Points Off for Windows?
by John Paczkowski
Posted on March 4, 2009 at 10:00 AM PT
Brave guy, Yair Reiner, for singlehandedly assailing the “Macs are more expensive” myth (or truism, depending on your particular worldview). In a research note on Apple’s new desktops, the Oppenheimer analyst compared, spec-by-spec, the new Apple (AAPL) iMac, Dell’s (DELL) XPS One 24 and Hewlett-Packard’s (HPQ) TouchSmart IQ800t and concluded that the iMac offers a better value (click on chart below to enlarge). “A side-by-side comparison suggests the new iMacs match up favorably against Dell and HP’s All-in-Ones on a price-to-performance basis,” Reiner wrote. “For example, the $1,499 model has a faster CPU and RAM with better or comparable graphics, and is still $100-$250 cheaper (though it lacks a TV Tuner, ~$60-$100 upgrade).”
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Comments
It’s just too bad the vast majority of people have no use whatsoever for those higher end specs.
And, the Mac Mini just seems to cut the whole Apple experience down so you’re not getting the real thing.
Stick one of those new eIPS Panel monitors on a Mac Mini to make a low end iMac. Those things would move like a 16 year old with a brand new Mustang.
Posted by Levander Thomas at March 4th, 2009 at 4:50 pmI dunno, It’s never made much sense to me to buy a desktop machine with a monitor built in. Sometimes when a monitor you’ve had for 3 years fails you just go get another (typically better) monitor.
Apple also typically gives screen specs in terms of the physical size of the screen and obscures the actual pixel resolution which (when I’ve checked) tends to be a bit lower than the contemporary alternatives.
The most exciting part of their latest announcements for me is in fact the Mini, which would replace the Dell Small Footprint machine I’m running now (and is pretty long in the tooth.) My main reservation would be the switch from Linux to OS X for desktop work or the need to investigate Linux support for specialized Apple hardware (I know it would RUN, but there may be issues with sound and video support as is often the case with Linux and Apple hardware for a while.)
My “other” computer is an old Aluminum Powerbook which has: Never crashed, never had to have an OS re-install, never had a virus or other problematic malware issue and still seems quite responsive for typical office work. I doubt many Windows users can say the same about a five+ year old Windows machine.
If I don’t read too many lemon reports on the new Minis, there is a good chance I’ll get one.
If I were doing the ratings, on a hundred point scale, I’d deduct 97 points for the Windows OS. Hardware issues are pretty adequately covered under warranties, the constant aggravation of software problems are not.
Posted by Mac Beach at March 4th, 2009 at 6:06 pmA fairer test would be to compare the basic hardware prices, rather than including the ridiculous markup Dell and HP slap on.
Also, since when does iLife come on any other OS than Mac? Hardly a fair comparison.
Posted by Charlie Somerville at March 4th, 2009 at 11:11 pm