Apple delivers better value than their competitors in part because they master the supply chain. They buy such a large quantity of parts for their focused product lines, nobody can compete on scale.
The New Apple Advantage
151–160 of 354 posts
Re: The New Apple Advantage
#152I break out this link whenever the topic of PC manufacturing comes up: http://www.lenovoblogs.com/insidethebox/2009/04/display-rati... Thinkpads are (were) well known for their 4:3 screens. People are downright fanatical about them, and continue to buy old T60s off craigslist rather than buy new from Lenovo. Tall screens are better for documents and spreadsheets. 4:3 displays instantly differentiate business -machine…
Also, Apple buys a lot more of that panel than any panel that Lenovo buys. If Lenovo ordered millions of 4:3 panels, they would suddenly become available.
Then why don't they? Why doesn't Lenovo simply their offerings and only offer 3 panels? They'd be cheaper and higher quality.
That's the entire point of this article.
Re: The New Apple Advantage
#153Earlier quoted context omitted.
Because you are missing the point. The discussion is on basic marketing which implies to the general populace, not HNers who are comfortable re-installing their OS. And you preface with "How odd..." either unknowingly or just plain condescendingly describing 95% of the computer buying public. Then you fib that Macs are not ready for use out-of-the-box. Then you put forth the classic defense of exaggerating the value…
Thanks for the reply. It cleared up my misunderstanding -- I think HN readers don't do a good job thinking when it comes to Apple stories. (for those curious here is the breakdown of why pbreit is wrong: 1. The guy I was replying to is by definition an HNer, and was talking about buying an air over a sony SB due to reinstall concerns. My "how odd" was in reply / directly to him. 2. Macs aren't ready to use out of the…
With #2 you're being disingenuous. All computers need some work, but PCs require much more work to uninstall crapware.
As for #3, only one of the laptops you listed fits comfortably in my girlfriend's purse. As for the Air's hard drive? She has zero complaints, and I doubt her (or many others) would notice tiny differences in sequential read times (which is, I think, a measure of app-opening performance).
Re: The New Apple Advantage
#154Earlier quoted context omitted.
A fairer comparison might be the X220 with the 6 cell battery which is about 2.9 lbs and around 10 hours (advertised). It also has a 12.5" IPS screen. I believe the 3.6 lbs you mentioned is with the 9 cell 15 hour battery. For comparison the 11" and 13" Macbook Airs are rated 5 and 7 hours, respectively.
It's 3.3 pounds with the 6 cell battery.
Re: The New Apple Advantage
#155Earlier quoted context omitted.
OK, so if a Formula 1 driver wins the race, who gets the credit? The car or the driver? I would say the car is Tim Cook and Steve jobs is the driver.
In Formula 1, the winning driver gets a trophy, as does the team behind the car. The driver is whomever is CEO; the team is the company. But, as dasil003 said, that's a pretty horrible analogy.
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Re: The New Apple Advantage
#156Earlier quoted context omitted.
So, you really wanna claim that Apple has an equally confusing product lineup compared to other manufactures? That’s a quite daring claim (and also some impressive misleading quoting you are doing there). Apple doesn’t ask you to decide based on non-sensical marketing blabber like that. They use it, sure, but it isn’t central in the decision process of the buyer. Go to their store and check out how they do it: http:/…
So, you really wanna claim that Apple has an equally confusing product lineup compared to other manufactures? That’s a quite daring claim (and also some impressive misleading quoting you are doing there). Apple doesn’t ask you to decide based on non-sensical marketing blabber like that. They use it, sure, but it isn’t central in the decision process of the buyer. One other point: all three Macs I've owned were ready…
I consider myself a power user and I still would not spend time doing a clean install.
When I buy a MacBook Pro I know that I get a computer that is powerful enough for me and just works. I am not going to spend a premium and computer that I hope I can get to work. If I spend that much on something I should not have to fiddle with doing reinstalls.
Re: The New Apple Advantage
#157What I grasp from this is that John Gruber and Peter Bright are just too dim to understand basic online stores. This qualifies for mockery from Gruber/Bright: > "Everyday Computing" But this is good understandable product description: > "The ultimate everyday notebook" (that second one is Apple's marketing copy for the Macbook Air). The low-end Macbook Air is $999 in Canada. Let's compare. I just priced a Lenovo X220…
That's not an entirely fair comparison - the x220 is currently substantially reduced in sales in NA, to the tune of over $400. It's not a reflection of the usual price of the machine, or its price in the rest of the world.
Re: The New Apple Advantage
#158The problem with what Apple does to its advantage is that it isnt really always in the consumer's best interest. Gruber shines light only on how it is working great for Apple but ignores the fact that people have by and large benefited from having choices.
For people who get real work done the specs matter. The fact that Peter Bright wanted anything but an Apple says something. But there is also a section of users that value form more than anything and barely do anything other than browsing/email/videos - Apple caters to them and does well. That doesnt mean every other manufacturer should start doing the same thing. That we can have cheaper, configurable and user serviceable laptops today is a good thing. That we can buy any hardware peripheral today and reasonably expect it to work with our PCs is a great thing.
Gruber should boast if Apple was able to offer more choice at competitive price because then it will be also good for the consumer. I for one dont want to see the world go to doing less with more where I cannot service my laptop by visiting manufacturers support site, where I cannot have the ports I need on my laptop reasonably spaced from each other etc. Having the ability to have USB3 port for next to no additional buck and having cheap peripherals available today is a result of choice culture and mindlessly praising some $CORP for limiting choice and maximising their profits just suppresses that.
Thats the whole issue with Gruber and company ~ They seldom think rationally from a consumer standpoint and just seek to blindly rally their followers to the corporation's cause.
Re: The New Apple Advantage
#159Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm a geek and I couldn't care less what WiFi chipset is in my laptop. I was shopping for a ThinkPad X220 for someone, and it had the option of the regular screen or the "premium" screen for $50 more. They don't tell you what the "premium" screen is or why you'd want it. I presume the regular screen is shitty. Can you even imagine Apple offering such an option? A $1000+ laptop with a shitty screen, with a $50 option…
Yeah, it's pretty crazy, isn't it? Apple would never charge for an upgrade from a shitty screen on a $1000+ laptop. http://dl.dropbox.com/u/40663/2011-09-09_2245.png
I wouldn't call the default screen shitty.
Re: The New Apple Advantage
#160The problem with what Apple does to its advantage is that it isnt really always in the consumer's best interest. Gruber shines light only on how it is working great for Apple but ignores the fact that people have by and large benefited from having choices. For people who get real work done the specs matter. The fact that Peter Bright wanted anything but an Apple says something. But there is also a section of users th…
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