Comment by petercooper | Hacker News Reader

Comment by petercooper | Hacker News Reader

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What a shame Apple's releases today have stirred up a cauldron of disappointment and inconsistency. No significant spec upgrades, prices have gone up (in the UK, at least) - we've gained slightly better video, a glass trackpad, a new case, and an SSD option.

With computer prices falling (generally), it's remarkable that Apple hasn't responded to that at all. Even the old MacBook they're trying to pass off as the new entry level one is £20 more than the same machine was yesterday (yet $100 less in the US).

Apple has muddied the whole notebook range. The MacBook now comes in two totally different styles, as does the MacBook Pro (with the 17" now being a particularly poor deal, despite the increased standard res.) And what's with the new Cinema Display? Looks nice, but it's not workable for Mac Pro users (the market Cinema Displays were meant to be for) and it's heavily overpriced. It's really just an accessory for only the newest releases.

Apple was making good progress at bringing pro-level technology to the user at prosumer prices, but this whole update has sent them back into the stratosphere. The entry level "new" MacBook is over £200 ($400) more than the old entry level MacBook.. how can I recommend this to my PC-switching family now?

Apple goes through transitional phases, if it could have lopped off that white macbook completely it surely would have. And as with any good Apple faithful knows, you don't buy version 1. If you really want a laptop it's best you wait until next Feb when the specs are updated again and the kinks worked out.

This then brings into question what WILL get updated during MacWorld. I'm thinking SnowLeopard, Mac Pro/Mac mini, Apple TV, and iPhone.

> And as with any good Apple faithful knows, you don't buy version 1.

This is really true. A style change is a big upgrade in Apple terms. The next release of this will likely pack a lot more features.

Also, you can wait for a notebook with a mobile version of Core i7, when Intel finally catches up with everything AMD has to offer (eg integrated memory controller).

Q2 next year?

Yeah Porsche should drop their prices as well eh. They still cost way more than a ford focus.

Apple is not trying to be a Porsche of the computer industry. Apple is a mass market company with growing marketshare - it's one of the biggest computer manufacturers in the world. Porsche's output is tiny compared to that of Ford.

Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit, especially when it makes no sense.

Are you kidding? Apple wants to eat its cake and have it, if they can. They want mass popularity and technical superiority. But above everything, they are a high-end technology producer. Remember their $600 phone? There's a reason their products debut at such a high price: it's because they want above all to have the best product.

Granted, $999 Macbooks aren't the best. I'd prefer it lower. But it's absolutely worth that price.

> Apple wants to eat its cake and have it, if they can.

I'd say that makes Apple more like a Merecedes-Benz of the computer world than Porsche. Porsche produces extremely high end cars for under 1% of the market. Mercedes-Benz produces high quality "prestige" cars but still wants large market share.

Given that Jobs even drives a Merc, I think there's something to this comparison ;-)

Apple does want to be the Porsche of the computer industry. The adoration and expanding market share is just incidental of them being the Porsche of the computer industry.

It's also quite small in the grand scheme things, 1/10 of the global market.

1/10 of the global market is pretty damn good.

"Porsche's output is tiny compared to that of Ford."

Apple has 3.6% of the world computer market.

Worldwide dell has 14.9% market share vs 3.6% for Apple.

In the US Ford has 17% and Porsche has 0.2%.

So Porsche is around 10x as exclusive as Apple. If Apple want's to keep growing they need to keep putting out cheaper boxes to take an ever larger slice of the pie. However, Porsche is far more profitable than Ford so their are reasons Apple is not selling cheep boxes.

And Porshe has 0.2% of the car market.

They are clearly a superior product to the others. If you're after a low cost computer, don't buy Apple. Simple. Just like if you're after a low cost car, you don't buy Porsche.

Just think how often you use your laptop, and how important it is. When you think about it, all laptops are very very cheap considering how much we rely on them these days. So arguing about a couple of hundred dollars spread over maybe 2-3 years, to get you a significantly better laptop for all those years.....

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