Harry McCracken at Technologizer asks: "Are macs more expensive? Let's do the math once and for all."
He does a nice, detailed comparison of laptops (saying he may do other comparisons later) and comes to the wrong conclusion. He comes across as a dedicated Mac user, and wants the right answer.
He spends a lot of time explaining how he did the comparisons in order to ensure rough parity in systems. If you want to skip to the actual numbers, go to page 3.
First of all, though, he dismisses the main issue on the first page. If you're comparing prices, you're probably looking to save money, and you can get pared down PC, whereas Steve Jobs has decided on the minimum configuration you need for a Macbook, and it's $1299.
That's kind of like saying a Lexus isn't more expensive than a Chevy, because if they're configured the same, the prices match up.
His comment on this:
yes, the cheapest Windows machines are cheaper than the cheapest Macs, and probably always will be. But the most expensive Windows PCs also cost more than the priciest Macs; there’s simply a far wider range of Windows computers out there. That’s a point in the favor of Windows systems for sure, since variety is good and some folks want a very basic machine at a very basic price. And it’s true that the average selling price for Windows boxes is around half the average price of Macs. But the only logical way to compare prices is to do so for roughly comparable systems. That’s what I’ve done here.
So, having dispensed with that, and assuming you want the minimum configuration offered by Apple, he concludes that the Mac falls in the same range as the similarly configured PCs:
MacBook: $1299 (white case)
Dell XPS M1330: $1287 (including an “instant rebate” of $100)
HP dv4t: $1218.99 (including an “instant rebate” of $100)
Sony VGN-SR190: $1608.99
The logical reaction to those prices isn’t, of course, “Good grief, Macs are expensive!” It’s more along the lines of “The Sony looks fairly pricey, but the other ones are pretty comparable.”
But he's stretching it when he says these machines are roughly equivalent. After detailing the features of each laptop and which computers have the best set of features he notes:
If my math is right, I said that the machines were at PARITY in nine of the [31] categories above. The MacBook had an ADVANTAGE in five categories, the Dell in five, the HP in eleven, and the Sony in eight.
It seems to me that the conclusion should be that the HP, at roughly the same price, beats everyone else in features.
And what are the features that each wins with?
The categories in which the Mac wins out (actually 6, not 5):
Power Brick, (the AC adapter and cord, a Mac-only feature.)
Ethernet.
Firewire (only available in Macbook and Sony).
Bundled media software (the main reason to buy a Mac).
Thickness.
Warranty.
Whereas the areas in which the HP comes out ahead, trivial things like:
CPU
Hard drive
Graphics chips
Display
USB
Expansion slot
VGA
HDMI
Sound
Memory card reader
Bundled productivity software (the main reason to buy a PC)
So where do you get the most for your money?
This looks like a great ad for HP.