Anyone else totally lost with APPLE?

[iOrlando]

On their last conference call...management said expect new products that are clearly above competition and price points that will be unbeatable.

Where is it?

Surely it couldnt be the nano....
the ipod touch was basically the same as before... and price points for both didnt fall that much...


And there hasnt been that much excitment over new macbook updates...

I'm lost.

and with the stock at $100, down from $192, i think many other people are lost.

[Beric]

On their last conference call...management said expect new products that are clearly above competition and price points that will be unbeatable.

Where is it?

Surely it couldnt be the nano....
the ipod touch was basically the same as before... and price points for both didnt fall that much...


And there hasnt been that much excitment over new macbook updates...

I'm lost.

and with the stock at $100, down from $192, i think many other people are lost.

The answer is that everyone knows deep down inside that Apple will NOT provide unbeatable prices. Their current prices are 2x that of the competition. spec for spec. Do you really expect them to slash prices by 50% just to make them competitive with other computer makers?

Therefore the answer is, we don't expect them to provide competitive prices. And thus, my next notebook will most likely not be an Apple.

[DjAmTraX]

On their last conference call...management said expect new products that are clearly above competition and price points that will be unbeatable.


Are you a retail store manager? If no, you wouldn't get much info from the mothership. IMO, Apple retail employees are considered low levels, even store managers. Which means store managers will not know whats coming into their store stock until the day of release. You'll have to be a few levels up the food chain to know what's coming, but if you are in that position you won't risk your high paying job to leak product info on the web. Just my 2cents.

[BaldiMac]

Both the nano and the touch doubled their storage at the same price point. I don't think there are any major competitors that are significantly undercutting the price of either iPod in the same category and storage.

As the iPods were the only devices updated last quarter, they really couldn't have been referring to anything else.

[Beric]

Both the nano and the touch doubled their storage at the same price point. I don't think there are any major competitors that are significantly undercutting the price of either iPod in the same category and storage.

As the iPods were the only devices updated last quarter, they really couldn't have been referring to anything else.

The iPods are price competitive, if not cheaper, than the Zunes and other MP3 players. It clearly was talking about computers, and nothing else.

Apple seems to have totally different strategies with the iPods than the Macs. Their iPod strategy has been to saturate the market with iPods at lower prices. Their Mac strategy has been to maintain a niche computer market with high margins. Apple could do the same thing with the Mac that they have done with the iPod. But they seem to have no plans to.

[iOrlando]

The iPods are price competitive, if not cheaper, than the Zunes and other MP3 players. It clearly was talking about computers, and nothing else.

Apple seems to have totally different strategies with the iPods than the Macs. Their iPod strategy has been to saturate the market with iPods at lower prices. Their Mac strategy has been to maintain a niche computer market with high margins. Apple could do the same thing with the Mac that they have done with the iPod. But they seem to have no plans to.

I think that is the major question. Apple pretty much has only been a major player with its macs while the economy has been doing well 2002-2008. but now...how will a $1800 laptop sell when people dont even have jobs. This is the main reason for the stock's slide, in my opinion. My main question was just in reference to new products....it seems like on macrumors the rumors of a new laptop have dwindled quite drastically..and the overall excitement is down.

[BaldiMac]

The answer is that everyone knows deep down inside that Apple will NOT provide unbeatable prices. Their current prices are 2x that of the competition. spec for spec. Do you really expect them to slash prices by 50% just to make them competitive with other computer makers?

Therefore the answer is, we don't expect them to provide competitive prices. And thus, my next notebook will most likely not be an Apple.

First, the competition cannot match Apple "spec for spec". Apple's hardware design and OS X are key differentiators.

Second, the statement in the conference call was obviously about iPods, as no new Macs were released last quarter. iPods are priced very competitively.

Also, Apple's current computer prices suck compared to similar PC hardware. But it's not double. Closer to 30%. However, newly released notebooks and desktops are generally very competitive and sometimes will beat similar PC hardware.

[kabunaru]

Where is it?

The great updates are still yet to come. We just have to have perseverance.

[Beric]

First, the competition cannot match Apple "spec for spec". Apple's hardware design and OS X are key differentiators.

Second, the statement in the conference call was obviously about iPods, as no new Macs were released last quarter. iPods are priced very competitively.

Also, Apple's current computer prices suck compared to similar PC hardware. But it's not double. Closer to 30%. However, newly released notebooks and desktops are generally very competitive and sometimes will beat similar PC hardware.

iPods are and were priced competitively. And as for prices, it all depends on what you want. Apple's notebook selection is very limiting. If I want exactly everything the Macbook has, the prices might only be 30% more expensive. But if I want everything a Macbook has plus dedicated graphics, I would have to buy a 15" MBP, for $2000. Or if I want a Macbook with a 15" screen, same thing.

It all depends on what you want. I happen to be in more of a niche. I want everything the Macbook has, PLUS great graphics. On a PC I could BTO that. On a Mac, I would have to buy a Pro, and even that might not be enough for my needs.

So, you see, it's all based on your perspective.

[BaldiMac]

iPods are and were priced competitively. And as for prices, it all depends on what you want. Apple's notebook selection is very limiting. If I want exactly everything the Macbook has, the prices might only be 30% more expensive. But if I want everything a Macbook has plus dedicated graphics, I would have to buy a 15" MBP, for $2000. Or if I want a Macbook with a 15" screen, same thing.

It all depends on what you want. I happen to be in more of a niche. I want everything the Macbook has, PLUS great graphics. On a PC I could BTO that. On a Mac, I would have to buy a Pro, and even that might not be enough for my needs.

So, you see, it's all based on your perspective.

If you said this the first time, I would have agreed with you. :)

But you made a blanket statement that Apple's "current prices are 2x that of the competition. spec for spec."

[thebeesknees]

First, the competition cannot match Apple "spec for spec". Apple's hardware design and OS X are key differentiators.

Second, the statement in the conference call was obviously about iPods, as no new Macs were released last quarter. iPods are priced very competitively.

Also, Apple's current computer prices suck compared to similar PC hardware. But it's not double. Closer to 30%. However, newly released notebooks and desktops are generally very competitive and sometimes will beat similar PC hardware.

While I agree with you about OS X, I think that Apple design is no longer unrivaled. Have you seen Dell's XPS M1330? It's a nice looking machine.

Anyway, there's that whole "Brick" thing. That could be interesting, as a lot of blogs seem to think it will be some sort of revolutionary product. I'd like to see some sort of MacBook Netbook. Shrink the screen a little bit, drop the processor speed to maybe 1.6 GHz, use an Atom processor, maybe offer an SSD. Or a small, fast HDD (like an 80 GB 7,200 RPM.)

[Beric]

If you said this the first time, I would have agreed with you. :)

But you made a blanket statement that Apple's "current prices are 2x that of the competition. spec for spec."

Well, you have to understand what it's like from my viewpoint. For me, and my needs, it IS 2x the price of a PC to get a Mac. For your needs, Macs could be similarly-priced to any other PC.

If Apple would offer more BTO options, people would be happy. As it is, I can hardly help getting upset at how limiting Apple's current lineup is.

[iOrlando]

i guess i was severly misled then during the call when they said revolutionary products are coming....i dont consider an ipod touch with a speaker a revolutionary product since i already have an ipod touch.

i was expecting something that i cant even think of

[DSG]

Anyway, there's that whole "Brick" thing. That could be interesting, as a lot of blogs seem to think it will be some sort of revolutionary product.

It's a twist on the power adaptor. Anyone saying different probably also told you that the new nano was going to have a full-length multi-touch screen and be able to be used as a phone. Apple really don't have to try that hard unfortunately...

[nick9191]

On their last conference call...management said expect new products that are clearly above competition and price points that will be unbeatable.


When did they ever say that?

I highly doubt Apple will offer a 2.5ghz Core 2 duo with 4gb RAM, Blu Ray etc. for $1000. I certainly wont buy one of them if they do, cheap ****.