Why I Don't Think Apple Should Cut iBook And PowerBook Prices
by Charles W. Moore
Blogger Vegard Skjefstad says:
"Last week the dockable DVD/CD-RW combo drive in my laptop suddenly ejected itself, flew two metres through the air and went bang in the floor. Miraculously, it looked undamaged and I re-attached it to the computer. The light in the front blinked like it was supposed to and the drive appeared in Windows Explorer, so I figured everything was OK.
"Wrong.......
"So, I thought that if I were to spend $150 on a new CD drive, I might as well go wild and buy myself a new computer. My trusty Dell is about two years old now, and it's starting to lag behind."
Trusty? :-b. My 12" iBook is also about two years old, and it hasn't missed a beat so far. But I digress. Back to Vegard's chronicle.
"And I want an Apple. Give the man a PowerBook G4! At least it was a good idea until I checked the price. Those things are f***ing expensive! I can get a pretty hard-core laptop from Dell for the price of a 15-inch PowerBook. I was able to put together a PC with far better specs than the PowerBook, and it cost me $300 less. So I won't be buying a computer from Apple any time soon."
Ouch!
But there's no sense trying to deny it. You can buy a well-equipped name-brand PC laptop for considerably less than any Apple 'Book.
For example, Radio Shack here in Canada is currently advertising the Acer TravelMate 2303LCI-XPH (who thinks up these hokey faux "high-tech" PC names anyway?) For Can$999.99. For some frame-of-reference perspective for non-Canucks, the base 1.2 GHz 12" iBook lists for Can$1299.00.
Nor is the Acer travelMate a stripped-down ugly. It's a slim design that's reasonably attractive in a PC sort of way, has a 15-inch display, a 1.5 GHz Celeron processor, 256 megabytes of RAM, a 40 gigabyte hard drive, a CD-RW/DVD combo drive, 802.11 wireless conductivity, 10/100 BT Ethernet, and three USB 2.0 ports, all for three hundred dollars less than a 12" iBook.
The Acer has no FireWire, but USB 2.0 mitigates that pretty much in the PC orbit. On the other hand, the cheapest Apple laptop with a 15-inch display sells for Can$2,649.00 and even at Can$999.99, the Acer comes with the same amount of RAM and 10 gigabytes more hard drive capacity than the base iBook. I expect that the 1.2 GHz iBook would be faster than that poky 1.5 GHz Celeron, but the Acer should still have be a respectable performer.
Of course, the Acer is not a Mac, so has little appeal to the Mac OS cognoscenti, which most people are not, which in turn is why Apple has problems gaining, or even holding its market share. Since you're reading this column on a Mac-oriented Web site, you likely understand the Mac mystique, or at least are intrigued by it, but the vast majority of computer shoppers have difficulty understanding why they should shell out for a Mac which on the basis of numbers comparison appears to be less machine for more money.
PCs, be they desktops or laptops, are an essentially commodified product, with about as much distinguishing one brand from another as would be the case with different brands of VCRs or toaster ovens. There ARE differences of course, but few if any that make one name stand out as something really special. And they all run Windows -- nothing special about that.
Macs are different, and vive le difference, which is why we should be careful about what we hope for in terms of Apple trying to compete with the cookie -cutter PC machines price-wise any more than they already have. If you want PC-cheapo prices, you're going to have to put up with PC-cheapo quality and reliability.
Personally, I'm willing to pay a bit more in order to get traditional Apple value and the Mac OS. I'm far from convinced that the total cost of ownership is any cheaper with PC laptops than it is with Apple 'Books anyway given the typically shorter service life of a PC. I mean, I use computers professionally, and I'm still doing part of my work daily on a 6-year-old Apple PowerBook. I'm doubtful that there would be proportionately anywhere near the percentage of PC laptops of WallStreet PowerBook vintage still in service as there are WallStreets like mine.
Unfortunately, I'm very doubtful that my current the newest 'Book, the G3 iBook, or my daughter's brand new G4 iBook, will still be in active workaday service when they're six years old, and part of the reason is surely that Apple has had to cut some quality corners in order to compete to the degree they have with PC lowball pricing.
When Apple announced an extended repair program for the trouble-plagued early PowerBook 5300s back in 1997, the coverage was for seven years from the date of purchase. The extended repair program announced early this year for the also trouble-plagued G3 iBook is only for three years from the date of purchase. Speaks volumes about expected Service life respectively. But of course, a major difference is that the PowerBook 5300, especially the high-end models of the line, sold for astronomical prices —US$5000+ -- while the G3 iBooks were bargain-basement price by comparison at a fourth or fifth of that amount.
Would I like to return to the days when Apple portables sold for US 5000 dollars or more? Nope. iBooks and PowerBooks today represent a tremendous value for the money in terms of performance relative to what they cost, and still manage to look and feel like a premium product for the most part.
In terms of visual aesthetics and performance, the current crop of Apple laptops are the best-ever. They are spectacular-looking, and eclipse even high-end desktop models of two or three years ago in computing power, and their LCD screens are superb across the board. They also sell for prices that would bring tears to the eyes of folks who shelled out $5,500 - $6,500 for PowerBook 5300s, 3400s, and the early G3 PowerBooks half a decade or so ago. Where they fall short is in ruggedness and dependability, and that, regrettably, is not coincidental to their sexy, razor-thin form factors, sleek styling, and more attractive pricing, not to mention the torrid internal temperatures created by those more powerful chips.
I love the looks and tactile experience of using my iBook, except for the keyboard, which is mediocre comfort-wise and has a cheap, flimsy feel, but the answer to that would be to pop up few hundred more and get a PowerBook.
Indeed, the keyboard issue really illustrates the point here. The iBook is built to a price, and that price does not support engineering and incorporating a really first-rate laptop keyboard. If Apple were to cut prices to the point where it would be price-competitive with that Radio Shack Acer, what other aspects of the iBook would have to be short-changed? Be careful what you wish for.
The almost bulletproof ruggedness and durability of certain older PowerBook models like the 1400, the 3400c, and the 2400c, compared with the fragility and quality spottiness of the metal PowerBooks and Dual USB iBooks is a case of consumer demands for sleek styling and lower prices backfiring.
From my perspective, the Pismo and the clamshell iBook were the last Apple portables that were a good prospect for being a long-lasting "keeper." Newer models are flirting with quasi "disposable computer" status given the exorbitant cost of repairs and service rationalized with the cost of buying a new machine. A $920 logic board replacement in a $999 or $1099 computer make zero economic sense.
Speaking for myself, I hope Apple doesn't cut any more corners, and if that means iBook and PowerBook prices stay significantly higher than PC laptop tariffs, so be it. The iPod certainly isn't the cheapest digital music player on the market, and that doesn't seem to be hurting its popularity.
Instead, I think Apple would do well to emphasize the premium product angle more aggressively than they do. The PowerBook brand still has a lot of cachet, but arguably not as much as used to. The danger is at Apple laptops could become commodified, which would leave us with even less ground to contend that 'Books really are something special, and that spending a bit more for pride of ownership is an affordable luxury that pays off in overall value.