$800 for a new MacBook?
Inquisitr.com is reporting that an Apple retailer sent them a copy of a new price sheet that includes a MacBook at the $800 price point.
The sheet, which is apparently sent to retailers about 10 days in advance of launch, lists 12 price points (including options for MacBook, MacBook Pro, and MacBook Air) between $800 and $3,100. Older price lists only have eight trim levels. Specifications were not included on the sheet.
Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster said yesterday that if Apple chose to exclude a sub-$1,000 notebook, their stock would suffer more than from any margin impact such a device would have.
If true, this would be Apple's first foray into the sub-$1,000 laptop market since the $999 iBook.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Ryan Trevisol said 2:36PM on 10-09-2008
lower prices on apple's laptops would certainly be welcome. I have a MacBook Pro from work and up until recently was on a Macbook. The difference is night and day. The macbook in my opinion isn't worth what it's currently fetching, and would be a much better value at $799.
A drop in prices for MBPs would also be welcome incase I ever change jobs. ;)
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thesimplicity said 3:36PM on 10-09-2008
This better be a drop in Macbook pricing, because a new netbook would be incredibly overpriced at $800... even if it was running OSX.
Jash Sayani said 7:42AM on 10-10-2008
Well, Mb is not that good. Very heavy!! And Mbp are seriously cool but very expensive!! And the Air is also not worth the price....
I hope the new MacBook is a new series of "netbook" computers that cost like EeePC and AspireOne.!!
fd said 2:52PM on 10-09-2008
It will of course remain to be seen what will be included in the $800 model.
Many people agree that Apple systems are a bit pricey for some of the features they have or lack. Note: I've seen the comparisons where with select machines the Mac Pro is cheaper than upgraded Dells, HPs, ... I'm just talking about the $1100 MacBook with only SuperDrive & 1GB RAM and the basic mini. Wanting a DVD burner forces you to upgrade to the next model, which in this day and age shouldn't be required. It costs Apple probably more to keep combo drives on hand than to go all-out with SuperDrives.
Anyway. I welcome the thought of cheaper Macs.
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fd said 2:53PM on 10-09-2008
Obviously meant: $1100 MacBook with ComboDrive / or / without SuperDrive.
Victor Agreda Jr said 3:58PM on 10-09-2008
Ah, analysts, is there any ray of sunshine they can't poop on?
Back in the real world I know a LOT of PC buyers who want a Mac laptop but do the "this POS from Dell is so much cheaper" dance instead. Giving someone less ammo in that gun = more market share for Apple.
How is this a bad thing?
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George said 2:55PM on 10-09-2008
My guess? The $800 models will be older/less-powerful specs. The new stuff will be at the same price point ($1100), but they will start selling less powerful (i.e. last year's model specs) MacBooks alongside.
Perfectly fine, if you ask me. I know about 5 people that would buy an $800 MacBook and wouldn't need any more power than what's in the current lineup (or last year's for that matter). Most of these folks just look at price, not geeky enough to compare specs to realize the $500 laptop PC they just got is a crappy machine.
An $800 MacBook means Mom has no excuses left to switching!
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Gandalf said 4:14PM on 10-09-2008
Indeed. $999 iBook, which I bought for $899 thanks to student discount.
Regarding the new MacBooks, I think $800 could be for the new MacBooks, which is why Apple warned investors that due to a "new" line of products, they could be expecting less profit in this quarter. Since the new ipods really didn't affect that bottom line, I think this could be it, and that apple will indeed make less money per MacBook than before.
Rich said 6:23PM on 10-09-2008
Add two.
eric f. said 10:59AM on 10-10-2008
No Kidding. Most ordinary users would be happy with the power of the original 2.0 GHz Core Duo. It just needs to be cheaper.
Just announce them already!!!!
Jon said 2:20PM on 10-11-2008
MacBook Classic???
I'd be interesting to seem them keep the current plastic MacBooks (and their specs) and introduce a new range in aluminium.
demonic_pascal said 3:35PM on 10-09-2008
this would be awesome. Especially if the specs still increase. Apples notebooks will be a lot more competetive
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autoy said 6:01PM on 10-09-2008
The question is: is there any african wharehouse left for apple to buy combo drives?
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dasilvetz said 3:06PM on 10-09-2008
Technically it would not be their first foray "into the sub-$1,000 laptop market"-
a few years back they had a $999 12" iBook.
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Zach said 3:09PM on 10-09-2008
Thank you for pointing this out. I was going to say something but you definitely beat me to it. Silly people and their lack of knowledge.
Chris Brightwell said 3:07PM on 10-09-2008
Apple sold the iBook at $999 for a while.
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DocMacPS said 4:00PM on 10-09-2008
Lower prices can't come soon enough. I saw a BestBuy ad with PC laptops ranging from $499 to $1149 - and there was a lone Black MacBook clinging to the STUPIDITY of the $1499 price tag. The sooner they get their pricing back in line with the rest of the industry the better. Personally, I can't wait till next week to see just how low the previous generation Factory Recertified 'books are gonna get slashed to.
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glad said 4:26PM on 10-09-2008
I can buy a HP laptop and others for £299 or less but would I want to buy one no as build quality suspect and the OS sucks, however I am waiting for the new macbooks as I know they'll do everything I need them to do with no hassle.
Allan said 4:36PM on 10-09-2008
Did you actually compare what that $499 POS laptop had to any Apple laptop? It's a $499 laptop b/c it is typically no where near as powerful or feature-inclusive as even Apple's base Macbook. Look them up some time. You might find the same for a little cheaper... but don't drag out prices on other hardware if you haven't checked the specs.
As for the $1499 Macbook... that's their high end Macbook... and that tells me that they likely sold out of the other two Macbook models and that was what they had left. How many of the $499 systems did they have left?
punkassjim said 6:20PM on 10-09-2008
To be honest, even with perfectly matched specs, comparing Mac to PC, I'd gladly take the Mac over the PC even if it's a couple hundred dollars more. Why? Well, I'm not gonna lie and tell you I don't like OS X better. But that's not the reason.
The reason I'd pay the premium on a Mac is because it's not laden down with crapware, necessitating a clean install of the OS right out of the box. I can't believe how unbelievably bogged-down they make these Windows machines.