Market research firm NPD has released the latest stats on retail sales, and Apple is showing Microsoft what’s up. Of all computers sold in retail stores that cost over $1000, Apple accounted for 91% of them in June. This shows that Apple is leading by a huge margin in the premium computer space, something that doesn’t surprise me.
Once upon a millenia, I worked at a big box retailer (I won’t name names, but it might begin with B and end with est Buy), in computer sales even. While the economy was certainly more lush back then, people had a hard time being convinced why they should spend the extra moolah on a Sony or other high end PC. At the time, the big upgrades were more memory, storage, DVD burners, and TV tuners. Most users had absolutely no need for those features and if they did, it was often one feature or the other – not the full gamut. Apple wasn’t really in retail then, but the trend stands true: PC’s have a hard time making the argument for the upsale to most users.
Also of interest in NPD’s report are the average selling prices for different types of computers:
All computers: $701
Desktops: $690 | Laptops $703
Windows: $515 | Mac: $1400
Windows desktops: $515 | Mac desktops: $1398
Windows notebook: $520 ($569 excluding netbooks) | Mac laptops: $1400
There is a pretty simple explanation for Apple’s high average selling price: the cheapest model notebook they sell is $999 and the only “desktop” below that are the Mini’s at $599 & $799. Still that doesn’t explain away their ownership of the $1000+ market, rather their combination of marketing and differentiation has won enough consumers over who have that disposable income.
I highly recommend you check out the rest of the article at Betanews, as it has a lot of insight analysis and facts from the full NPD report.
The answer is $5,999. Electronics painting & modification crew Colorware has just announced their limited edition, “Stealth black” Apple MacBook Pro, which is strangely reminiscent of a ThinkPad.
Matte black paint. Soft-touch finish. Matte display. You can have a Apple ThinkPad MacBook Pro with all of these glorious features, as well as top of the line specs, for only $5,999. But you better hurry, as Colorware is only producing 10 of these machines.
In other news, Lenovo will sell you a PC with matte black paint, a soft-touch finish, and a matte display starting at $1,648 after coupon. If you can deal with a slightly less soft-touch finish, you can have one for much cheaper. Oh, and you can put OS X on it if you really want.
It is also worth noting that this company used to offer ThinkPads in various colors, but seems to only be catering to the Apple crowd now. Uh-huh.
I know some people reading this blog don’t care for Apple related stuff, but this was too funny not to share. Below is a promo created by Apple about the recent updates to the iPhone, specifically the copy/paste feature. Congratulations Apple, you finally added a feature standard in most smartphones for a long time and standard on all your other iPhones, not just the 3GS.
Breaking news: Lenovo issues press release & marketing campaign around switching Fn & Ctrl key locations, cites extensive user studies & user feedback
Apple has recently made some minor, but welcome changes to the white Macbook, it’s entry-level model. The Core 2 Duo processor received a speed bump from 2GHz to 2.13GHz, the hard drive from 120GB to 160GB, and the 2GB DDR2 RAM was upgraded to 800MHz from 667MHz. Not too much to bat an eye at, but not bad for free. The white MacBook retains its $999 price tag.
Also of note is a report published on Gizmodo that Apple has changed LCD panels on the newer unibody MacBooks. The 13.3-inch panels are reported to have better viewing angles and darker black colors, more similar to the higher quality MacBook Air LCD’s.
Netbooks are arguably one of the more talked about parts of the PC industry these days. I think part of this is because innovation is lacking right now, but that’s a whole other post. Netbooks are flying out of every manufacturer under the sun, new colors/shapes/sizes/features are dropping into refreshed models at an alarming rate, and the geek community is taking these cheap ultraportable PC’s to the extreme with custom modifications.
Recently an article was published about the author’s experiences with a “Hackintosh,” or computer hacked to run Apple’s OS X operating system. The machine in question also happened to be a Dell Mini 10. The author’s observations on the computing experience, both as a Hackintosh and as a netbook, prompted two other bloggers to share their experiences with Hackintosh netbooks (another a Dell Mini as well).
The verdict?
OS X hacked on to a PC notebook (or netbook) just isn’t a reliable solution (surprise)
User experience on most netbooks sucks, specifically typing (in the case of these articles, mostly on the Dell Mini)
Build quality on $400 machines is…well, you get what you pay for
I found this slew of articles interesting, considering they are coming from tech savvy bloggers who hacked a netbook and finally threw their hands up in frustration. The observations on typing are particularly eye opening for those considering a netbook as a low cost PC.
Along those same lines, I came across an old review of the Dell Mini 9 netbook on Anandtech where Anand talks quite a bit about netbook keyboards and even does a typing test. He too doesn’t like the compromises a netbook keyboard entails, particularly some of the key location choices that Dell made.
Read on for the original articles below and let me know what your verdict is: are you seriously considering a netbook purchase? And if so, would it be your primary machine?
The MSI X-SLIM is a hot new line of ultraportables that are highly reminiscent of netbooks, and for good reason. The two models currently in the lineup share the same chassis with different innards. You’ll find a 13.4-inch screen running 1366×768 pixels (720p support), dimensions of 8.8-inches L x 12.9-inches W x 0.7-inch H, and 2.8 lb weight. The picture above is one of several comparing the MSI X-SLIM to an Apple iPhone and the Lenovo ThinkPad X301. We all konw the X301 to be quite the ultra thin and light, full-function workhorse, but the X-SLIM edges it out a bit in pure dimensions. Hit the link at the end of the post for more comparison pictures.
On the inside, you’ll find two technology configurations. The X320 is Intel Atom based, arguably earmarking it in the netbook category, with a 1.6GHz Z530, Vista Home Premium, Intel US15W chipset with GMA500 graphics, DDR2-667 RAM up to 2GB, up to 250GB storage, integrated WiFi, and optional WiMax and 3G. This pseudo-netbook will run you $700.
The X340 steps in as a serious competitor to the ThinkPad X200 and has the same features as the X320 with the following changes/additions: Intel’s ULV SU3500 1.3GHz processor, GS45 chipset with GMA4500MHD graphics, up to 4GB DDR2-800 RAM, 320GB hard drive, and HDMI output. For some reason, the X340 lacks 3G and WiMax options. This little powerhouse will run you a cool $1000. Both of these machines should be available sometime in May.
While the size comparison to the ThinkPad X301 may be appropriate, we know the feature content isn’t with it lacking the optical drive and SSD. However people cross-shopping the ThinkPad X200 may think twice. If you don’t need the processing power of the full Intel Core 2 Duo lineup, then the MSI X340 or even X320 might save you a few hundred dollars on what looks like a good thin and light machine.
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