Of course there is a justification. It's the price that they believe the market will allow. The component and manufacturing costs do not define how much something is worth in an open market.
As has been brought up several times in this thread, Microsoft Office cost a couple bucks to manufacture. What is the "justification for their pricing"?
Fair enough.
Huh?
I would never buy RAM from Apple. But that really has nothing to do with the iPad.
No, your numbers are based on preliminary estimates, preliminary sales estimates from analysts (not Apple), retail pricing, and a "standard markup" that you pulled out of thin air.
Again, Apple's profit margins are historically less than 15%, which you deemed acceptable. There is no reason to believe that margins on the iPad will be significantly more than that.
Justification for those of us who feel that we should "get what you pay for" and I do not feel that Apple upgrades give an informed consumer "what they pay for". They furthermore make it difficult if not impossible to upgrade their systems yourself. This is by design and I know you'll likely to come along and say I'm speculating, but we both know you agree with me. Enough already.
I own or invest in several private businesses. In those that are based on retail, our average (emphasizing AVERAGE) markup is 30% that we pass along to the consumer. I made the statement as a point of emphasis. How many times there is further markup, i.e. middlemen is another issue but in this case Apple is both the retailer and the middleman. At this point this is going off topic and if you want to turn this into an economics lesson you can do it on your own since we both know that you are testing me. So let's agree to disagree if we indeed disagree if that's ok with you?
Sorry...the incomplete sentence was supposed to be something to the effect of to illustrate the Apple tax using other products like the Mac Pro or MacBook Pro obscenely marks up their prices of RAM. Everybody I've asked who has actually paid that price had NO IDEA how much they could have saved if they had upgraded it themselves. Not once did I encounter someone who said something to the effect of "I know but I'll pay the extra (insert hundreds or thousands here) so I don't have to think about it". Instead they were freaked out to say the least and felt betrayed and/or cheated.
So if you want to keep claiming "thin air" after all of my explanations and background talks then I won't bother you as you lift your leg on whatever I say since this is turning into a game of semantics with an emphasis on nitpicking rather than a discussion. If you wish to clarify something in the nature of discussion, then do it since you obviously feel that you see what I'm saying but not saying in a way that you approve. But to argue to test me or see if I'll run and quote something is a waste of both of our time when it comes to the main point that I made in that one should wait. As I said, I WANTED one, but due to no USB and lack of multitasking, I'll pass on the base model.
Apple is probably the most unique and universally appealing company on the planet. I've lived in several countries and if you think Mac is a religion for the fanboys, you wouldn't believe how some cultures wear Apple products like a badge. To say it's obnoxious is an understatement. But I have a love hate relationship with Mac and their business practices with respect to broken promises of compatibility and everything else bad that I've experienced with them. But I need Mac to do what I need to do. NOW I'm off topic.
Again, bottom line is that Mac is based on fashion and mystique rather than quality. Over time said quality gets less as their high end users get left behind to market to those who don't understand what they are buying when Apple shifts to the small ticket items. Someone a couple of pages back broke it down perfectly in that Mac misleads people. It's genius and maddening at the same time.
That said I won't buy an iPad because I think it's too lacking in fundamental features at any price. Screw it...maybe I'll shift entirely to Hackintosh and use the extra money to buy 5 iPads that I'll save on the 2010 Mac Pro
