Comments on: Apple making a $799 Air in fear of ultrabooks? Nope.

By: me

me — Thu, 02 Aug 2012 23:19:06 +0000

Considering INTEL powers all APPLES computers it would be suicide to get into a war with INTEL, I hate to tell the Mac Fanboys, it is only a matter of time until INTEL has their own OS made for INTEL products only, and I don’t mean a OS like that garbage company MicroSoft, I mean Intel’s very own OS, be afraid APPLE, be very afraid, soon the people who made you richer than MicroSoft will show you just how you got their, yuk it up now fanboys, in a couple years INTEL will be yucking it up and APPLE fanboys will be crying and mortgaging their underpants, come back in two years and tell me how wrong I was, instead of acting arrogant and talking trash now just like you bozos always do.

By: Roland Costea

Roland Costea — Tue, 08 May 2012 13:27:20 +0000

Really a good post!

http://itservicesconsult.com

By: adrianoconnor

adrianoconnor — Tue, 08 May 2012 08:31:09 +0000

Also, this statement is incorrect: “But the way in which it’s cut prices isn’t with a new model — it’s been by lowering the price of older devices.”

Apple do sometimes lower prices with new models. I’m particularly thinking of the current Macbook Air, which of course came at a much lower price. Also, you need to fix the “it’s” ;)

By: Pierre French

Pierre French — Tue, 08 May 2012 05:52:05 +0000

You should consider learning how to read again pal. What that article said is that even clunky pieces of crap are marketed as ultrabooks, not that they are rip offs of the Air.

Oh and by the way here’s a knock off of the Air. Amongst many others.

http://www.theverge.com/2011/11/1/2528456/asus-zenbook-ux31-review/in/2326104

That does not look like an MBA at all. Yeah, right.

By: Hamranhansenhansen

Hamranhansenhansen — Tue, 08 May 2012 05:48:05 +0000

Not “Ultraportable.” “Ultrabook.” It is Intel’s trademark on their MacBook Air clone reference design, which they created about 2 years after MacBook Air in order to generate more demand among non-Apple PC makers for the same exact parts Intel was selling to Apple. Other PC makers continued to use the bigger, cheaper parts. Look it up on Wikipedia.

This is not an academic exercise in computer science. It’s pure business and marketing.

And all notebooks descend from Apple’s notebooks anyway. Everything at Best Buy has the original PowerBook form factor. Your palms are resting on it right now.

By: Pierre French

Pierre French — Tue, 08 May 2012 05:43:56 +0000

I would always trust someone who drinks from giant beer glass.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mager/2794575176/

By: Hamranhansenhansen

Hamranhansenhansen — Tue, 08 May 2012 05:37:24 +0000

Incorrect.

Apple went to Intel and asked them to make their smallest Core CPU even smaller, and Intel rose to the challenge with a custom part for the first-generation MacBook Air. Steve Jobs and Paul Ottelini discuss this at the launch of the first MacBook Air, which is available in Apple’s “Keynotes” podcast.

By: Hamranhansenhansen

Hamranhansenhansen — Tue, 08 May 2012 05:33:43 +0000

I don’t think any of that is true. I think all they do is pick a price point that can sustain the product long term. “iPhone” is not a single phone — they have to have a new model every year and a very new model every other year and new software, services, and the company has to be healthy.

Right now, Apple is doing very well. They are 5 years ahead of their competitors and they are profiting from that. But even in lean times, they still have to honor the commitment they made to iPhone users to keep making future iPhones for them. So the company needs a lot of cash. It has made a promise to all of its customers to keep managing their phone, tablet, notebook, apps, media, etc. They are like a computing bank. Most people in Hollywood and Silicon Valley are Mac users. Apple is deep infrastructure. The extra profit they take compared to their competitors represents the commitment Apple has made to its users in the future compared to their competitors. They are huge commitments.

By: Hamranhansenhansen

Hamranhansenhansen — Tue, 08 May 2012 05:21:09 +0000

Intel’s specs still allow hard disks and are not up to MacBook Air standards.

Ultrabook sales are not doing very well. You may like them, but they are not at all in line with Intel or PC maker’s expectations. All of the potential Ultrabook buyers already bought MacBook Air or iPad. MacBook Air runs OS X and Windows, has EFI and SSD, 3-year working life, $333 per year. If you need one, it is cheap. If you don’t need one, then likely an iPad is perfect for you.

Intel’s Ultrabook strategy did not take into account Apple’s touché strategy where Macs run Windows. In the 1990′s, you could clone a PowerBook 3 years later and there would be a huge untapped market of people who really wanted a PowerBook for the past 2-3 years but couldn’t get one because they have to run Windows. But Macs have run Windows for 7 years now, and have been the leading high-end Intel PC for most of that time. People who wanted MacBook Air but had to run Windows have had MacBook Airs in some cases for 4 years now.

By: Hamranhansenhansen

Hamranhansenhansen — Tue, 08 May 2012 04:59:25 +0000

“Ultrabook” is just a word Intel made up so they wouldn’t have to say “MacBook Air clone.” If you can buy a MacBook Air for $999 then I would expect that fake MacBook Air’s would have to top out at $799, for exactly the same size, weight, and features. PC makers are not even doing that, though. There is nothing for Apple to respond to, even if they were inclined to respond.

Also, the best-selling $799 PC for the past 2 years is iPad. Also the best-selling $699, $599, and $499 PC. So why would Apple feel any pressure at $799.

Further, at $999 and up, for the past 5 years it has been 90% Apple. Apple owns high-end computing. Mac buyers want better Macs next time, not cheaper Macs. If you want a cheaper Mac you already have a $499 iPad with $5 Avid and $5 GarageBand and $30 office suite and $5-$10 3D games. There is no downward pricing pressure on the Mac.

The next generation MacBook Air is almost certainly the same $999 but with double the RAM and double the SSD. Then the current model might be available for $899 retail or $799 education.