More of my sites

WinInfo Daily News
SuperSite for Windows
Windows IT Pro Magazine
Connected Home
Thurrott Dot Com
Windows Weekly at TWIT

About this site

For six years, the Internet Nexus served as my technology blog, but I've since started blogging at the SuperSite Blog instead. If you're looking for the blog, please head there. --Paul

Wednesday, May 17, 2006

See, Macs are more expensive than PCs

Ina Fried in CNET:

Although Apple's PCs are more expensive than those running Windows, one Wall Street researcher says the price of a Mac isn't that much more than a comparable Windows-based computer.

Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster said that his research shows an average price difference of only 13 percent for desktops and 10 percent for laptops, once you narrow the comparison to Windows PCs that use the same components found in Macs.

Well, this proves two things. One, similarly-configured PCs are, indeed, cheaper than Macs. Two, PCs, overall, are much cheaper than Macs, because you configure much lower-end systems with PCs than you can with Macs. You can also get far more customization with many PCs, giving you a much wider range of options. This is pretty much what I've been saying all along. Sure, you could find a single PC configuration that might cost the same or a bit more than a single Mac configuration. But overall, PCs are less expensive. And then there's this:

Last year, the average desktop with a display sold for $744 in the US, according to IDC, while the average laptop sold for $1,070. Those prices are forecasted to drop further this year, with the typical notebook selling for $981 and the average desktop fetching $711.

Apple basically starts at those levels with its cheapest models.

This proves my point nicely.

That said, Macs are way, way cooler than most PCs. Obviously.

[ Posted at 5:20 PM | Permalink ]