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Intel Ultrabooks Unable to Undercut MacBook Air Prices

Yeah right

MBA price may be stunning compared to PC market.

But yet they do not have a decent system under $999, macbook which used to be.

What is wrong with updated Macbook with Core i5/HD 3000? if they updated it at all? for $999?

Apple do not care about the low end market, but wait till their A6 ARM based macbook ...
 
Mac is still overpriced? Well think again haters :D

Samsung 9 series ultrabook .. 4 digit price !!

Intel's ultrabook .. not much different.
People out there think it sucks for the price. Compared to what? A big box with LEDs and huge fan blower? Sure, a $300 DIY built CPU can easily outperform MBA

But can it be carried over without breaking your back? You pay for portability. I hope all apple hater just read this and realize their blunder. You don't get paid for hating :apple: .. and so do us don't get a discount by standing on them too :D
 
altecXP said:
You think coders work for free and instantly know how to fix the code with out any research into what the bug is?


This place really makes me think no one has ever worked in a large company that does any type development.
Click to expand...

I didn't think you understood what R+D is. This proves it.
 
ssk2 said:
1) I do agree, usually I won't require that much power. HOWEVER, and this is my major sticking point with any ultra-thin, most of us cannot afford a premium ultra-thin AND a more expensive laptop/desktop option for more intensive tasks. THIS is where the old Macbook fitted perfectly in to many of our computing needs. I could run everything I need to from there, from Office to Lightroom and Photoshop. It was a fantastic machine.

2) This is where I disagree. That's a difference of less than 1kg, hardly worth the premium you're paying. Certainly, millions of people carry around much heavier laptops everyday without complaint.
Click to expand...

The fact that it doesn't work for you does not mean that you can declare it overpriced while ignoring weight and size. They are still very much specs and part of the whole package sold to you.

If Apple does not cater to your needs, it doesn't make their offering overpriced, it makes their offering not fit for your needs.

A simple mistake a lot of posters seem to make.

shanmugam said:
But yet they do not have a decent system under $999, macbook which used to be.
Click to expand...

What does that have anything to do with the article, there's no law that forces Apple to have a low-end offering at all. They are free to cater only to the higher-end crowd if that is what they want to do.
 
jhende7 said:
I don't get this comment at all. The MBA starts at 849 pounds and is far more powerful then your white macbook.
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It's also 11" which is too small.

I bought a 13" MacBook because I wanted a 13" computer. I didn't buy it because it was the cheapest Apple sold.
 
Daveoc64 said:
It's also 11" which is too small.

I bought a 13" MacBook because I wanted a 13" computer. I didn't buy it because it was the cheapest Apple sold.
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All of what you say does not make the MBA overpriced at all. Just drop it, your premise was wrong.

The 11" btw has more pixels than your precious white macbook. The screen size doesn't matter, it's the pixels.
 
....

Wait a second I thought there was an apple tax and just getting rid of that would cut the cost in half lol. Perhaps if they make them with Chrome OS they can compete since google gives that away hahahaha
 
Daveoc64 said:
It's entirely possible to say that the MBA is overpriced.

It's Apple's entry level product.

I'm not prepared to pay a premium for a (slow) computer just because it's thinner.

For what you're getting it might be good value, but it's now your only choice other than a "pro" machine.
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clearly you do not own or have ever used a MBA. My 2010 model with c2d 1.4ghz is speedy enough. Quite frankly, people overestimate their computing needs. They think i7 will help them browse the internet faster while the reality is, it will make a marginal difference.

I actually downgraded as far as specs go, i went from a c2d 2.4 ghz to my 1.4 mba and i havent noticed the difference.
 
JohnPhamlore said:
The non-Apple ultrabooks from what I have seen are risking a debacle selling to students a device that makes it very difficult to make presentations on older projectors that only have VGA or other previous generation type inputs not HDMI.

Intel and AMD have agreed to phase out VGA over the next couple of years. The logical plan would have been for the PC makers to replace their current VGA ports with some sort of DisplayPort or even eventually Thunderbolt just like Apple has been pushing. Instead the PC makers are sometimes only providing a micro-HDMI port.
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I think the ASUS will have micro-HDMI and micro-VGA ports. I'm not sure what the advantage is, since it still requires an adapter. Perhaps when the Ultrabooks adopt Thunderbolt (likely with the Ivy Bridge release) they will finally also standardize on mini DisplayPort.
 
this is just ridiculous, seems to me like almost all these big name companies are just following Apple instead of making their own decisions and innovations.

- iPad copycats
- Samsung and it's designs way to similar to Apple's
- Asus and it's ultra portables that look exactly like a black version of Apple's

just to name a few
 
Daveoc64 said:
It's also 11" which is too small.

I bought a 13" MacBook because I wanted a 13" computer. I didn't buy it because it was the cheapest Apple sold.
Click to expand...

That's exactly what you've argued for in this thread though. All you've been saying is Apple doesn't make a Macbook cheap enough for you.
 
Daveoc64 said:
It's entirely possible to say that the MBA is overpriced.

It's Apple's entry level product.

I'm not prepared to pay a premium for a (slow) computer just because it's thinner.

For what you're getting it might be good value, but it's now your only choice other than a "pro" machine.
Click to expand...

Over priced is a relative term. We all know miniaturization means a more expensive manufacturing process. I personally hate lugging heavy laptops around. For those who need more than an iPad, the MBA is perfect.

The only point I agree with is that as an entry level machine the MBA is flawed in the marketing sense because entry level should not be the same as aspirationally thin! When it is, you've just taken the entire range back squarely into the middle to upper end of the market.

Entry level, by its very nature should be accessible to first time users - often kids and older people. If the decision was made on aesthetic/range continuity grounds, dropping the MacBook was a huge mistake. If it was losing money due to the case cracking issue, then a different solution should have been found to replace it.
 
KnightWRX said:
The fact that it doesn't work for you does not mean that you can declare it overpriced while ignoring weight and size. They are still very much specs and part of the whole package sold to you.

If Apple does not cater to your needs, it doesn't make their offering overpriced, it makes their offering not fit for your needs.

A simple mistake a lot of posters seem to make.

What does that have anything to do with the article, there's no law that forces Apple to have a low-end offering at all. They are free to cater only to the higher-end crowd if that is what they want to do.
Click to expand...

My point was simply that I don't see why Apple got rid of the Macbook line - it filled a perfect gap in the market for those who love Apple's laptops, but can't justify the MBA price, and who wanted to retain a decent level of performance.

Also, I can't believe people are making such a big deal out of 2lbs... Wow!
 
Daveoc64 said:
It's entirely possible to say that the MBA is overpriced.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't say it's overpriced, just the entry level isn't what it used to be. As you said if you want an Apple Laptop with a bit of expandability then the price is higher than what it was before.

griz said:
It's still faster than the white macbook was so what's the problem?
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Speed isn't everything. A small hdd and lack of user upgradable memory is a big problem with the base 11" Air - granted it's a nice device, but 2gb memory.

I liked the plastic Macbook, I wish Apple would have made a true entry level device (maybe an i3 chip version) - still I'm in the minority I guess.

-1
 
ssk2 said:
1) I do agree, usually I won't require that much power. HOWEVER, and this is my major sticking point with any ultra-thin, most of us cannot afford a premium ultra-thin AND a more expensive laptop/desktop option for more intensive tasks. THIS is where the old Macbook fitted perfectly in to many of our computing needs. I could run everything I need to from there, from Office to Lightroom and Photoshop. It was a fantastic machine.

2) This is where I disagree. That's a difference of less than 1kg, hardly worth the premium you're paying. Certainly, millions of people carry around much heavier laptops everyday without complaint.
Click to expand...

1) What kind of tasks? I can run Lightroom on a previous-generation MacBook Air while running other programs in the background without any problems. Have you tried it? It's surprisingly powerful. The market of people that need anything beyond the amount of power an MBA has rather small.

2) And I'll have to disagree with you. Countless people I know went and bought netbooks because after running around all day, their normal-sized laptops were becoming a pain to bring around not just because of their weight, but also because of their size. After I started carrying around an iPad instead of my MBP, the difference was absolutely ridiculous.
 
ssk2 said:
My point was simply that I don't see why Apple got rid of the Macbook line - it filled a perfect gap in the market for those who love Apple's laptops, but can't justify the MBA price, and who wanted to retain a decent level of performance.
Click to expand...

Obviously, Apple got rid of the Macbook line because they didn't think catering to that segment of the market was worth it to them anymore. No matter which gap you think it fills, it's one gap Apple doesn't care to fill anymore and that's their choice to make.

ssk2 said:
Also, I can't believe people are making such a big deal out of 2lbs... Wow!
Click to expand...

It makes a great deal of difference to me on the motorcycle. My backpack holds more than my laptop, and that extra 2 lbs of difference sure made carrying it around more comfortable.

Again, if it's not for you, it doesn't make it overpriced, just not for you.

Kebabselector said:
I liked the plastic Macbook, I wish Apple would have made a true entry level device (maybe an i3 chip version) - still I'm in the minority I guess.
Click to expand...

And I wish Apple would make a microwave oven. Again guys : not catering to your needs does not mean overpriced.
 
ssk2 said:
My point was simply that I don't see why Apple got rid of the Macbook line - it filled a perfect gap in the market for those who love Apple's laptops, but can't justify the MBA price, and who wanted to retain a decent level of performance.

Also, I can't believe people are making such a big deal out of 2lbs... Wow!
Click to expand...

That's 40% of the weight... It's a really big deal.

The plastic MacBook cost $999, same price as the entry level air.

Basically, it seems you're bemoaning the switch to SSD, but it seems clear you're not very interested in all the benefits of SSD (lighter, smaller, no moving parts, better power consumption, ABSURDLY faster)

You sound like the perfect example of the kind of past-clinging semi-Luddite which apple has absolutely zero interest in pandering to. A glance at revenue and profit sheets will show you how successful apple has been ignoring your demographic. Enjoy your Sony, and more importantly, enjoy buying a new computer in approximately 2 years while the MacBook air will live on for 5. You get what you pay for, and generally speaking, very low up front costs lead to higher costs in the future.
 
KnightWRX said:
What does that have anything to do with the article, there's no law that forces Apple to have a low-end offering at all. They are free to cater only to the higher-end crowd if that is what they want to do.
Click to expand...

the reason is every one started jumping like apple delivers better pricing on all the market, simply NO.

MBA definitely priced good same goes to iPad and iPhone and iPod, but everything else?
 
KnightWRX said:
Obviously, Apple got rid of the Macbook line because they didn't think catering to that segment of the market was worth it to them anymore. No matter which gap you think it fills, it's one gap Apple doesn't care to fill anymore and that's their choice to make.
Click to expand...

Aren't you referring to Apple's most popular Mac line ever there?
 
fertilized-egg said:
Because you were complaining about the clockspeed when in reality the new CPU performs more than fast enough? :confused: I can understand that you don't want to pay for the formfactor, but with the success of the MacBook Air in comparison to the white MacBook, it's clear that many people are more than willing to pay premium for thinner and long-lasting notebooks.
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I agree with you, but the MacBook was selling well when it was deleted from the consumer site. And of course it hasn't been dropped altogether because it's still available via education deals.

I suspect this is Apple house cleaning whilst creeping the line upwards - at a time when many many more people are thinking like @Daveoc64, who's making lots of bad arguments, but reading between the lines, I'm guessing he's reluctant to spend out too much in these uncertain times. It's an entirely understandable fear.
 
Bigdaddyguido said:
That's the past. The sold more airs than MacBooks or MBP in 2011 so far. The present is all that matters at apple.
Click to expand...

I think that's the main point. If the new incarnation of MBA didn't fare so well, Apple might have kept the old white MB, but the new MBA did so well and sold better than the white one. I understand the people who want more "regular" notebooks, especially one that's priced more like the Windows notebooks but Apple has clearly seen where the market trend is going.
 
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