YoNeX said:
I'm sorry, but i'll just say it. DUH! Of course prices for things will eventually go down in price. You know the old saying, once you bought the computer from the computer store, its already outdated. Then the very second, something like Moore's Law applies (uh you know what I mean). So give anything time, it will eventually go down in price. Just common sense. The only informative about this is predicting the time when the prices will go down and how much, but I have a feeling that these figures and dates won't be so accurate.
Moore's Law has nothing to do with economics.
Supply and demand control pricing.
Apple has positioned itself as a premier computer brand, and they set system prices based on what they think a consumer will pay. If they think high-end laptop buyers will pay $3-4k for a great portable system (fully loaded), that's what they'll sell it for. In the past, Apple seems to find the top end sweet spot pricing-wise, then continue minor speed bumps and upgrades to systems to keep people buying at that price point.
If you establish a marquee brand, keeping the price high actually ADDS to the perception of exclusivity and quality. It also means not playing the "whore-'em-out-at-razor-thin-margins" game all the other PC makers play.
Cheaper components will NOT mean cheaper systems. It will mean room for other peripheral improvements within a system, or just more net profit for Apple, or, more likely, a combination of the two.
Apple will sell cheap laptops at right around $999, high end laptops around $2,000-3,500, iMacs in the $1000-1700 range, and high end towers for around $2,000-4,000 or so (properly loaded w/RAM, HDD, etc.). The prices have not really dropped much for these types of systems since Steve Jobs return, not will they in the foreseeable future.
Systems will, however, continue to improve in raw computational power within those price points in order to remain competitive. But don't be looking for $999 MacBook Pros anytime soon. Or ever.
