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Apple Popularizing
- Thread starter Azoblue
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I would be happy when people actually consider a Mac as well as a PC in their purchases. But only the tech. savvy do that. The average user only knows about a PC. If Apple wants more average users, then they need to market a little bit more.
Posting from the view of 'your moderately more learned PC user', Macs have a few problems that keep them out of the everyday household.
1) You can get a Dell that surfs the web, runs Word, Excel, and some games for about $500. Less if you build it yourself. If Macs offered a 2.5+ Ghz for less than $600, then they would certaintly have a larger market share.
2) People, when working on a Mac, don't want to explore, they want it all to be there right infront of them. Macs are very good for the things not right in front of you, for example, the average joe user just puts word, excel, and IE (which I HATE vehemently) on the destop. *clicky-clicky* Instant (sorta) internet. That's all most people use; the icons on the desktop.
3) Learning curve: Most people are just casual users...they would never be found on a forum like this. They were brought up on PC's and they like the comfort zone. They wouldn't know where to get third party software, how to update manually, etc. etc. (assuming they wanted to)
Personally, I find Macs to be incredible peices of hardware, that are wonderful for many tasks...I just don't have the money for one to match my PC. Also...incredible monitors are a plus.
1) You can get a Dell that surfs the web, runs Word, Excel, and some games for about $500. Less if you build it yourself. If Macs offered a 2.5+ Ghz for less than $600, then they would certaintly have a larger market share.
2) People, when working on a Mac, don't want to explore, they want it all to be there right infront of them. Macs are very good for the things not right in front of you, for example, the average joe user just puts word, excel, and IE (which I HATE vehemently) on the destop. *clicky-clicky* Instant (sorta) internet. That's all most people use; the icons on the desktop.
3) Learning curve: Most people are just casual users...they would never be found on a forum like this. They were brought up on PC's and they like the comfort zone. They wouldn't know where to get third party software, how to update manually, etc. etc. (assuming they wanted to)
Personally, I find Macs to be incredible peices of hardware, that are wonderful for many tasks...I just don't have the money for one to match my PC. Also...incredible monitors are a plus.
übergeek said:i found a great sig (sorry i dont remember whose sig it was) from a MacRumors member that stated that the day Apple has a majority market share is the day he switches to PC...i so agree with that statement...but i'm already using PCs
If Apple ever beats MS, Apple will become the next MS.
There's a sizable Apple community in Los Angeles though, so its awesome
And even 1% is a large amount. Think about it. Apple's real market share is around 5% (generously), out of every 100 people, 5 are Maccies. Thats not bad lol.
my sig probably lies i'd buy a macintosh 128k and sit in a cupbord all day remembering the good old days when i was cool for having a powerbook 100
The problem with Apple having such a small portion of the market is that retail stores in smaller communities don't carry Mac software. I live in a small town, and we have 3 computer stores--none of which carry any Mac software at all. The nearest store with Mac software/Accessories is 60 miles away. Everyone I know brags about how "neat" or how "cool" my macs are but they are like "You can't even buy software for them here".
xiliquiern said:
I completely agree. I dunno if Apple releasing a sub $500 product would even help them now. They tried this once with releasing a $799 iMac then upped the price on them. So I dunno what the answer is. I bought an iMac for my grandparents, and my grandpa loves Sherlock and Safari and said the funniest thing the other day--"Apple seems to be the most innovative out of the bunch." hehe--go gramps!
I don't understand Apple's marketing either. There commercials rarely mention anything about the product itself. Take the G5 commercial... yeah it was cool but did it say anything about the computer itself? I don't even remember if it said its price. Everytime I turn on the TV, there is a Dell commerical on.
That $500 Dell that you're talking about is a 2.66ghz P4 with 128MB RAM. It has an integrated graphics card, so games won't run very well. Plus, you'll have to pony up $129 for Office Basic (doesn't include PowerPoint).xiliquiern said:
In the end, you're looking at $630 for an XP machine with not enough RAM. Plus it won't run games very well.
agreenster said:
I don't know...a neighbor of mine just recently bought a DVD player from BB for $30. It lasted a week before it wouldn't eject her DVD. She went back and paid $130 for a DVD/VCR combo box. The first player had a manual in at least two languages. The second player's manual was in english only. She said something about getting what you pay for, and when I compared her Acura Integra to a Chevy Malibu she got it.
I realize that. The original poster stated that you can get a $500 Dell that can surf the web, run Excel and Word, and some games. In reality, you need to add on the Office option to run Excel and Word. And you'll never be happy playing games on an XP machine with 128MB RAM and an integrated graphics card.richland said:
Ahhh teaching..
An earlier comment about the "Compass thing" reminds me how much I get simple pleasure of teaching people little things about Mac computers.
We've got a nice little section of about 25 17" 1.25Ghz. iMacs and nearly everyday I start doing some work on one of them I'll see somebody flustered by really simple things like figuring out how to make the drive bay open. Is there anything more gratifying than showing them the eject button (which was right by their hand) and having the bay come out so subtly?
I think Macs are gaining momentum, especially with the iPod being so hip and well-designed and the co-current drop of iBooks into the $1000 range for students...great move by Apple! Get the kiddies computers now so they'll keep buying the $2,000 ones when they're older. Good times.
An earlier comment about the "Compass thing" reminds me how much I get simple pleasure of teaching people little things about Mac computers.
We've got a nice little section of about 25 17" 1.25Ghz. iMacs and nearly everyday I start doing some work on one of them I'll see somebody flustered by really simple things like figuring out how to make the drive bay open. Is there anything more gratifying than showing them the eject button (which was right by their hand) and having the bay come out so subtly?
I think Macs are gaining momentum, especially with the iPod being so hip and well-designed and the co-current drop of iBooks into the $1000 range for students...great move by Apple! Get the kiddies computers now so they'll keep buying the $2,000 ones when they're older. Good times.