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Apple's MacBook Air is carving out its own place in the MacBook family.  (Source: Reuters)
Notebook sales lead the charge in a great month for Apple

Apple appears to be on a roll these days. The company in recent years has become largely identified by its popular iPod music players. The iPod shuffle, iPod Nano, iPod Classic and iPod touch dominate the music player market and the iTunes is second only to Wal-Mart in overall U.S. music sales.

Throw in the iPhone as Apple's "halo" device, and the Cupertino, California-based company and its marketing efforts are a force to be reckoned with. Luckily for Apple, its success on the digital player and digital music fronts is transferring greatly to its computing products according to Apple Insider.

Market research firm NPD showed that Apple commanded just 9% of the retail U.S. PC market with regards to sales during February 2007 -- this also translated to a 16% dollar share. However, February 2008 saw those figures rise to 14% and 25% respectively.

Sales of Apple notebooks and desktops grew by 64% and 55% respectively while revenues for each segment grew by 67% and 68% respectively.

While iPod and iPhone crossover sales are likely adding to Apple's bottom line, Pacific Crest Securities analyst Andy Hargreaves notes that Apple's recently launched MacBook Air is building a base of its own rather than encroaching on existing notebook product lines.

"MacBook Air sales appear to be additive to total sales, rather than replacing MacBook Pro sales," said Hargreaves. "We believe a new set of corporate customers make up a meaningful portion of MacBook Air buyers."

The NDP data also showed that the overall U.S. PC market is doing quite well -- if you're only looking at notebook sales and revenue. Notebooks outpaced desktops in sales in the consumer space during 2007, and the gap will likely widen during 2008 -- notebook sales are expected to reach 66% of the overall PC market by 2011.

The numbers show that this forecast is slowly moving into reality as overall retail notebook sales were up 20% during February while revenues from notebooks jumped 11%. In comparison, retail desktop sales slumped by 5% while revenues dropped 2%.

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Corporate Cusomters?
By DASQ on 3/18/2008 1:12:10 PM , Rating: 5
What IT department in their right minds would want to support the MacBook Air?




RE: Corporate Cusomters?
By SectionEight on 3/18/2008 1:17:20 PM , Rating: 5
My guess is that Apple is applying their new guidelines for defining corporate customers: otherwise-unemployed, aspiring artists, musicians, and writers now count as 'corporate consumers'.


RE: Corporate Cusomters?
By AToZKillin on 3/18/2008 3:26:50 PM , Rating: 4
HAHA! Would give you a 6 if I could, but instead I'll give you props. So very true. My aspiring artist cousin just got one. And she is unemployed and also writes! If only she could play music as well, but I opted not to teach her in fear of her becoming too corporate.


RE: Corporate Cusomters?
By OblivionMage on 3/18/2008 3:45:21 PM , Rating: 3
Its worth a six.

*Everyone* I know who is 'apple obsessed' fits very nicely into that category it seems.


RE: Corporate Cusomters?
By JoshuaBuss on 3/18/2008 3:50:46 PM , Rating: 2
it sucks that if i actually got a macbook pro (which i think is a pretty nice machine all things considered) i'd be instantly associated with a group of people i despise.


RE: Corporate Cusomters?
By michael2k on 3/18/2008 4:40:41 PM , Rating: 2
It's always been my view too.

Love the OS, love the hardware, hate the people.

What can you do? I still buy them because it's more important to have the right gear than hang out with the right crowd. I've never been one for elitism.


RE: Corporate Cusomters?
By headbox on 3/18/2008 7:01:01 PM , Rating: 4
So you're saying you love Microsoft people? As if being a Bill Gates fanboi is somehow better? It's too bad that your computing experience is based on stereotypes you don't like, or which fan club you subscribe to.


RE: Corporate Cusomters?
By JoshuaBuss on 3/19/2008 1:37:38 AM , Rating: 2
i've never bought a microsoft product in my life.. and i only use windows when i have to :)


RE: Corporate Cusomters?
By afkrotch on 3/19/2008 5:30:20 AM , Rating: 3
Is there such a thing as "Microsoft ppl?" There's ppl that use Microsoft simply cause that's what their machines had.

Majority of Apple/OSX users know what they are getting and specifically aimed at getting it. I use Windows simply cause I have no other alternatives, due to me playing games that aren't supported under other OS's or play like crap through virtual pc software. Spending $500+ dollars on a video card to get crap framerates is not what I enjoy doing.


RE: Corporate Cusomters?
By msheredy on 3/18/2008 7:49:19 PM , Rating: 3
My God, If you want one just get one. Jeez. Talk about being a sheep.


RE: Corporate Cusomters?
By teng029 on 3/18/2008 9:32:12 PM , Rating: 3
that has to be the dumbest thing i've read today. i've heard all kinds of reasons for not buying a mac, but guilt by association??


RE: Corporate Cusomters?
By joemoedee on 3/19/2008 11:38:10 AM , Rating: 3
quote:
it sucks that if i actually got a macbook pro (which i think is a pretty nice machine all things considered) i'd be instantly associated with a group of people i despise.


<highschoolgirl>

... Like, ohmygod, I was totally going to get one of those macbooks but I saw Katie with one on her myspace and she's just a total skank so I like won't get one of those cause then I'll be just like her and like, ewww, she's gross she totally went out with the whole wrestling team and she like soooo went all the way with like, half of them and she also said all these nasty things about heather on her myspace like cmon heather is sooo much the better person than katie ever could be and she just has to say those things because shes jealous that heather is my bff...

</highschoolgirl>

I'm sorry I couldn't mis-spell enough to be fully believable, but you get the point. I hope.


RE: Corporate Cusomters?
By headbox on 3/18/08, Rating: 0
RE: Corporate Cusomters?
By afkrotch on 3/19/2008 5:36:15 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
"We believe a new set of corporate customers make up a meaningful portion of MacBook Air buyers."


How much of that has been made on a MacBook Air?

Reading comprehension. It's a wonderful thing.


RE: Corporate Cusomters?
By wordsworm on 3/18/2008 11:26:51 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
My guess is that Apple is applying their new guidelines for defining corporate customers: otherwise-unemployed, aspiring artists, musicians, and writers now count as 'corporate consumers'.


Obviously you've never been in journalism, any kind of publishing, or even a digital music studio. If you had, you'd realize that Apple has dominated this field for a long time, and it's only in the last few years that PC has actually been able to compete.

Anyways, so what if some unemployed aspiring artists like Macs? Are you jealous that JK Rowling now makes more in the time it takes to sneeze and say 'bless-you' than you do in a year? Damned unemployed artists becoming billionaires is your real problem. Admit it.

The only reason the only people you know who use Macs are unemployed artists is because the ones that are employed won't hang out with you or let you go to their parties.

Most artists want to think about the art, not running a computer and viruses. This is why Apple has always dominated this market.


RE: Corporate Cusomters?
By darkpaw on 3/19/2008 9:26:35 AM , Rating: 3
What is there, like one successful artist for every ten thousand or so thats either leaching off society or their parents?


RE: Corporate Cusomters?
By michael2k on 3/18/08, Rating: 0
RE: Corporate Cusomters?
By jajig on 3/18/2008 1:38:31 PM , Rating: 4
Users will call up saying they want to burn a DVD but can't find the DVD drive.

If my company give someone a laptop without a DVD drive it's the end of the world.


RE: Corporate Cusomters?
By bhieb on 3/18/2008 1:41:52 PM , Rating: 2
Oh and don't forget the ethernet, I suppose I need to be sure I have 100% wireless coverage throught the buildings now. Any other laptop can just jack right into any IP phone in the building and be on in seconds (providing they have the correct access).


RE: Corporate Cusomters?
By bhieb on 3/18/2008 1:39:36 PM , Rating: 5
Your joking right. Try running some custom excel sheets with lots of VBA in Mac Office 2008 and get back with me. And if you don't think most companies have lots of those types of spreadsheets your mistaken. Oh yeah dual boot I guess, but you know how we IT admins love supporting different crap just so you can have that "warm and tingly" feeling working on a mac.


RE: Corporate Cusomters?
By Xodus Maximus on 3/18/2008 2:59:21 PM , Rating: 5
quote:
"warm and tingly" feeling working on a mac


I've never had such a feeling working on a Mac...
Are you sure its not just an electrical short inside the Mac Air that causing it.

Im just saying, sweaty hands, aluminum cover, do the math :p


RE: Corporate Cusomters?
By schuft on 3/19/2008 12:43:06 AM , Rating: 1
Don't blame Apple for that. Microsoft decided to stop supporting VBA on Office 2008; one reason I will not upgrade to the new version. As an old unix programmer, and having programmed on both Windows and Mac platforms, I can honestly say that the Mac is a better machine. I cannot think of anything more convoluted than MS's .NET framework. The Mac just handles memory so much better and more easily. I can only rationalize MS's decision to drop VBA on the Mac OS simply as a petty ploy to hinder "corporate types" from switching to a superior product. I will admit that I recently bought a new MacBook Pro, passing on the MacBook Air because of the lack of power and self contained peripherals, but for people who do not need a full machine, and who get off on the "cool" factor, I think it is fine. And I am certainly not someone who has to have the newest toy. Furthermore, with my new laptop, I can run the few Windows products that I just cannot get away from. BTW, I built my Windows desktop, yet still prefer to use my Mac for everyday use.


RE: Corporate Cusomters?
By Pirks on 3/19/08, Rating: -1
RE: Corporate Cusomters?
By Raidin on 3/19/2008 11:33:26 AM , Rating: 2
I logged in just to rate you up and say this...

quote:
It's a F#CKING DOUBLE-MAYBACH OF THE 17" NOTEBOOKS!!


Should become a quote of the day.


RE: Corporate Cusomters?
By DASQ on 3/18/2008 1:58:10 PM , Rating: 2
"Where's my UBS ports?!"

"I broke the little flip-down door when I violently shoved it into my bag while stuff was still connected to it. How do I stick it back on?"


RE: Corporate Cusomters?
By callmeroy on 3/18/2008 3:59:44 PM , Rating: 2
Aside from the valid points already mentioned, I also think an issue would have to do with MacBook Air being so darn fragile as well as to why it wouldn't be a good choice for corporate deployment.

If you can't understand that fact right off the bat my immediate guess is you've never been responsible for supporting a large remote user base before.


RE: Corporate Cusomters?
By BZDTemp on 3/18/2008 1:43:06 PM , Rating: 2
TDC - a mid-size European telephone operator - has gone all Apple for their laptops. However it is only on the hardware side as they use the a Windows machines so that is properly why Apple has not been bragging about it :-)


RE: Corporate Cusomters?
By UNCjigga on 3/18/2008 3:38:26 PM , Rating: 3
You could argue that limited number of ports and no optical media means less headaches for IT to deal with. I guess it cuts down on people trying to run unsupported software/hardware? Also, lack of ethernet means they don't have to deal with network issues! :)


RE: Corporate Cusomters?
By afkrotch on 3/19/2008 5:46:29 AM , Rating: 2
Or could also add-in more headaches with usb hubs, usb ethernet, and external devices. Some of which I'm sure will become lost, stolen, or damaged.

Nothing like having a nice, small, fancy laptop with 50 different things hanging off of it.


RE: Corporate Cusomters?
By krag on 3/19/2008 12:15:22 PM , Rating: 1
I'm not going to take the cheap shot at your mis-spelling of "customers"...

OS X in general: "The attackes used against OS X are designed for Windows-based machines, so they shrug them off." Lt. Col. Wallington, US Army Data Center


Overpriced
By SectionEight on 3/18/2008 1:14:57 PM , Rating: 5
So Apple got a quarter of the money spent on PCs in February, yet that only netted them 14% of the units shipped. In other terms, all other PC makers got 75% of the money spent, yet shipped 86% of the total units.

Where are all the people defending Macs as not being overpriced now?




RE: Overpriced
By michael2k on 3/18/08, Rating: -1
RE: Overpriced
By SanLC504 on 3/18/2008 1:52:47 PM , Rating: 4
No, he's assuming that Apple sells laptops, as do other computer manufacturers. This survey isn't "All laptops with processors over 2.2 GHz, built-in wireless, and 14" or greater screens." It's ALL laptops, period. Guess what, Apple has a larger profit margin on their laptops because, get this, they actually sell their laptops at a greater profit than Windows-based laptops. Perhaps it's the "elitists" that want a Mac product because Steve Jobs has personally licked every Macbook case.

However, when was the last time you saw a new Macbook on sale using a coupon code? They don't, because they consider themselves a "top-end" manufacturer. Equivalence has nothing to do with it, it's about profit margins. Since Apple produces their own OS for their products, and NO ONE ELSE can utilize that OS (legally, of course), then they automatically get a leg up with reduced software licensing fees. But I bet Steve Jobs isn't passing those savings on to you. Just a guess.


RE: Overpriced
By michael2k on 3/18/2008 2:21:32 PM , Rating: 2
No he's not because Apple doesn't have budget laptops, gaming laptops, "large and heavy" laptops, nor "desktop replacement" laptops.

So the comparison between Apple and "other computer manufacturers" by necessity is comparing unlike to like, and I am saying that this initial condition is what causes the numbers to skew, financially, in Apple's favor.

You dismiss this, but the effect is real. By not making a budget laptop, Apple defaults to a higher profit margin. By not making a "cheap" laptop, Apple defaults to a higher profit margin. This is basic statistics; no accusation of "overpriced" is necessary.

If you compare like to like and still find that Apple is overpriced, then you can claim that Macs are overpriced, but as long as you compare like to unlike it is hard to argue overpriced. Again I throw in the example of the Lenovo X300; specced similarly, it is similarly priced, though the X300 has the advantage of optical drives and more ports for lower CPU.


RE: Overpriced
By jlips6 on 3/18/2008 9:08:04 PM , Rating: 2
If apple could, they would probably try to make a gaming laptop. It's not that they don't it's that they can't. (Gaming deficiency, hello?)

Desktop replacement? Being such a supporter of all apple products, you know about the macbook pro, right? They just don't call it a "desktop replacement", and they offer stationary moniters for every laptop they sell. Does this sound like a desktop replacement to you? If not, you need a little more schooling on what those are.

Large and heavy laptops, (I am assuming you are reffering to over 17" laptops.) Do not constitute enough of a percentage of laptop sales to actually make a difference in profit margin of all laptops. You should not include these.

Apple does not sell budget laptops, you are correct. There cheapest laptop is $1099, and cannot be compared to any budget laptop. Or can it? A quick check reveals you can get a dell inspiron with a larger screen (14.1 in as opposed to 13 in)and a faster processor (2.4 ghz as opposed to 2.1 ghz) with all equal other specifications for $974. I could not find the graphics card specifications for the mac however, so I must assume that they are 128 Mb or below. (they would advertise otherwise.) the dell's graphics card is 128mb. So while apple doesn't sell any laptops as budget laptops, you will find that they're lowest product is equal to a budget laptop, it's just they make it more expensive.

Apple has these things, they just sell them without all the names you place them under. (With the exception of gaming.) Hence, YES, APPLE DOES HAVE A HIGHER PROFIT MARGIN!!!!!


RE: Overpriced
By michael2k on 3/19/2008 11:49:28 AM , Rating: 2
Desktop replacement laptops use desktop CPUs; in a reversal, Apple uses laptop CPUs in their desktop iMacs.

The distinction is made clearer if we look at weight and dimensions
MacBook Air, 3lb
MacBook, 5.2lb (1.08x12.78x8.92)
MacBook Pro 15", 5.4lb (1.02x14.1×9.6)
MacBook Pro 17", 6.8lb

Then look at the Dell Inspiron models that are cheaper than Apple's in order to see why Apple's margins are higher:
Inspiron 1420 5.39lb (1.53x13.13x9.61)
Inspiron 1520, 6.4lb
Inspiron 1720, 7.62lb

The closest in match is the MacBook to the Inspiron 1420, by weight, but if you include dimensions the 1420 is actually nearly the same size as the MacBook Pro 15"

So here is, again, my thesis: Dell (and other similar PC manufacturers) have lower margins because they have an entire second set of laptops that they sell for cheaper than Apple's only lineup, and these are cheaper because they are larger and heavier. If you compare like to like, you would be comparing Dell's XPS systems which probably have similar margins to Apple's lineup.

Some simple math: If Dell's cheaper Inspiron lineup sells 2x as many as their XPS lineup, then you get the skew without any "overpriced" arguments.
66% at 15% margin + 33% at 25% margin = Dell total margin of 18.25%
100% at 25% margin = Apple's total margin of 25%


RE: Overpriced
By jlips6 on 3/18/2008 9:33:33 PM , Rating: 2
Oh, and bending categories so that it justifies a higher profit margin is not a valid argument. Apple has a higher profit margin because it charges more for the same product. End of story.


RE: Overpriced
By Pirks on 3/18/2008 10:10:31 PM , Rating: 2
Yeah, and Lexus charges more for the same car with four wheels as much cheaper Chevy.

Look, how can the Lexus bastards charge TRIPLE the price of Chevy if this damn overpriced Lexus also has EXACTLY THE SAME FOUR WHEELS! Blood suckers! Vampires! Evil capitalists, scoundrels and profiteers, where's your goddamn honesty???

F#cking leather seat lovers. I'll never buy your overpriced Lexus crap. End of story.


RE: Overpriced
By jlips6 on 3/18/2008 10:23:54 PM , Rating: 3
uh... did I miss some post that explains why we're now talking about lexus's? (what's the plural for luxus? lexi?)


RE: Overpriced
By Pirks on 3/18/2008 11:45:05 PM , Rating: 1
Yeah, you missed it in your early childhood. That post you missed said the following: "learn to understand analogy"


RE: Overpriced
By afkrotch on 3/19/2008 5:59:50 AM , Rating: 1
Maybe if the analogy fell under the same lines. Like a Lexus to a comparable Chevy. Pretty bad analogy if you compare a decked out Lexus ES to a Chevy Aveo.

A better analogy is like comparing a Ford to a Chevy. The Ford is all standard, but lacks a back seat and rear view mirror. Ford manufactures their own engines, so production costs are lower. The Chevy is standard, has a back seat and a rear view mirror. Chevy has to license an engine from Toyota to use with their vehicles. So production costs are higher, than if they could manufacture the engines.

All in all, the Ford ends up costing more, even though they lacks items and have lower production costs than Chevy.

There, better analogy for ya.


RE: Overpriced
By jlips6 on 3/19/2008 4:53:24 PM , Rating: 2
yeah, I actually did catch that post. That's why I'm having a little trouble here. I think you might have missed the post on what an analogy is. You were stressing lexus charging 3 times more for "the same 4 wheels." than Chevy. Since this in no possible way related to the computers which we were talking about I had to assume you were just talking about cars. Since you also gave no other explanation as to what other comparisons there may be, and were just ranting about the evil capitalists, I kind of assumed you were confused/crazy/both. My bad, I guess I'll try to obscurely connect whatever you're talking about to the subject so you can call it an analogy.


RE: Overpriced
By Pirks on 3/19/08, Rating: 0
RE: Overpriced
By jlips6 on 3/19/2008 5:47:30 PM , Rating: 3
alright, here's the connection. is this what you were trying to say?

Apples charges 3x more for their laptops than a similar brand,(insert favorite brand here.) The product is the same except for leather seats (insert small computer benefit here) except it costs 3 times more. Wow. inaccurate on both parts with no extra connections.

Does that work as an analogy for anyone unless they deliberatly block out all those enormous flaws? No. Even after the blocking it's extremely spotty. Better luck next time.


RE: Overpriced
By Pirks on 3/19/08, Rating: 0
RE: Overpriced
By Vanners on 3/18/2008 10:39:35 PM , Rating: 2
Hey! I just got this reeeeally cool laptop. $600 and light as a feather! Of course it has no DVD, HDD, CPU... actually, it's just the case. but man! is it light!

P.S. it would be 17" if it had a screen!


RE: Overpriced
By Brandon Hill (blog) on 3/18/2008 3:26:56 PM , Rating: 4
quote:
However, when was the last time you saw a new Macbook on sale using a coupon code?

Not exactly a coupon code, but MacMall is offering rebates of $75 to $100 on all Penryn-based MacBooks and $150 on all Penryn-based MacBook Pros.


RE: Overpriced
By Omega215D on 3/18/2008 10:11:11 PM , Rating: 2
I know that Apple offers student discounts on all their computers. I managed to get an employee discount on my MacBook bringing it to less than $950.

The cool thing about MacBooks are the fact that they maintain the same thickness all around instead of having a thin front and then gets thicker as you move back. For the MacBook Pro they got a 8600M GT, fast processor and plenty of RAM in a space that is 1" thick. Another thing I find to be nice is the MagSafe power plug which is pretty compact.


RE: Overpriced
By JoshuaBuss on 3/18/08, Rating: 0
RE: Overpriced
By michael2k on 3/18/2008 3:58:26 PM , Rating: 4
You are not correct; a 1.6GHz MacBook Air with 64GB SSD is only $2,798 while a Lenovo X300, base, is $2,902. Throwing in the SuperDrive and Ethernet dongle still only pushes the MacBook Air to $2,962.


RE: Overpriced
By JoshuaBuss on 3/19/2008 1:43:34 AM , Rating: 2
I still see $2,600 for the x300, and when I heard about macbook air with ssd it was $3,000. guess they've already adjusted and lenovo's main site only has a sale price of $2,866 now. oof


RE: Overpriced
By michael2k on 3/19/2008 11:52:55 AM , Rating: 2
Where do you see a $2,600 X300? Lenovo's website lists a 1GB model for $2,866 with XP, the cheapest variant I can find.


RE: Overpriced
By krag on 3/19/2008 2:10:28 PM , Rating: 2
Historically Macs were not more expensive if you compare apples to apples (pardon the use of apple) because PCs came with crappy video cards, etc, I know because I had a PC and my brother a Mac. I had to upgrade my video card (which put my PC cost close to my brothers Mac) to play a popular game at the time, he was able to play it on his Mac no problemo. Over time PC makers changed partly because of the $BIL in computer games, so now PCs have higher quality graphics and are still priced better than Macs... I switched to Mac after all the viruses started showing up in emails, and even if you visit a web page!!! Customer Satisfaction OSX 81%, XP home 53%, XP Pro 51%, Vista Premium 27%, Vista Basic 15% -- Changewave Research


14% of WHAT market?
By seaker on 3/18/08, Rating: 0
RE: 14% of WHAT market?
By jamdunc on 3/18/2008 12:53:00 PM , Rating: 2
The story says 14% of the US Market in February. In fact the title says that (unless they edited the article after your post).

Also it doesn't say Apple will get 66% share by 2011. It says that Notebooks will have 66% share of the PC market overtaking Desktops. And that is including every manufacturer, not just Apple.

A couple of extra minutes reading might help in the future.


RE: 14% of WHAT market?
By tmouse on 3/18/2008 3:17:22 PM , Rating: 3
quote:
A couple of extra minutes reading might help in the future


Maybe they changed the article but the current story says Apple had 14% of the SALES in February in the US market. This is NOT the same as Apple reached 14% of the US Market in February. It’s a completely misleading Title.


RE: 14% of WHAT market?
By Sazar on 3/18/2008 4:59:19 PM , Rating: 2
It's the RETAIL market. It does not include online sales.

HP, Dell and ACER still have much higher market shares all around.


RE: 14% of WHAT market?
By FITCamaro on 3/18/2008 12:53:03 PM , Rating: 2
They didn't mean Macs. They meant total notebook sales vs. total desktop sales. Macs and PCs.


RE: 14% of WHAT market?
By Scott66 on 3/18/2008 12:54:12 PM , Rating: 2
If I read your comment correctly, you misread what the 66% marketshare. It is that 66% of computer sales are to be notebooks in general, by 2011,NOT Apple with 66% Market share.

But I could see by then, Apple Notebooks being 1 out of every 5 sold.


RE: 14% of WHAT market?
By MadMaster on 3/18/08, Rating: -1
RE: 14% of WHAT market?
By FITCamaro on 3/18/2008 1:09:11 PM , Rating: 5
Macs are built on Unix. Not Linux. And viruses will always be around regardless of how secure a browser is.


RE: 14% of WHAT market?
By stonemetal on 3/18/2008 1:37:41 PM , Rating: 2
Nope Macs are built on the Mach micro kernel and Freebsd userland. It has nothing to do with Linux.


RE: 14% of WHAT market?
By Polynikes on 3/18/2008 12:55:26 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
...notebook sales are expected to reach 66% of the overall PC market by 2011.

It doesn't say Apple notebooks, just notebooks in general.


Worldwide?
By daftrok on 3/18/2008 12:39:20 PM , Rating: 3
That's all well and good in the US but what are the world figures? And how many Macbook Air's have actually been sold?




RE: Worldwide?
By FITCamaro on 3/18/2008 12:58:24 PM , Rating: 2
Honestly I don't see how the Air is selling at all. Mainly due to a lack of DVD drive. I mean I just can't see the world where you never have to install anything, never play a DVD, and never want to burn a DVD or CD. And spending the nearly $2000 required to buy an Air just for web surfing and document writing? Hell no.

Sure you can buy an Apple external drive but thats just another added cost. Then add no built in ethernet to boot and having to buy the USB dongle.

If Dell had released an identical notebook first with Windows they'd have been blasted for it.


RE: Worldwide?
By Master Kenobi (blog) on 3/18/2008 1:08:46 PM , Rating: 5
Apple is a media darling, they're exempt, much like Google.


RE: Worldwide?
By killerroach on 3/19/2008 9:21:29 AM , Rating: 2
Keep in mind that journalists are pretty big Apple users... which may explain the MacBook Air sales right there.

There is a market for it worldwide, however, as some people value portability a lot more than somebody like myself would. There are a lot of ultraportables in Japan, for instance. Granted, Japan has been a market that Apple has always had trouble cracking, but that could be a sign of things to come for the demand of those sorts of mobile devices.


RE: Worldwide?
By eyebeeemmpawn on 3/18/2008 2:22:32 PM , Rating: 3
hey, the emperor needs new clothes every once in a while.


RE: Worldwide?
By wien on 3/19/2008 7:10:45 AM , Rating: 2
Is it really that damn hard to imagine that some people have requirements that differ from your own? I've never used the DVD-drive in my laptop. Ever. It's dead weight. The Air would be perfect for my needs (though I don't have one).

Also, with the Air you have the ability to use the drive of your stationary computer across the network should you suddenly find yourself in need of one. No need to buy an external drive.


RE: Worldwide?
By kelmon on 3/19/2008 9:18:25 AM , Rating: 2
Absolutely correct. It might be a bit early to remove the optical drive but I honestly don't see its use these days and I haven't seen anyone use one at work now for years. The only thing that you need one for is installing the OS, although that can be done over the network, and I'm hoping they'll start distributing it on a flash memory stick in the future. The optical drive is almost never used and takes up space that could be better used for other purposes.

Basically, if you need an optical drive then that's fine, but don't assume that everyone else does since that's bunk. It's going to go away pretty soon so you might as well get used to the idea now.


RE: Worldwide?
By retrospooty on 3/18/08, Rating: -1
RE: Worldwide?
By retrospooty on 3/18/08, Rating: 0
Love hate relationship
By geekbyte on 3/18/2008 1:48:34 PM , Rating: 2
I dont understand why ppl hate MAC and hate PC that much. who cares who wins or has more sales. PC has its moments and so does Apple. I think Apples are great, never had a problem, OS is rock solid. THe computers are build super strong, never had a problem. Now you can say that you can get more software for PC, this is true. But as for Macs go i have just the same amount of software on my mac then my PC. Now yes you can get cracked versions of software, but if you look around the net, you can find just as many cracked for mac. PC i have had lots of problems, Vista does not work at points and the whole world is waiting for an update to fix them, as did the world wait for XP with SP2. With PC's its a waiting game, Apples work right out of the box. Now Yes PC is cheaper. That is a given, you have how many different companies making PC's, Dell, HP, Asus, ..... Etc. Apple is just Apple, so if they have to charge more to make a profit good for them, they sell so it works. I had a Dell laptop and it had to be sent in 3 times, and a HP that is going in because some buttons stick and dont work. My apple gets taken with me all over the place and never had to get anything worked on. As for pricing, Apple you can get low end for $1000 and $1300 for a good Laptop. $599 for a cheap crap laptop for PC from Dell and $1000 for a good and for a gaming system $1500+, even the macbook pro is $1700. Thats not that much more then any pc laptop. Desktop computers, PC has the upper hand in all pricing. I currently sold all my PC's and just dual boot my mac with windows, and it run a lot faster then my PC did with windows. Just bugs me when ppl complain about Apples and apples fan boys complain about PC. Its a love hate relation ship.




RE: Love hate relationship
By JoshuaBuss on 3/18/2008 3:56:14 PM , Rating: 3
i don't think most people hate apple computers as much as they hate the typical apple user or even worse, an apple FANBOY.

the problem is the higher price and marketing techniques apple has started using in the past 6 years or so have led to them appealing to generally snobbier people.


RE: Love hate relationship
By CU on 3/18/2008 4:01:26 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
Apples work right out of the box


Not really. The calculator didn't even work correctly up until version 10.3.something. When they changed the way find worked in 10.4 (I think), I could could create files in the terminal.app that it could not always find correctly. After that I no longer trusted their calculator or their find. I used XP's/KDE's calculator on a PC next to me and used the bsd find command in the terminal.app to find files. I am glad to not be using OSX any more. These were just to basic/simple of operations to have been broken.


RE: Love hate relationship
By clnee55 on 3/18/2008 6:01:46 PM , Rating: 2
I bet that most of people who hate Mac don't own a Mac and people who hate PC don't own a PC, either. They are obsessed with love hate syndrome.


RE: Love hate relationship
By jlips6 on 3/18/2008 10:33:52 PM , Rating: 3
let me get this down as straight as I can. I own both a mac and a windows computer. I like windows more because it's more to my taste. that's just me.

Why I don't like apple: they market their product as being ridiculously superior and give PC's flaws they don't often have and make claims about their own system that aren't true and make it seem better. Most companies do this, but this is especially annoying to me, as i am a technogeek.

Basically, I don't like apple because they spread so much crap, and windows users often get angry when people believe it and try to argue. There.

Does anyone remember mac 9.4? that os was amazing. Much better than their current version I believe. And the G4? It was a great computer if only because it was so modifiable. The iPod? unparraleled as an mp3 player. Apple has good products and things, it's their advertisements and claims that spur the hate.


RE: Love hate relationship
By 777 on 3/18/2008 9:13:30 PM , Rating: 1
Excellent points, and right on too! Who cares about which computer you use, if some like Apple as I prefer great, if others prefer the PC then good for them. I can say from my personal exp. I have owned 3 mac's and for the years that I have owned them I have never had a problem with them. Some of the PC's I have used and owned, I can't say the same, at times my computer exp with PC's sucked! Having said that though I have used a couple PC's that worked great, I just believe one needs to practice safe computing or the computer can get mucked up and then work like SHI_!

Also, I hear ten times the amount of complaints from every friend, relative or co-worker about PC's they own or use. Of the people I know who own Mac's and that list continues to grow I can't recall ever hearing a complaint from them or having some major issue with their Mac.

As to PC's being cheaper, true but compare the spec's and 9 times out of 10, it can cost the same and more to get what you get in a product like the Macbook Pro vs PC laptop.


RE: Love hate relationship
By Pirks on 3/19/2008 1:14:42 AM , Rating: 1
quote:
compare the spec's and 9 times out of 10, it can cost the same and more to get what you get in a product like the Macbook Pro vs PC laptop
Very true. Anyone can double check this if the don't believe. Just go to http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8... and compare it to the similarly configured MacBook 2.4 GHz. You'll find that MacBook has faster CPU, better DVD and better ethernet, while being just $90 more expensive. Now where are all these "Macs are overpriced" bullsh1t spewing idiots? Care to prove your point? I think they are just downrating cowards, they hate the fact that they can't prove the opposite and they just vent their frustration and rage in downrating me. Poor little Wintel suckers :D


RE: Love hate relationship
By afkrotch on 3/19/2008 6:22:39 AM , Rating: 2
My problem is simply to build your own system. Not everyone wants a system spoon-fed to them. I can build a similiar equipped system and transfer my old OS onto it. Not to mention transfer old hardware to the new hardware. I don't want to be charged again for something I already own.

There's also lack of support for majority of devices. Granted, this isn't an Apple issue. It's an issue with those developing the devices.

For those non-system builders, get whatever you feel like. I don't care. Just don't spout out why X is better than Y, yet don't even understand everything about X and Y.


Won't continue to grow.
By pauldovi on 3/18/2008 1:52:50 PM , Rating: 2
Apple fits into a niche market with their hip and expensive productions. Don't expect them to do much more gaining on the more sensibly priced PC companies.




RE: Won't continue to grow.
By michael2k on 3/18/2008 4:37:19 PM , Rating: 2
Apple isn't competing with sensibly priced PCs. Apple is competing with high priced PCs, such as the Lenovo X300 (which is more expensive), the Gateway One, the Dell XPS One, and the Dell/HP/Lenovo Workstations. Their laptops compete against the Dell XPS laptops.

In those markets (with similar designs, PCs, and components) Apple is price competitive and should continue to gain marketshare.


RE: Won't continue to grow.
By pauldovi on 3/19/2008 4:12:10 AM , Rating: 2
The X300 costs less than the air. It has a lot more features too.


RE: Won't continue to grow.
By Pirks on 3/19/08, Rating: 0
RE: Won't continue to grow.
By Pirks on 3/19/08, Rating: -1
RE: Won't continue to grow.
By afkrotch on 3/19/2008 6:45:42 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
That's pretty funny Wintel fanboy bullsh1t, watch it being flushed down the bowl right now.

Here's how I do this:

1) Go to lenovo.com, check the price, X300 starts with $2866, now go to apple.com, check the price - macbook air starts from $1800 - A THOUSAND DOLLARS CHEAPER than X300. Who's overpriced now, Mr. Wintel Fanboy? Like the taste of your own medicine? :P

2) Check number two - go to lenovo.com, configure X300 so that it's more or less similar to MBA - add 1 gig of RAM and choose proper Vista version - LOOK MA, X300 is $3055 now... cheaper? yeah, 45 bucks cheaper BUT... watch my hands... MBA has 802.11n, while X300 has 802.11g!

There you go. Puny 1.2 GHz CPU in X300 is a joke compared to 1.8 GHz in MBA, so looks like X300 is only going to be bought by idiots. Who in their sane mind would pay three thousand bucks for an ultraportable with 1.2 GHz CPU when next to it lies another one for the same price but with 1.8 GHz CPU? Well, unless you want that internal Verizon CDMA modem in X300 - that's the only advantage it has over MBA... but... watch my hands again... in this case MBA is ONE HUNDRED BUCKS _CHEAPER_ than X300 with CDMA.

Sorry, just had to burst your fanatical bubble here ;-)


That's pretty funny Mac fanboy bullsh1t, watch it being flushed down the bowl right now.

Configure Macbook air with 64 gig SSD to match the X300. Viola! It costs more.

Dumbass.


RE: Won't continue to grow.
By Pirks on 3/19/08, Rating: -1
RE: Won't continue to grow.
By kelmon on 3/19/2008 9:24:55 AM , Rating: 2
As a general rule it helps to do some research before posting a comment like that. It is true that the X300 has things like the optical drive and more ports but then the Air is a higher performing system. Surely performance is a desirable feature?


RE: Won't continue to grow.
By jlips6 on 3/18/2008 10:40:49 PM , Rating: 2
but what about companies like alienware and voodoo? (not such a fan of voodoo myself.)

On a completely different but somewhat related topic have you seen alienware's new computer? So kick-ass.(laptop with custom lighting in the keyboard. just. plain. awesome.)


RE: Won't continue to grow.
By kelmon on 3/19/2008 9:26:49 AM , Rating: 2
"The Fast & The Furious" has a lot to answer for...


Good time to buy stock.
By Mitch101 on 3/18/2008 12:38:51 PM , Rating: 3
Now is a good time to buy stock in Turtle neck clothing lines.




RE: Good time to buy stock.
By UppityMatt on 3/18/2008 12:50:16 PM , Rating: 3
And to invest in Starbucks. All these new Mac Owner's will need to start on their novels.


RE: Good time to buy stock.
By almared on 3/18/2008 4:35:32 PM , Rating: 2
haha true, very true


hmm
By LumbergTech on 3/18/2008 1:26:13 PM , Rating: 2
the snob effect is in full force....now if only we can get everyone to buy the itoaster ivibrator and iunderwear our plans of world domination will be complete




RE: hmm
By rdeegvainl on 3/18/2008 2:05:52 PM , Rating: 2
RE: hmm
By habibo on 3/18/2008 6:36:43 PM , Rating: 2
So THAT's what Steve Jobs has up his ass at MacWorld...


RE: hmm
By INeedCache on 3/19/2008 4:39:00 AM , Rating: 2
Don't forget the much needed accessory for the MacBook Air - the iHub. For just $99, you get a basic 4 port USB hub inside a glitzy silver package with the Apple logo prominently displayed.


What are the REAL totals?
By Parhel on 3/18/2008 1:24:58 PM , Rating: 5