[PCWorld]

Post your comments for Cheaper Mac Laptops Expected here

[myeke]

cheaper equals more access, if apple is truely better, not just an elitist status tool, it should flourish.

[langtree]

Don't hold your breath,for a cheaper Apple.

[xiromisho]

Cheaper also means less profits - unless it's the sacrifice of quality - in which case there are loads of profits.
for example, Netbooks are very popular, but they are generally 1 and 1/2 pieces of garbage with the word "PC" slapped vaguely on them. The original idea of the EePC has been perverted to the point where it's just disgusting... why? Honestly, Consumers. To sell more netbooks the manufacturers got scared... very scared, something had changed - LINUX was the basic OS here, and they were afraid people wouldn't want an incompatible notebook running linux... I mean, with linux your average person can only get online, browse webpages, maybe type up a document in open office, and then maybe print it out... with Windows XP Home they have all the options to do everything else! Like run MS Office... and AIM! And Tool bars, and... wait were done, blue screen - too much for the lil' fellow to handle...
The general public destroyed the form factor, asking for more space (the 160GB Acer one book runs at least 10x slower than the HP with 8GB SSD), then asking for Windows... these were NOT designed with Windows in mind, in the least... they cannot run complex applications...
I spent an hour... AN HOUR attempting to convince someone that for their Java programming class a netbook was a bad idea... He bough it anyway - 7 days later he comes in complaining it's slow... I wanted to jam the thing down his throat.
The price tag is great, but the problem is that the industry doesn't want to clue the public in on the differences between netbook and notebook.
Acer is probably right, 1 in 4 portable PC's will be netbooks - how many are returned within the first 30 days though? That's a metric I'd like to see factored in.

[Northlite]

I would think configurations would have to be lower to match the price or people who have bought the more expensive models may feel cheated because they paid more for the same thing?

[jthunder696]

NIET !!! NOT TRUE.... SPREADING RUMORS...... !

[jinx101]

Apple is more controlling than even Microsoft.. why would I want to pay a $999 for a netbook from them when I can get another netbook for $250-300. You pay for the Apple brand. The whole "it's easier to use" stuff is a falsehood... how hard is it to use any OS... for the basic computing needs that most of us need they're all pretty much the same (click to start a program and then use said program).

[jinx101]

@Northlite:

@ people feeling cheated... I mean, that's how the electronics market works. You buy something today and it gets cheaper over time. Of course, we have to consider the Mac users fragile ego since that is their core market.

[yankeeDDL]

I think it's too early to make any call on this.
Reason: there are 2 ways to make cheaper computers:
1) You use cheaper (i.e.: less powerful) components.
2) You reduce your margins.
If the choice goes to #1, then it'll be a hard sell, I think: today you can already out-perform in HW any Mac. The advantages of Macs are in software, reliability, usability. It's in the Total Cost of Ownership. Will a cheaper Mac actually increase the TCO? (e.g.: fragile, less software pre-installed ...). We can only wait and see.
If they go with #2, then they may actually stand a very good chance to increase their market share. Mac's specs get obsoleted even before they launch, and yet, since the use near top-of-the line components they're very pricey.
Perhaps the best would be if they start using solid CPU and GPU that offer a high price/performance ratio, rather than trying to go high-end. Time will tell.
One thing is for sure though: more choices for the users is always a good thing. So no matter what happens, "we" can't loose :)

[dreamerof]

1) Apple does not sell a netbook.

2) Big differences in features and capabilties of a laptop versus a netbook.

[dreamerof]

jinx101
1) Apple does not sell a netbook.
2) Big differences in the feature set and capabilities of a notebook versus a netbook.

[waldojim]

You know, I am tired of hearing about how 'limited' Linux is. I can play my games on Linux, I can browse the internet, edit my Word documents, and prety much do anything I want to. All without ever wondering; Is my firewall working? Is my antivirus up to date? How much longer til it crashes? etc.

Those are the very SAME strenghts that Mac pushes, yet you don't hear people complaining 'But I can't use xxx application on a Mac'. Now why is that? They are both Posix compliant *nix OS's with the SAME weaknesses. CAN you get MS office on a MAC, yep. And with minimal effort, you can do so on a Linux box.

/rant

Now then, on to the netbook issue.

You are VERY right, all Acer did was pervert what Asus had created with the EeePC. The Eee was a surprisingly nimble netbook running an OS designed for the prupose of being able to get your emails anywhere, and view an occasional document. Editing them is kind of hard with the cramped keyboard, but still possible.

But they were never meant to be a desktop replacement, or a notebook replacement. I don't want to see more competiton with Windows on it, or 160GB hard drives, or any other crap for that matter. They are supposed to start within seconds so you can just hop onto your email and be done, not take 2-5 minutes to start. And yes, a 1.6ghz atom with XP and your firewall and AV and other crap starting can easily hit 5 minutes.

I will be happy to see Mac try for that market, and am curious how they approach it. Hopefully with solid hardware desinged to compete with Asus NOT Acer.

[NoSmokingBandit]

Even if apple does lower their prices they are bound to lower the hardware power so much that theres no point. They have ridiculously huge profit margins on their hardware and they arent going to give that up when the apple zealots will buy anything with the logo on it, regardless of price.

[TechieXP]

Yeah you're right. However I find it amazing that anyone would expect a Netbook would be as powerful as a notebook. Look at its name...NET is very important. And if it cost 399 or 499 ir is obvious the MFR had to sacrifice something to get the price that low. People don't think, or read...they just buy.

MFR shouldn't have to explain every lil detail. They explained enough. All they have to do is read before they buy.

You should have taken the dude netbook and made a sandwich for him with it. He probably wouldn't have noticed.

[yankeeDDL]

You may be right, but you (or I) don;t really know what will happen.

I seriously doubt they'll ever target the netbook market: doesn't seem realistic to me to expect that. But they could do 2 things:

a) lower their margins on entry-level items. Perhaps coming up with a $600 laptop.
b) come up with a "previous gen" class, where the laptops (or PCs) that today sell for $999 are sold for $600. They will have $0 design cost and as the HW gets cheaper, they may be able to actually keep a decent margin (decent = huge, but acceptable for their standard).

I never bought a Mac as I don't care for the style and want the best bang for the bucks, but if they sold today's MacBooks at $600 I would give them some thougts.

[TechieXP]

1.) you don't have to use cheaper components. Proof? I can build a PC using teh same branded components and buy better ones and still pay less. I am not sure who makes the NIC or Bluetooth in Macs. But lets just say for argument Macs use Broadcom. I Can still build a system using Linksys NIC and have a total wireless network for less using Windows. More proof? Price how much Apple charges you for those Nvidia cards, and then price them online at what you can get them for.

Apple buys components by the millions. Yet I can get better prices then they do? I paid $80 for a faster better video card then the Macs come with. It is 750mhz...the ram runs at 2200mhz and it has DDR4. Even in a dual crossfire configuration I paid less then a single video card inside the Mac. And what about the cpu? I don't need a Xeon as there are comparible Quads that are better. I already posted a chart that shows the latest i7 CPU and the Xeon in side the Macs which are built on the same platform, the i7 performs better and it cost less. A single Quadcore i7 was faster then Dual Xeons inside the Mac. And the case? Pretty...nothing more. I bought a quiet case too. I use Thermaltake...sure it isn't fancy, but it blends well. ThermalTake would awards for having the best casings for elimination heat. I paid $250 for mine...even with that high case cost for a full tower and all my componenets I still spend less then a comparable Mac using the same hardware. Which Apple charging more for parts...and then adding more cost because they put it together for you...is why they make so much profits. The Macs don't cost $3000 if I built it...the cost is about 1/2...which means all the rest is profit. That why if Apple sells 2 million Macs...its like selling 4 million because each single sale cost as much as 2 separate machines.

I doubt you'd ever see prices drops on Macs...bec it would cut to deeply into profits. You'l never see on for teh price of a comparable Windows based PC. They never have been...and never will be. The first Mac every produced was retailed at $2000. They have never been less than that with the exception of Mac Mini and iMac. For the cost of the mini, I'd rater get a laptop which already has a screen and keyboard. Can't use teh Mac Mini on a plane...or train...or in the car on a long trip can you. If I was a game and went to lan parties, it a good option...if i need to use it to connect to a projector for a slideshow..it is a good option. If I need to basically have a portable desktop...it is a good options. But it does nothing more then can be done with a laptop. At least laptops have their own power source.

The reason PC seem to lose value so quickly is because newer faster hardware or better configuration are MFR'd daily. Only a dummy would ever pay 1/2 the cost for an older computer, then buy a new one that is faster. Example...Many Mac people state how much they get to sale a Mac for after 2 or 3 years. Well if i paid $3000 for a computer, to take less than 1/2 would be an insult. And then I feel sorry for the person who buys a used one. The reason he sees it as a value is bec if he actually needs a Mac he can get a very powerful one for 1/2 it original cost. But if he doen't really need it and chooses a Windows based PC, he can buy a brand new one that has updated hardware and it will still in many cases cost him less then even a used Mac and most certainly less then a new one.

Apple is all about profit with the Mac...yet iphone/ipod/touc are teh products they sell more of...and has led to more Mac being bought. If you have a ipod/phone/touch it is better to use them with a Mac. But at least with iTunes they do work with Windows...unlike Zune which is prevented from working on a Mac. However I doubt MSFT would prevent Zune from working on them.

As you said..Total Cost of Ownership for a Mac is 3 times teh cost of a Windows PC...If you don't install WIndows on them, they can't do what a Windows machine does. They never ave an never will. If Mac did what Windows did, then they wouldn't have crated a way for Macs to run Windows. To go out and buy additional software to run WIndows inside OSX to me is dum. Unless for example...you ahve a business that specifically REQUIRES a Mac (which I don't know any...that couldn't do it with a Windows PC - but maybe they use software that is only OSX compatible) and you are working with clients that use Windows. Then it would make sense. Most mac users say they rarely boot into OSX after installing Windows on a ac. Which means they didn't need a Mac in the first place. They bought it to say "look i have a mac". Or look i have money to waste. It crazy.

Macs are beatiful machines that if you need them are an awesome piece of hardware. They went from 1.5 million per quarter to close to 2 times as much since 2006. Most of which is due to sales of iphone/ipod. And teh other fact because acs went x86 which gives users another branded pc they can install Windows on. its so funny. Apple can't build a pc less then $500 that won't e a pieceof junk. lol...they also can't afford to do the same for Macs either...

[MargaretT]

In short- there will be no cheaper mac laptops and the reason is explained in 2 very well written articles here:
http://lifeis-fullstop.blogspot.com/