why is mac so expensive ?

[hafr]

Fanboys and haters are always amusing...

I've got a six year old HP laptop that keeps trucking on better than the two macs bought the same year, and it was about half the price and had lower specs. Granted, the iMac was retired because of a failed disk, but the Powerbook is just barely breathing... And the Powerbook is running Leopard, HP is running Win 7. So I mean, it's not a universal truth that macs are some kind of MacLeod

But I mean, if you go out and look for the same specs, Apple isn't all that expensive. When I got my base MBP 13" early 2011, it was the cheapest one on the market (that I could find). Sure, you could find cheaper and stronger machines, but then you had 15,6" screens (doesn't fit in my bag) that weighed more, were thicker and lacked other things. I could basically choose from a Samsung, HP Envy and Vaio Z, all costing more than the MBP.

I think Apple might make a lot of money on many of their products, but being a fanboy or a hater is just dumb. Always write up what you need and what you want, then scan the whole market before making a decision. That way, you're always gonna make the right decision.

 

[davegoody]

Resale Resale Resale

There is a PC cost, which is hidden. The average life span of a desktop is about 2-3 years. The average life span of a mac is about 5-6 years. If the mac costs $1,000 and the PC costs $499, then the cost is the same since you will statistically have to buy two PCs in the time it takes the mac to crap out.

I recently sold my Older gen, non-unibody) 15" MacBook Pro that cost me £1500 or so when I got it. I had the machine for 4 years or so, though it still looked as good as new. Put a new battery on it and sold it for £850. So 4 years of day-by-day use and I still got WELL over 50% of the original price paid for it. If I had spent £1500 or thereabouts on a DELL, HP, or unbranded laptop, a year down the line, not 4, it would already be worth less than half of it's value, 4 years down the line I would struggle to get £50 for it. This is the real value, long-term, of Mac ownership, residual value and desirability.

 

[nefan65]

PC users should know some rules to protect their machines. I have used PC since DOS 5.0. Hardly get a virus.

Hardly? How about since I've been using a Mac, never...

I've done side/side comparisons of DELL and HP vs. my 13.3" 2010 MBP. Like another person posted here, I couldn't find any of their 13.3" models that were comparable. They did have some 15.6" models, but I didn't want that size of a laptop to carry around.

In the end, get what you need, and want. Getting into silly debates that this is more, that is better for all is way too general. It's not a one size fits all...

 

[Nick McEnjoy]

Hardly? How about since I've been using a Mac, never...

I did not write "never" because there's a saying "Never say never"
I wrote "hardly" because the viruses I received were from spam mails. The antivirus software caught them. My machines, as far as I know, have never been infected with one so far. Again, I do not know for sure, because the machines might have been infected without showing any symptoms. But like I said, I have had no problems so far.

I've done side/side comparisons of DELL and HP vs. my 13.3" 2010 MBP. Like another person posted here, I couldn't find any of their 13.3" models that were comparable. They did have some 15.6" models, but I didn't want that size of a laptop to carry around.

You might want to compare a Mac with a Thinkpad. Lenovo has some really good Thinkpads.

In the end, get what you need, and want. Getting into silly debates that this is more, that is better for all is way too general. It's not a one size fits all...

I agree. However, cost vs. usability (which also includes look, durability, longevity) is an important factor.

I like my very reliable Thinkpad X61. It would be great if a MBP 13" last as long as the X61 (which cost 2/3 a MBP 13" if buying at the right time).

I am still debating between a MBP 13" and an X220.

 

[torbjoern]

I recently sold my Older gen, non-unibody) 15" MacBook Pro that cost me £1500 or so when I got it. I had the machine for 4 years or so, though it still looked as good as new. Put a new battery on it and sold it for £850. So 4 years of day-by-day use and I still got WELL over 50% of the original price paid for it. If I had spent £1500 or thereabouts on a DELL, HP, or unbranded laptop, a year down the line, not 4, it would already be worth less than half of it's value, 4 years down the line I would struggle to get £50 for it. This is the real value, long-term, of Mac ownership, residual value and desirability.

Yet still people say that Macs are expensive.