October 14th, 2008
'I'm a PC. A $999 MacBook still doesn't tempt me' (or does it?)
Apple didn’t end up fielding an $800 MacBook this week, as many had been expecting. But the company did cut the price of its entry-level MacBook to just under $1,000 at its October 14 notebook rollout.
Will Microsoft’s PC partners, already offering a number of lower-priced Vista laptops, still feel the reverberations, now that Apple has crossed the “under $1,000″ threshold?
Microsoft seems to think so. Members of the Windows marketing team seeded the notion of an “Apple tax” with various bloggers and reporters the night before the Apple launch. From an email I received from a company spokesman:
“The bottom line is that (Apple) price cut or no price cut, Microsoft is confident that Windows still offers a far better value. The reason is the hidden costs that make a Mac far more expensive than just in the up-front purchase price of the machine.
- “The economy is impacting consumer choices, but Macs, due to their high upfront, won’t sell in a more conservative market. On Sept. 29th, Morgan Stanley noted: “PC unit growth is decelerating and the remaining source of growth is increasingly the sub-$1,000 market where Apple does not play.” Even if Apple were to drop pricing, the Apple Tax still prices Macs well outside of the sub-$1000 range.
- “You can get a PC laptop with a bigger hard drive, more RAM, a media-card reader, more USB ports, and a bigger screen, for much less than a Mac. See the comparison chart below for just a few examples of what you can get today…we’ll send out an updated comparison chart after Apple’s announcement tomorrow.
- “You can upgrade just about any Windows desktop PC, but the only significantly upgradeable Mac is the Mac Pro listed at $2799.00.
- “Repurchasing software to make your Mac do all the things your PC does will cost you hundreds of dollars. Buying a Mac means scrapping your software and buying new applications (for up to $1,100) that run on Mac, just to do what you can still easily do on a new PC with the applications you already have. We’ve listed a set of common applications below.
- “HDMI, Blu-Ray, eSATA, MediaCard Readers, built-in 3G, Fingerprint readers, TV Tuners, all have been shipping as built-in features on PCs for years, but none are available on a Mac. Not only does this mean you get to use the latest and greatest now, but since it’s so easy to upgrade PCs, it also means that your computer is more future-ready…you can get today’s technology now, and tomorrow’s technology the minute its available.”
(For Microsoft’s full-blown “Apple tax” pitch, see the interview News.com’s Ina Fried had with Brad Brooks, Microsoft Vice President of Windows Consumer Product Marketing.)
When it comes to competing with Apple at retail, Microsoft is in a “damned if it does/damned if it doesn’t” position. If Microsoft refuses to talk about Apple when discussing Windows’ competition in the retail, education and SOHO spaces, the company is accused of burying its head in the sand. But if it does talk turkey about its only operating-system rival in the retail arena, Microsoft is seen as desperate and defensive.
In my opinion, Apple isn’t Microsoft’s biggest problem in the retail market at the moment. Microsoft is heading into a tough holiday buying season with a big challenge on its hands: It needs to convince consumers that they should buy Vista PCs when Windows 7 is looming large on the near-term horizon.
In two weeks, Microsoft is going to be showing off and touting Windows 7, the version of Windows that, for all practical purposes, is fully formed at this point. Unless Microsoft makes a conscious decision to push back Windows 7’s delivery date, all signs I’m seeing/hearing still are pointing to Microsoft releasing Windows 7 to manufacturing in the second half of 2009.
What do you think? Is Apple really the biggest competitor facing Microsoft and its PC partners with Vista? Or is Windows 7 — or good old Windows XP — still the biggest challenge Vista needs to overcome?
Mary Jo has covered the tech industry for more than 20 years. Don't miss a single post. Subscribe via Email or
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