Apple released the highly anticipated MacBooks yesterday, replacing both the iBooks and the 12" Powerbook. While I have not seen the new books in person yet, here are some preliminary obervations based on the publiched specifications and prices.
The white books offer good price/performance value. The combination of the dual core processor along with the 13" screen, mag safe connector and other features make them attractive. I will probably end up buying one of these units once I test them at the Apple store.
The black book looks great but I resent the $150 price premium for color (after factoring in the larger hard drive). Since this is the best color for business, it means that corporate customers will have to shell out $1,500 for a basic laptop - a pretty steep price compared to the PC competition.
Apple has raised the entry level price by $100 while removing the display connectors and the Apple Works productivity suite. You can no longer buy an Apple laptop with all of the basic software you need. This was a nice incentive on the iBook line, especially for students.
Here are three preliminary conclusions based on the specifications of the new MacBooks:
- Apple has abandoned the important psychological price point of $1,000. I think this will be a problem especially in the education market. The MacBooks are simply too pricy and offer too many high-end features for students and teachers.
- There's not much of a difference between the mid-range white MacBook and the 15" MacBook Pro. Except the price. The MacBook Pro has very similar specs but is priced $700 higher. That's a lot more to pay for the aluminum case and a larger screen. At the current prices I think the MacBooks will cannibalize the Pro book sales.
- Finally, all of Apple's recent marketing efforts have focused on leveraging iPod popularity to get people to switch from PC's to Mac's. The MacBook price points are not likely to attract a lot of PC converts.
In the end, the MacBooks follow the tried and true Apple marketing strategy - extract maximum profits for the faithful Mac community in return for pretty cool machines.
Stay tuned for my next posting after testing the new MacBooks.
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