Re: What's happened to Apple's pricing competitivness?

David Empson wrote:
> Steve <Stephen.Finlay@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> 
>> Up until fairly recently, Apple's iMacs were fairly competitive price
>> wise with a similarly spec'd Dell PC. This no longer seems to be the
>> case!
>>
>> Currently for $1200 you can get a Dell Insiron 530s Desktop
>> * Intel Core 2 Duo Processor E4400
>> * 2GB RAM
>> * 250GB Hard Disk
>> * 128MB ATI Radeon X1300 Graphics
>> * 22" LCD wide screen monitor
>> * Windows Vista Home Premium
>>
>> The nearest Mac model is the 20inch2.0GHz iMac
>> * 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
>> * 2GB memory ( Upgraded to match Dell model )
>> * 250GB hard drive
>> * ATI Radeon HD 2400 XT with 128MB memory
>> ~ $1900
>>
>> A $700 difference!!!
> 
> You could start by not buying memory from Apple. They charge absolutely
> insane amounts of money for added memory.

So does Dell. What your point? He's trying to compare the prices of the 
two. That is best accomplished when you set some standards as to how the 
comparison will be performed, and apply it equally to both sides.

> 
> In this case, they are charging A$220 to upgrade from 1 GB to 2 GB,
> adding a 1 GB SODIMM module. That memory can be purchased in the US for
> US$29 (A$32).
> 
> You can buy 4 GB (2 x 2 GB) from Other World Computing for US$159, which
> will work out cheaper than Apple's extra 1 GB, even if you include
> ****pping costs, and still be left with the original 1 GB SODIMM as a
> spare or to sell.
> 
> Even if I look at local online retail prices in New Zealand, I can get a
> 2 GB SODIMM for around NZ$180 (A$150), and 1 GB is much cheaper.
> 
> Apart from the memory, the usual arguments are that you get a lot more
> peripherals and features included with the iMac. I don't know enough
> about the Dell to be able to do a reasonable comparison. I'll let others
> quibble over the fine points.

For $700, they'd damn well better include some impressive 
peripherals--something other than a crappy webcam and a $20 remote.