Surprise! Apple isn't a cheap PC vendor
Why headlines like "Apple twice the price of PCs" are basically right, but miss the point. Also, whatever happened to the Mac Mini?
My interest was grabbed by a recent story that proclaimed that Apple machines were "twice the price of PCs". Not that the headline surprised me per se; I was more curious to see which analysts had proclaimed this, and what basis they were working from.
Having read the story -- and, I will admit, without benefit of the raw data that the analysts used, because I don't have the kind of money lying around that analysts charge for their actual numbers -- I wasn't actually surprised, although I did note that there's a couple of big gotchas present within the tale.
Apples more expensive than PCs? It's not that simple.
First of all, it's got to be noted that we're not actually comparing Apples and... no, even I can't drag that hoary old cliché out to air. But the point still stands.
NPD's analysis is based purely on price, and that means that every single Windows machine was eligible. Yes, this does include some expensive machines, but it also includes the absolute rock bottom clearance stuff. As an example, the cheapest Eee PC is a Windows laptop, so possibly eligible.
You can't do video editing on a $300 laptop
Last week, you could buy those online for a budget price of AU$299. Not that it's technically for sale any more, but time was, you couldn't buy Windows XP alone for that much. Anyway, as much as I do like my Eee PC (Linux variant, so NPD wouldn't have counted it), it's not exactly a Macbook Pro, now is it?
As such, the "price differential" that NPD mentions is, I reckon, a ghost. It simply doesn't exist. You can't just talk numbers like price here, because the specifications of what's on offer differ so greatly.
The car analogy that NPD analyst Stephen Baker uses is flawed, because unlike cars, the utility of what can be feasibly done with a given computer can and does vary a great deal depending on the internal components. You realistically couldn't do, say, video editing on a $300 laptop; a $3000 one would manage that with ease.
What happened to the Mac Mini?
NPD does make one good observation, though, which is that Apple doesn't have interest in low cost computer lines. The company's most recent foray into an entry-level, headless Mac, the Mac Mini, is a sweet little thing in design terms, but it's been a long, long time since they've refreshed the core components.
Checking with MacRumor.com's excellent buying guide, it's been 370 days (at the time of writing) since Apple changed the guts of the Mac Mini.
A year is a long time in computing terms, and every day that Apple doesn't change the internal configuration is another day that does erode the value argument for the Mini. When Apple last refreshed the Mac Mini, it was a highly competitive machine. Right now, it isn't.
I recently had a friend of mine enquiring about the Mac Mini, and I had to be honest with him; while it was and is enough system for his computing requirements (and he was sick of, amongst other things, the virus/malware tidal wave that had wiped out his current PC), it's tough not to view the poor Mini as a rather orphaned child.
Apple, lets have an Apple TV/Mac Mini hybrid
Given that every other Mac line has been updated within this calendar year, you've got to wonder what Apple's plan is. Naturally, the company hides behind its frosted glass barrier with the phrase "Apple does not comment on rumour or speculation" engraved upon it, so I'm only guessing.
An Apple TV/Mac Mini hybrid would be nice (and people have hacked Apple TVs that way), but that wouldn't be a low cost option. A Mac Mini that was a little faster and a little better wouldn't hurt iMac sales (for those that want or need an integrated monitor), and the system's way beyond the wants or needs of the Mac Pro crowd.
Other Blog Entries written by Alex Kidman:
Thoughts on this article? Add a comment below.
Comments: 2
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wizamc
Aug 12, 2008 6:24 PM
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I agree... I have a little linux box with a via motherboard running as my little media center... but nothing can compete with the Apple TV interface (drool). If there was a hybrid between the two that would allow other media files to be played, I would be out there buying one now!!! |
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Noblejoker
Aug 13, 2008 9:16 PM
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I think Apple recognises that the Mini makes a beautiful simple little Windows machine running under BootCamp. They don't want to support MS by selling hardware that can easily be converted over to the dark side
How many people buy a Macbook or Air to run windows on it consistently - parallels maybe but not Windows 24/7.
However I would gladly recommend a new Mini to a home user for great hardware and style running Win XP all day
Plus surely the profit margin is greater in an iMac so there is no business model to upgrade the Mini's components. The current maximum is C2D cpu at 1.83Ghz which is enough for most home users even doing video editing etc if you get enough ram too. |