UK Price Increases - Your Thoughts

[iwired]

Once you are over that barrier the differences might not be that much. However if you were at or near those barriers before it is a big big difference.

Believe me mate, IT IS A BIG DIFFERENCE !!!

For example, for a student the price of the 24in 3.06GHZ imac last week was 1.183.55 pounds. Now, it is 1.583.55 pounds. That's 400 pounds we're talking about - my month's expenses as a student !!!!

Do you think I can live without food (utleast water is free!) for a month? Not even a camel can't live without food for so long!!

Not to forget my girlfriend's nagging that we don't go out much !

Cheers

 

[SteveMobs]

I think the price increase is there and everywhere else to compensate for when they release snow leopard as a free upgrade.

 

[edesignuk]

I think the price increase is there and everywhere else to compensate for when they release snow leopard as a free upgrade.

I don't think Apple has free in its vocabulary. It'll be free (to an extent) for people that purchased new Macs from a given date, but that will be a relatively small number of the user base. Most of us will be paying full price for the upgrade I'm willing to bet. Aside from those that just torrent it

 

[davem7]

The price rises on the Pro are pretty crazy. I bought the rig in my sig (minus the RAM) for £1600. I need as many cores as I can get my hands on, so 8 is only really going to cut it. So, I need to spend somewhere in the region of about £2150 now in order to get that.

I am super glad I bought last year, and I will definitely not be upgrading. Got a Macbook about a week ago and I can really see very high rises coming to those as well.

 

[chapmac]

I've posted about this exact topic when the new laptops were introduced a few months ago and we all complained - but what we seem to forget is that Apple is only doing what every single other company would do if they were in their enviable position. Yes - the exchange rate certainly makes a difference, but the reason that the prices are as they are is that Apple can get away with charging them and we still buy them.

Let consider Apple's position - it builds beautifully engineered, quality products. It has one of the most coveted brands in the world and a fantastic marketing department. Microsoft have given them a huge helping hand with the mess that they have got themselves into with Vista. They are gaining market share against the PC. The iphone has taken the mobile market by storm. Ipod/Itunes has turned the way consume music on its head.

Everyone wants a mac or iphone or ipod - the consumer market loves the products. This means they don't have to compete with the Dell's of this world on price. Combine this with a perception of cool AND quality and you get a licence to print money. Which is what Apple is doing - and I dare say its putting back into R&D and cash reserves to whether the recession.

There are relatively few companies that can mange to pull this off - BMW and Mercedes maybe, and perhaps Heinz.

So - for me the really interesting thing is just how far and for how long Apple won't have to compete on price. For those who know economics - I think they are pushing the price elasticity of demand. For those who don't - as prices increases demand should fall - but how quickly depends on how much we as consumers want the products and are still prepared to buy. In theory a drop in demand should see prices fall to re-stimulate that demand. You can see this happening in every high street in the Western world at the moment. But just how immune are Apple from this? Only the next quarter's figures will give us a clue.

I like a number of other posters on this thread will now not updating their machines, and this could be a warning sign that demand will start to tail off. However, by the look of the Regent Street store when I was in there last week there are a hell of a lot of people still queuing up to buy.

 

[The SpinDoctor]

This really pisses me off as, I was hoping to get a MBP in Fall with an i7 (hopefully) along with a 1TB firewire HDD.
Assuming the prices will be hiked up roughly 20%, the £1450 MBp (with student discount) is now going to cost me nearly £1700.
The thing is, that would have been my first Mac and now it looks like I will stick with Windows (7). Its a lot faster and more stable than Vista ever was and is still in Beta. What more, that same spec machine likely cost me £750.

Apple are just hurtiung themselves with the prices they are asking for.

Also, the 1TB Time Machine is now £370, I could buy 2 Netbooks or a laptop for that price. And for what it is, the Airport extreme with external HDDD's is better. Plus you can upgrade storage whenever you want.

/rant
/lustfor1stmac