance. I personally have 8 years old laptop and couple of 5+ years old desktops, all heavily used and all in perfect condition.



    Quote:

    resale value



    Macs are in general not dropping price during their shelve lifetime as much as PC parts, thus 2nd hand Macs are also holding price better than 2nd hand PC parts. At the end of this year, I'll be getting ATI 4890 1GB for less money than I paid for nVidia 8800GT 512MB 2 years ago, though ATI should be 3x faster card. It would be unrealistic if I'd expect to sell my 8800GT for big money.



    Quote:

    OS



    It doesn't do everything I need, thus can't be anything but my 2nd or 3rd computer. Considering that, OS argument is worthless to me.



    Quote:

    hardware



    Another non-argument for me. I am sure hardware in my desktop is of better quality than any iMac, with significantly better performance and lower price. Numbers I have seen posted here in AA forums were showing that number of hardware faults developing in Macs is pretty much the same as number of faults developing in PC brands... not to mention that almost every new generation of Macs is plagued with different problems.



    Quote:

    software



    This actually is semi-argument. If iLife is what one needs, it has additional value for sure. While you can replace iLife programs with free or very affordable titles, people are in general lazy and like everything served in front of them. Not my cup of tea, but still.



    Quote:

    virus



    True, PC requires some vigilance regarding viruses. Having free AV and firewall is again not an issue for me, but I do accept some people prefer to be care free, even if they pay that freedom somewhere else.



    Quote:

    stuff

    chips

    sause



    My Logitech desktop keyboard is spill-proof, as well as my HP notebook



    Quote:

    components



    Already covered - not an argument for me.



    Quote:

    physical encosure



    Macs look nice but I just hate those side-mounted slot DVDs on iMacs. That being said, my full aluminium Lian Li case looks very nice much as I am concerned, and I love my piano-black LG monitor with proximity sensor and auto-brightness.



    Quote:

    ease of use



    For most of people, using computer boils to turning it on, waiting to boot, clicking on application one want to use. How much easier is it on Mac?



    Quote:

    syncing



    With what?





    Quote:

    Thank you nikon for helping out hert

    i hope this new post is clear

    APPLE IS CHEAPER THAN ALL OTHER COMPUTERS



    You are welcome. I hope my replies will help you determine on your post clearness
  • Reply 80 of 84
    brucepbrucep Posts: 2,823member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by nikon133 View Post


    If you are trying to say that PCs can't last 5 years, you are wrong. Machine that was running XP back in 2001 still runs XP with same performance. I personally have 8 years old laptop and couple of 5+ years old desktops, all heavily used and all in perfect condition.







    Macs are in general not dropping price during their shelve lifetime as much as PC parts, thus 2nd hand Macs are also holding price better than 2nd hand PC parts. At the end of this year, I'll be getting ATI 4890 1GB for less money than I paid for nVidia 8800GT 512MB 2 years ago, though ATI should be 3x faster card. It would be unrealistic if I'd expect to sell my 8800GT for big money.







    It doesn't do everything I need, thus can't be anything but my 2nd or 3rd computer. Considering that, OS argument is worthless to me.







    Another non-argument for me. I am sure hardware in my desktop is of better quality than any iMac, with significantly better performance and lower price. Numbers I have seen posted here in AA forums were showing that number of hardware faults developing in Macs is pretty much the same as number of faults developing in PC brands... not to mention that almost every new generation of Macs is plagued with different problems.







    This actually is semi-argument. If iLife is what one needs, it has additional value for sure. While you can replace iLife programs with free or very affordable titles, people are in general lazy and like everything served in front of them. Not my cup of tea, but still.







    True, PC requires some vigilance regarding viruses. Having free AV and firewall is again not an issue for me, but I do accept some people prefer to be care free, even if they pay that freedom somewhere else.







    My Logitech desktop keyboard is spill-proof, as well as my HP notebook







    Already covered - not an argument for me.







    Macs look nice but I just hate those side-mounted slot DVDs on iMacs. That being said, my full aluminium Lian Li case looks very nice much as I am concerned, and I love my piano-black LG monitor with proximity sensor and auto-brightness.







    For most of people, using computer boils to turning it on, waiting to boot, clicking on application one want to use. How much easier is it on Mac?







    With what?









    You are welcome. I hope my replies will help you determine on your post clearness



    I am not worthy to own a dell

    thank you o camera dude



    peace

    9
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