Mac.LTL

A lot of people tell me how Macs are too expensive.  I think the cost is justified.  Sometimes I’m told you can get an equivalent PC for much cheaper.  I don’t completely agree with that.  There may be some truth to that if you shop around, but it’s not as significant as a lot of people believe.

I think the primary cause for this misperception is the exclusive comparison of a very narrow set of specs.  Usually things like: how much RAM, hard drive size, CPU, screen size, etc.

Knowing this, many of the cheap PC’s out there invest in augmenting those numbers, but then sacrifice in other areas.  One of these cheap PC’s may have a large hard drive, but a lower RPM, lower buffer size, higher seek time, no sudden motion sensor, and an MTBF that is much worse.  They may even remove features altogether.

I think the second reason for this misperception is because Apple doesn’t make cheap products.  “Cheap” is kind of a relative word, so let me expand on that.  Apple does not currently make laptops that cost less than $1000.  Every company is different.  Some companies focus on the high-end, some focus on the low-end, and some try to do both.  Some companies focus on business and some focus on consumers.  Apple appears to be a company that does not pursue the ultra low-end market.  I suppose Apple could take some cheap PC hardware, install Mac OS X on it, and call it a $200 Mac.  But for whatever reason, Apple doesn’t seem to want to do that.  I don’t consider this to be right or wrong.  Just as with any company, Apple has a certain market they’re after, a certain image they want to portray, certain products they want to make, and a certain work culture they want to maintain.  A $300 Macintosh laptop may not fit into that.

Let me also state that there are expensive Windows PC’s and there are cheap Windows PC’s.  So the comparison between cheap Windows PC’s to the Macintosh computers are similar to the comparison between cheap Windows PC’s and expensive Windows PC’s.  And that’s true not just from company to company, but from products from within the same company.  Just compare a Dell Vostro to a Dell Precision.

So now that I’ve prefaced with all that, let me justify the costs by highlighting the features of Macintosh laptops.  I’m going to put them into three categories: technology and features, design and IP, and the manufacturing process and materials.

MacBook and MacBook Pros have a lot of overlooked features that are absent from a $300 PC laptop.  All MacBooks come with a built in iSight camera.  MacBook Pro’s have a backlit keyboard and ambient light sensor for adjusting brightness.  All MacBooks have a sudden motion sensor to turn the hard drive off in case of a drop.  All MacBooks have slot-loaded optical drives instead of a tray.  The displays all use an OLED for the backlight.  All MacBooks use a MagSafe power adapter.  All MacBooks have DVI output instead of just a VGA port.

MacBooks are designed not to have any sharp corners or edges.  They’re designed not to have any latches or external moving parts that could get caught on a strap or loose string.  This is why there is a slot-loaded optical drive instead of a tray.  There’s not even a latch or button for opening and closing the lid of your laptop.  The MacBooks use a magnet to stay shut.  The four nubs on the bottom of a MacBook are wide with little depth, so they don’t easily catch onto and ruin a piece of paper you may be carrying around or have in your case.  Instead of two weak hinges on both sides of your display, the MacBooks have a strong connection to the display that covers most of the laptop horizontally.  This may be more of a preference, but MacBooks don’t have half a dozen LED’s to bother you.  The MacBooks all have a single soft glowing white LED.  Even for all you tech enthusiasts out there, how often does it come in handy to have a connection and activity light for your network cable, an LED for your hard drive activity, and an LED for your wireless and bluetooth?

Instead of using cheap materials, Apple’s MacBooks are made with glass and aluminum.  Both are highly recyclable.  Apple also has a history of using some of the latest manufacturing techniques for their products.  This even goes back to the original iPod.  Something they’ve been strongly mentioning with their current MacBooks is the unibody design.  Instead of several parts to a frame that are soldered or screwed together, the MacBooks use a solid piece of aluminum.  The physical durability and strength of a MacBook can be easily felt by just picking one up.

On top of all that, you have Mac OS X.  I can’t really do a fair job of comparing costs, but Windows 7 pales in comparison to Mac OS X Snow Leopard, but that’s a different conversation.