Apple Offering Stripped-Down $999 13" MacBook Air to Educational Institutions Buying in Bulk

[MacRumors]

Apple has begun offering a stripped-down 13" MacBook Air to educational institutions purchasing in bulk, replacing the two-year old white plastic MacBook offering the company recently discontinued. Apple had ceased sales of the MacBook to consumer customers back in July of 2011.

The new educational-exclusive MacBook Air is a 13" model with the same specs as the entry-level consumer 11" MacBook Air: 1.6GHz i5 processor, 2GB RAM, 64GB flash storage, and the Intel HD Graphics 3000 chipset. The machine is available in a 5-pack for $4,995 or $999 per machine. The standard 13" MacBook Air starts at $1,299.

Apple has long offered prepackaged sets of laptops to educational institutions looking to equip teachers or students with MacBooks (and iBooks before that). It has also made available a Learning Lab product that includes 10 or 20 MacBooks along with a preconfigured cart to hold and charge the machines. More recently, Apple has begun offered iPad and iPod Learning Lab carts, too.

After the discontinuation of the white MacBook, Apple reworked the bulk laptop packages it offers educational institutions. As first reported by 9to5Mac, Apple is now selling 5-packs of the 11" and 13" MacBook Airs along with an existing 13" MacBook Pro offering. The MacBook Air Learning Lab packages have been updated as well, with discounted 10- and 20-packs of the stripped-down 13" MacBook Air bundled with the aforementioned charging and storage cart.

The new packages are available on Apple's educational institution online store, though Apple has yet to update its educational web page with the new information.

Article Link: Apple Offering Stripped-Down $999 13" MacBook Air to Educational Institutions Buying in Bulk

 

[basesloaded190]

I would have loved it if my school provided computers let along macs! Glad to see that they didn't nix their education offerings all together.

 

[Amazing Iceman]

Not much of a Doorbuster Sale. $20 off per unit?

 

[Hastings101]

More recently, Apple has begun offered iPad and iPod Learning Lab carts, too.

Back to English 101 with ye scurvy landlubbers.

 

[brdeveloper]

Only 2GB of ram in a non-upgradeable computer? Targeting schools - which need machines with longer upgrade cycles?

Not really a big deal...

 

[milbournosphere]

Not much help for educators...you'd think they'd offer a stripped 11" model for even less.

 

[Tinyluph]

Only 2GB of ram in a non-upgradeable computer? Targeting schools - which need machines with longer upgrade cycles?

Not really a big deal...

I'm pretty sure the only time schools actually upgrade their computers is when they flat out replace what they already have...

 

[nutmac]

Only 2GB of ram in a non-upgradeable computer? Targeting schools - which need machines with longer upgrade cycles?

Agreed. And 2 GB is all but unusable on Lion, thanks to its voratious appetite for RAM.

 

[balamw]

Not much of a Doorbuster Sale. $20 off per unit?

This is a 13" model, a variant of the $1299 model. Guts of the $999 in a $1299 shell.

B

 

[Torrijos]

That is a bit low on RAM...

Even Safari ends up using a lot more if you have a few tabs opened, I guess they factor the SSD as a cache disk

 

[Digital Skunk]

I'm pretty sure the only time schools actually upgrade their computers is when they flat out replace what they already have...

Most school IT dept. I've worked with actually do upgrade the hardware on their machines often. Not too many institutions buy new outright unless they just have hundreds of thousands lying around.

Even the university I work for now couldn't just drop $210,000 plus on new Mac Pros and display's when we could just upgrade the components.

Agreed. And 2 GB is all but unusable on Lion, thanks to its voratious appetite for RAM.

Agreed. I don't know why Apple just insists on crippling what would otherwise be a good purchase. The RAM is what makes this deal a non-starter. Depending on the applications, an institution may very well just buy iPads or PCs.

 

[root42]

Too little RAM

Oh dear god. Only 2GB of RAM? So you can forget about Xcode. All our Xcode 4.2 machines have 8 GB or more of RAM, otherwise it's unbearably slow. On the Airs it's a bit better, because of the SSD, but Xcode 4 is a memory hog. This machine will be only good for non-CS classes, where you don't teach Xcode.

 

[Nielsenius]

In all seriousness, what education system is going to buy these things? I mean, it just wouldn't make any sense! I live where the education system has tons of money and the only thing they can "afford" is last decade's Dells.

 

[Eidorian]

Most school IT dept. I've worked with actually do upgrade the hardware on their machines often. Not too many institutions buy new outright unless they just have hundreds of thousands lying around.

Even the university I work for now couldn't just drop $210,000 plus on new Mac Pros and display's when we could just upgrade the components.

There was a reason even a lowly secretary received a Power Mac G4, we kept them around for years with RAM and other upgrades.

 

[Digital Skunk]

There was a reason even a lowly secretary received a Power Mac G4, we kept them around for years with RAM and other upgrades.

Agreed! The dept. I work for at this university has:

1x Bondi Blue iMac G3
2x Lampshade iMac G4
10x PowerMac G5 Dual Proc.
4x Mirrored DD PwrMac G4
6x 1st Gen 4 core Mac Pros
45x 1st Gen 8 core Mac Pros
65+x 23" ACDs

All of which have been kicking for at least six or more years. When the money DOES eventually come down the chain we will only be interested in upgrades. I was going to upgrade the CPUs on the G4 towers, but I was told just to get rid of them.

We will be pushing the G5s down to the writing/advertising labs for the student run newspaper.

The last daily newspaper I worked for has Ver A PowerMac G5s and 30" ACDs handling CS4 with no issues. An institution may not be replacing CPUs and GPUs on the regular, but RAM, HDDs, and at least the monitors should be a given.

The Mini is a much better choice for stationary labs, mobile lab may just want to consider the iPad . . . . or PCs.

 

[Amazing Iceman]

This is a 13" model, a variant of the $1299 model. Guts of the $999 in a $1299 shell.

B

I see the difference now. I have originally read this at 9to5mac.com and it painted a completely different scenario, hence my previous post complaining about the small $20 OFF discount.

 

[jlgolson]

2GB of RAM in a 13" MacBook Air is plenty powerful for whatever the average 8th grader needs it for -- these are aimed at K-12, not college students with science majors.

 

[Digital Skunk]

2GB of RAM in a 13" MacBook Air is plenty powerful for whatever the average 8th grader needs it for -- these are aimed at K-12, not college students with science majors.

Anyone that has to work with mass deployments of computers knows that it's bad to have just the minimum amount of RAM for the OS, let alone for the software you'd be running.

"The machine is available in a 5-pack for $4,995 or $999 per machine."

If my math is correct $999 x 5 = $4,995. So you could actually say, it's available in a 6-pack for $5,994 or a 7-pack for $6,993.

Just seems funny to me to offer a 5-pack deal when there is actually no price break at all, you're just paying the "per machine" price 5 times.

I don't know, made me laugh.

It does indeed, and I just thought about that $999 price for a 13" NON-upgradeable machine. For another $100 you can get a machine that is more powerful, and more upgradeable.

 

[Andronicus]

Math, gotta love it

"The machine is available in a 5-pack for $4,995 or $999 per machine."

If my math is correct $999 x 5 = $4,995. So you could actually say, it's available in a 6-pack for $5,994 or a 7-pack for $6,993.

Just seems funny to me to offer a 5-pack deal when there is actually no price break at all, you're just paying the "per machine" price 5 times.

I don't know, made me laugh.

 

[justjohn025]

Why don't they just give them refurbished ones instead of stripping them down? That's what I'd prefer.

 

[bartzilla]

I'm pretty sure the only time schools actually upgrade their computers is when they flat out replace what they already have...

I'm pretty sure you're wrong, because we upgrade our computers whenever we see a benefit to doing so.

In all seriousness, what education system is going to buy these things? I mean, it just wouldn't make any sense! I live where the education system has tons of money and the only thing they can "afford" is last decade's Dells.

I agree. We use our macs for final cut pro, CS5 and xcode. I'd say that the only use we'd get out of these machines would be to leave them in the "5-pack" and use them as a boat anchor but they're not heavy enough to do a good job of even that.

 

[Carlanga]

"The machine is available in a 5-pack for $4,995 or $999 per machine."

If my math is correct $999 x 5 = $4,995. So you could actually say, it's available in a 6-pack for $5,994 or a 7-pack for $6,993.

Just seems funny to me to offer a 5-pack deal when there is actually no price break at all, you're just paying the "per machine" price 5 times.

I don't know, made me laugh.

that is because the minimum order has to be 5...

You are basically getting a bigger screen and $20 extra for free.
2GB + SDD I guess is enough for documents and videos for most college and school classwork except the ones where they need high tech, but they never buy the entry level laptops thought so I think is good; not great but good and I believe more powerful than the white MacBooks overall.

 

[Eidorian]

Agreed! The dept. I work for at this university has:

1x Bondi Blue iMac G3
2x Lampshade iMac G4
10x PowerMac G5 Dual Proc.
4x Mirrored DD PwrMac G4
6x 1st Gen 4 core Mac Pros
45x 1st Gen 8 core Mac Pros
65+x 23" ACDs

All of which have been kicking for at least six or more years. When the money DOES eventually come down the chain we will only be interested in upgrades. I was going to upgrade the CPUs on the G4 towers, but I was told just to get rid of them.

We will be pushing the G5s down to the writing/advertising labs for the student run newspaper.

The last daily newspaper I worked for has Ver A PowerMac G5s and 30" ACDs handling CS4 with no issues. An institution may not be replacing CPUs and GPUs on the regular, but RAM, HDDs, and at least the monitors should be a given.

The Mini is a much better choice for stationary labs, mobile lab may just want to consider the iPad . . . . or PCs.

We were luckily able to draw the line at 800 MHz Power Mac G4s loaded up on RAM with the purchase of Intel based Mac minis. The G4s eventually ended up in labs alongside thin clients as a perk. For the most part we skipped the G5 era on purchases. Though nearly all of the G5 machines purchased before my time ended up out of warranty and springing leaks in the cooling systems...

On average you are looking at a 4-5 year life on the front lines unless there was a significant reason to replace a machine. After that secondary uses are not that hard to find. (e.g kiosks, supplemental lab machines)

The Foreign Language department still has a few Beige Power Mac G3s since they have applications still under OS 9!

 

[andiwm2003]

"The machine is available in a 5-pack for $4,995 or $999 per machine."

If my math is correct $999 x 5 = $4,995. So you could actually say, it's available in a 6-pack for $5,994 or a 7-pack for $6,993.

Just seems funny to me to offer a 5-pack deal when there is actually no price break at all, you're just paying the "per machine" price 5 times.

I don't know, made me laugh.

I think you miss the point. I think they only offer 5-packs. The price for the single MBA is only listed to show how much it costs per MBA. However you still have to buy them in packs of five.

EDIT: Seems Carlanga beat me to the punch....

 

[Kaibelf]

Oh dear god. Only 2GB of RAM? So you can forget about Xcode. All our Xcode 4.2 machines have 8 GB or more of RAM, otherwise it's unbearably slow. On the Airs it's a bit better, because of the SSD, but Xcode 4 is a memory hog. This machine will be only good for non-CS classes, where you don't teach Xcode.

Xcode? Really? These are for students to type up book reports, spreadsheets, and do general research. What a silly post.