Apple fanboys fight back in Mac Vs. PC pricing debate
The last few months have seen the already intense and often snarky conflict between Microsoft and Apple take a turn for the better, at least if you’re a Microsoft and Windows fan. Basically, Microsoft has started to fight back against the onslaught of Apple diatribe. This has, rather unsurprisingly, upset the Apple fanboy brigade who are now fighting back themselves.
The Steve Jobs fan club had got used to having it all their own way, satisfied with Apple’s willingness to witter on at length about the competition while Microsoft chose to remain silent in the face of obtuse provocation. But Microsoft suddenly decided that enough was enough and hit back spectacularly.
The I’m A PC ads have been a mixed bag. The Jerry Seinfeld collaboration, which saw Bill Gates team up with the former Seinfeld star, was a bit rubbish. But the latest ‘Laptop Hunters’ adverts have been a revelation. Clever, witty, and above all, truthful and honest, they are making Apple fans come over all defensive. Which to my mind means it’s a successful campaign.
The ads, for those few people who haven’t seen them, feature real people searching for new computers on a budget. With the promise of Microsoft footing the bill, the stars of the ads, Lauren, Giampaolo, and Lisa and Jackson choose their new machine after first eyeing up Apple Macs and rejecting them for a number of reasons. The overpriced nature of Macs is the ever-present message.
Apple spokesman Bill Evans recently commented on the new Microsoft ads by chirping:
A PC is no bargain when it doesn’t do what you want. The one thing that both Apple and Microsoft can agree on is that everyone thinks the Mac is cool. With its great designs and advanced software, nothing matches it at any price.
And Arik Hesseldahl writing for BusinessWeek is a perfect example of the kind of response being spouted by Apple fanboys. In a rambling post he argues that while the price difference between a $699 Windows laptop and a $2,800 Mac cannot be argued, the Windows machine will end up costing a lot more in the long-term.
He states that a combination of purchasing a security suite, fixing a hardware issue, and buying a range of software to compare to the Mac standard iLife means the prices get closer together. And then comes the killer – the build quality of Apple Macs and and the customer satisfaction levels.
It’s clutching at straws of the highest order. Most people won’t ever need the software quoted, or will choose free alternatives, which also goes for the security suite. Build quality? Apple products do go wrong you know, they aren’t perfect. And customer satisfaction levels? I’ve already debunked that argument.
How successful has Microsoft’s new advertising campaign been? Very successful. Even if it doesn’t manage to sell more Windows-based computers, which it and the forthcoming Windows 7 probably will, it has got the Apple fanboys riled enough to want to respond. That says it all. They’re on the ropes and desperate to get back in the fight.
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April 20th, 2009
The author of that article has been given the eFinger for using the word “fanboy” repetively and treating other people like retarded idiots.
Please, don’t hesitate to give the eFinger to writers who, like that one, are just trolls who like to start flame wars.
April 20th, 2009
@Rocket007
Does the truth hurt?
There is plenty of free software for Macs and Windows.
April 20th, 2009
You can get a great free security suite if you know what you’re looking for, so antivirus shouldn’t cost anything for Windows without sacrificing security. Problem is, not everybody knows how to do it i suppose. Macs are expensive, but actually are relatively high specced. Compare the iMac to an all in one and not an equivalently priced desktop and its not AS expensive as it first sounds.
The price can’t be justified by everybody – if you just require a PC for browsing the internet and reading emails, then the price isn’t justified. If you play games heavily, the price won’t be justified as Macs aren’t built for that purpose. However, for people into recording and graphics design will always use Macs because they’re more suited to the purpose.
Customer satisfaction is generally better with Apple. Yes things go wrong, but its electronics – things always go wrong with electronics. In my experience, Apple have always been top notch for customer service, which is less than can be said for my local Comet store who gave me nothing but trouble when trying to replace a PC where the processor didn’t work at all from the date of purchase. Judge them for what they are – regardless of whether you don’t like them, they have a lot of happy customers and credit to them for it. Not all plain sailing, but not all bad either.
I guess what I’m trying to say is that some people love what Apple do, others don’t. I hate the high prices, for example. Yet they’re obviously doing something right to be in the position they’re in.
April 21st, 2009
The problem is if I don’t want an all-in-one I’m forced to buy a Mac Pro. The argument of competitive pricing always ends with taking a Mac and then matching it with a PC. No one shops that way in real life.
However, there are many configurations you can’t get at any price because Apple won’t offer them, they would lower margins. iMacs are all-in-ones because if you could buy them sans monitor Mac Pro sales would drop. Netbooks would kill Macbook sales. The $800US midlevel PC would slaughter margins if Apple offered it.
That’s the same issue that Microsoft is actually highlighting in these ads and many Mac users have trouble grasping, probably because price is the argument they hear the most.
Levels of service are also many and varied. Taking the cheapest commodity PC from a big box electronic chain and comparing it to the service at an Apple Store isn’t really equitable.
Macs use the same hardware as a PC. There is no special Intel, Seagate, LCD, memory factories. The arguments that PCs self destruct in 6 months, are frequently BSODed and infected is just idiotically wrong.
None of the above means that Apple makes a poor product or isn’t worth the money. While many graphics and design choose the Mac platform, it’s hardly because of the hardware. Most 3d modeling and architecture folks use PCs.
Many rendering farms use Linux because of cost and scalability. If Final Cut Pro was available for the PC, many would jump over because of cost.
And asking Mac Users if they are satisfied with their choice is a bit like asking a 12 year old girl if the boy band that she are in the posters stuck on each wall in her bedroom make excellent music. You are going to get an emotional response. I don’t understand it, but a majority of Mac users feel the computer they use is a statement of who they are.
10% of the market desktop makes Macs a small niche product. Satisfaction should be better, it’s a closed system, with a limited selection of OSX native apps.