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Early 2008 MacBook Pro Whispers
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??
Special circumstances... did I miss something? Is it Mac-on-a-monday week or something?
I'm pretty sure I read the whole thread
Even if production costs have decreased, reducing price would not leave profits unchanged.
If production costs TODAY are $100 lower than last year, then the profits TODAY are some amount. Dropping the price by $100 TODAY would lower your profits by $100. Comparing today's costs to last year's is irrelevant.
Wow. Economics education is worse than I thought. Even people who think they've had a course in economics don't know what they're talking about.
First, what makes you think the MBP has a high level of price elasticity? Mac users tend to be LESS price sensitive than other computer buyers.
Second, even if there is some price elasticity (I'm sure there's some), what makes you think that the volume would increase enough to make up for the loss in profit?
Third, let's say there IS price elasticity and it's enough to more than make up for the drop in margin. Why isn't Apple doing that today? After all, they probably know more about their costs and margins than you do.
Bottom line is that Apple believes that the current price optimizes profit - so lowering price would NOT provide an increase in profits. So your price elasticity argument is nothing more than wishful thinking.
Maybe related, maybe not.
There have been no 15" MBP's on the Apple Refurb site in the UK for a week or more.
Doug
There have been no 15" MBP's on the Apple Refurb site in the UK for a week or more.
Doug
not until march 17
Crunchgear says March 17... just upgrades and no major overhaul... I'm depressed..
http://www.crunchgear.com/2008/01/26/rumor-new-macbook-pros-on-st-patricks-day/
Crunchgear says March 17... just upgrades and no major overhaul... I'm depressed..
http://www.crunchgear.com/2008/01/26/rumor-new-macbook-pros-on-st-patricks-day/
There is a flaw in that reasoning.... "Mac users tend to be LESS price sensitive than other computer buyers..."
Mac users are < 50% of the purchasers of new macs. The rest are switchers. Switchers are not the same purchaser as an existing mac user at all. I am a stalwart Mac user so I know I am not that price elastic (I have an iPhone from launch day!)
But my girlfriend, who was really interested in a Mac after using mine, was somewhat put off by the price, compared to PCs. And before we get into the debate about how comparably specced PCs cost more, remember that people buying a computer, don't look at comparable spec, they look at price. It's an expensive purchase, and any device that costs over $1,000 for the base model (Entry level MacBook) is relatively price elastic (I did a study on this in my economics masters degree so I know.) THe entry level for a MacBook Pro is double that price, so I think it's a fair statement that they are price elastic. A fairly high spec Dell XPS is available for around $1000 right now, and it is not a badly specced machine at all. That gets peoples attention.
And ultimately the explanation given as to how Mac profits would react under a price elastic scenario was valid. You seemed to be more disagreeing that they were price elastic. I happen to agree with the original poster, they are price elastic products. Price elasticity is defined in terms of people's disposable income. And unless you're talking about the uber wealthy, in the current market, $2K+ for a laptop computer makes people think twice. $1.8K would make less people think twice, quite a lot less people in my opinion.
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I already said why I think tomorrow is likely. However, if for some reason the machinery has been set in place for something other than tomorrow (which is already here in Boston), then: it will be this coming Tuesday if AAPL takes another big hit to..day, otherwise next Tuesday will be the day. Of course, if arn's sources are full of hogwash, it will be some other Tuesday after that
I don't think announcing refreshed MBPs is going to temper a potential stock drop that much. It's all about expectations and right now, the majority seems to agree that the update will incorporate penryn and multi-touch (and perhaps a keyboard re-design/magnetic latch). So unless Apple will come up with a more significant update than that, I don't think an announcement of new MBPs will have that much of an impact.
But of course I would be delighted with an update this or next week, I've been waiting for a very long time to get one and I'm eager to able to work with OS X
Yes, and it will be made of green aluminium in the shape of a shamrock
I'd buy that so fast it would make your head spin
aw, im sorry, you should've done some research before you buy ! it says allover mac forums that the MBP is about to be updated :-/
Sweet! Take your time Apple, no rush
Realistically, that's what.. 6 weeks away? I'd say that sounded about right, as I don't expect them soon if there was a shortage/delay on mobile Penryn as rumoured.
We've heard more whispers about the upcoming MacBook Pro updates.
- Multi-touch Trackpad
- 17" model to incorporate LED screen
- Penryn processors
- To be released in the next 2 weeks (so, this Tuesday or next)
Exact release dates are always difficult to pinpoint as they can change, but the information is believed to be accurate at this time.
Article Link
doesn't sound exciting at all, but I will be buying soon anyway (I can't wait till summer for montevina)
re: doesn't sound exciting....
IMHO, this really *shouldn't* sound exciting. It's a case of Apple refreshing the product to keep it "current" and in-line with their competitors. This isn't a big redesign or product change.
On the other hand, that's not saying it's not a very GOOD update. I still have the original Macbook Pro model (2.0Ghz Core Duo 15") and I'm just starting to consider reselling it and getting something newer. (Mostly because after using my friend's newer Core 2 Duo 15" model with the LED backlit screen, I found the battery life is much improved AND it seems noticeably faster running applications.)
A long time ago, I had the 17" Powerbook G4, and I'm still tossing around the idea of making my next MB Pro a 17" model.... They're not too usable on airline flights (at least in coach seating!), but I probably only fly once every 2-3 years on average. I usually just use my portable in situations where I have some kind of table or desk I can set it up on, and the bigger screen with better display resolution is really useful.
As soon as LED backlit displays were announced though, I decided I'd hold off until the 17" model got one. That adds a good hour to your battery life.
IMHO, this really *shouldn't* sound exciting. It's a case of Apple refreshing the product to keep it "current" and in-line with their competitors. This isn't a big redesign or product change.
On the other hand, that's not saying it's not a very GOOD update. I still have the original Macbook Pro model (2.0Ghz Core Duo 15") and I'm just starting to consider reselling it and getting something newer. (Mostly because after using my friend's newer Core 2 Duo 15" model with the LED backlit screen, I found the battery life is much improved AND it seems noticeably faster running applications.)
A long time ago, I had the 17" Powerbook G4, and I'm still tossing around the idea of making my next MB Pro a 17" model.... They're not too usable on airline flights (at least in coach seating!), but I probably only fly once every 2-3 years on average. I usually just use my portable in situations where I have some kind of table or desk I can set it up on, and the bigger screen with better display resolution is really useful.
As soon as LED backlit displays were announced though, I decided I'd hold off until the 17" model got one. That adds a good hour to your battery life.
Maybe the problem is that deep inside of me I wanted a case redesign and some more surprising extra... somehow I have the sensation of going to buy a machine that's many years old
Anyway, I suppose it's a really good machine that hopefully will be competent some years
It sounds like the only thing that adds is 1066MHz FSB support up from 800. That doesn't seem like it's worth waiting for at all. Now Apple might do something else neat with it-like putting in a much better GPU, or using a better design, or whatever, but that would be separate from the new platform.
Hell yeah - mine is the 1GHz version, which was bought in September 2003 when it was first released. I've loved it but, short of anything else being wrong after 4 and a half years, I just need more disk space - 80GB (max available at the time) was not enough for photos and iTunes...
Obviously the Air doesn't fit the bill, so I'm moving up to the 15" model and giving my lovely 12" PB to my sister.
Thing is, even the current MacBook Pros will seem like such a whole new world of speed to me compared to my 1GHz G4 PB, that I won't really notice the difference whether it has Penryn or that new one in Summer. The one thing I'm praying for most is the multi-touch pad.
Come on Apple! Deliver something sweet tomorrow - the money's waiting...
No-one's forcing anyone to buy an updated macbook pro, but there are alot of people that are wanting to.