If money is no option...then yes...buy unseen. For most people [stressing most], buying a new computer is a big deal! You are obviously not in this category. I tip my hat to you!
RE: Brand loyalty. Care to speculate how many "Same customer" sales Apple has had on MBP’s in say...the last two years? I suspect "not that many". Why? Apple products last a long time and the premium pricing is only justified by spreading the investment over a longer time period. The growth you refer to is from exiting Microsoft customers jumping ship. If Apple wants that to continue, they need to start keeping up. These are not the loyal customers they have enjoyed for the past x years.
That is a crazy comment. I look simply at what I need - not what someone tells me I need. Little wonder there is a bridge in the middle of Nevada! "Sure...you're buying London Bridge...[AKA A bridge from London – NOT Tower Bridge]" – the best marketing EVER! LOL
Wrong. If I and all the others you quote did not care about software, Apple would be nowhere near as successful. You talk about marketing and differentiation in the market place...OS X has been "it" for Apple prior to the iPhone. Form factor only goes so far! Would you buy a Ferrari kit car based on a Ford Taurus? No.
Also - from reading various forum’s on MR…there are a lot of hardy Mac fans, loyal and faithful who are complaining they simply can’t do their work anymore (effectively). They need more hardware and features to remain competitive. What if better hardware and features decreased your time by 20%? In business that is a fantastic number! You can do MORE; therefore BILL more.
How much do you value Apple OS? I think Apple values it at ~$300. (A Mac Mini is $599. Same OS. Assuming components accounts for ~$300(?)).
Now – imagine that $700 laptop with Mac OS (just imagine). It now costs $1K (and yes, I am not removing the value of W7 – not even going to attempt to value it). Let’s also say form factor is worth another $500 (generous?). Total $1500.
A current 15” C2D 3.06 MBP with a 500GB HD costs….$2,649.00
What on EARTH is the extra ~$1.1K for? Even if the components were equal…$1K is a very large premium for an Apple logo. So that I don’t have to comment on the marketing paragraph…Mac Book PRO is a marketing gimic. There is currently nothing PRO about them. You’ve swallowed hook line and sinker on Apple’s marketing. I now tip my hat to them!
I do need to comment on this after all…The very people that Apple are attracting are the SAME people that want Blu-ray, HDMI, the latest and greatest from Intel. This could be a short term win for Apple…longer term, the “average consumer” customer is going to get frustrated and loyalty with them means nothing.
All that said…if Apple do add some of the features we have been discussing…they will get my hard earned cash. I happen to value Mac OS, but ultimately…it does not matter how stable or user friendly it is, if I can’t do what I want; that will force me back to Windows, and that upsets me.
Anyway…appreciate the banter!