“After forming a comparison of Apple Computer’s new iMac and MacBook Pro computers against several PCs from Dell and HP, analysts for PiperJaffray found that the average difference in price for comparable components on a desktop is only 13 percent lower for a Windows PC, while for notebooks the price difference is a mere 10 percent,” Katie Marsal reports for AppleInsider. “‘We believe both consumers and investors tend to believe that purchasing a Mac will cost 20 percent to 30 percent more than a PC,’ analyst Gene Munster explained to clients in a research note issued early Tuesday morning.”
“The analyst also took a look at the cost of an iMac and MacBook Pro running both the Windows and Mac OS operating systems via Apple’s Boot Camp software. He found that, on average, an iMac running Boot Camp with both operating systems is 22 percent more expensive than a comparable PC running only Windows. Meanwhile, PC notebooks cost, on average, 16 percent less than a dual operating system MacBook Pro,” Marsal reports. “However, Munster notes that the cost of running dual operating systems on Apple’s new Macs may be negligible for most PC users. ‘While many Mac buyers will go out and buy Windows Home Editionfor $199 [in order to run Windows on their Mac], those who have recently purchased a PC, or will be buying a PC in the near term, should be able to take advantage of the fact that PC manufacturers, such as Dell and HP, will provide customers with Windows re-install discs for free or for a $10 fee,’ he wrote. ‘We believe this will make the move to a Boot Camp-enabled Mac more feasible for many potential buyers.'”
Marsal reports, “For users who don’t need to drop the added $199 for a copy of Windows, the price premium required to purchase a Mac over a PC is less considerable, the analyst indicated.”
Full article, including PC vs Mac desktop and notebook price comparison charts performed by PiperJaffray, here.
MacDailyNews Take: The operative word: “comparable.” What exactly is comparable from Dell, HP, or Fred’s PCs to Mac OS X, iLife, iChat AV, etc.? Answer: there is no comparable PC to an Apple Macintosh which can run Mac OS X and Apple’s best-in-class Mac-only applications and also slum it when needed to run Windows applications. Dell, HP, and any other Windows box assembler simply cannot compete at any price. Of course, when you look at total cost of ownership, the Mac wins easily.
You only live once. You deserve a Macintosh.
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Related articles:
Confused columnist on Apple’s 17″ MacBook Pro: ‘you can get a couple of decent Dells’ for that price – April 26, 2006
Dude, you got a Dell? What are you, stupid? Only Apple Macs run both Mac OS X and Windows! – April 05, 2006
Pfeiffer Consulting: Mac vs Windows: Total Cost of Ownership, Productivity and Return on Investment – March 30, 2006
Apple Macintosh simply does more and costs less than Windows PCs – February 14, 2006
FBI: Viruses, spyware, other computer-related crimes cost U.S. businesses $67.2 billion per year – February 01, 2006
Windows to Mac switchers: recommendations and Total Cost of Ownership analysis – September 29, 2005
Apple Macs are less expensive than Dell PCs – April 24, 2005
Apple Macs are far easier, cost less to manage than Windows boxes – March 02, 2005
Novell CEO: ‘Microsoft sucked $60 billion out of IT industry that could have used for innovation’ – September 13, 2004
Switching from Windows to Mac OS X costs less than you think – August 18, 2004
Windows worms and viruses cost companies average of $2 million per incident – July 08, 2004
That’s why I switched a year and a half ago; that and the wonderful relief of not having to really worry about viruses…
Mac = Relief!
I priced a Dell Inspiron E1405 against the base MacBook and found that the Dell (comparably equipp0ed) cost $156 more than the MacBook.
Additionally there was no equivalent to Front Row, Apple Remote or Mag Safe for the Dell, and the Dell processor was slightly slower.
Dell offered an iLife type product suite, but you could argue that it isn’t nearly on par with the real thing.
I would like to see how the Piper Jaffray researchers equipped the Dell/HP products to come up with prices 10% – 13% lower than Mac products. That’s a swing of $300 vs what I found.
PSA: Using the Windows install disks that Dell provides for $10 on any computer other than the one you purchased it for is illegal.
Apple’s stuff is by far the most expensive, just the way they want it.
Twist and twist comparisons all day long and, at the end of the day, Apple insists you pay for their logo which adds nothing to the real world experience of computing.
a 10% difference comes down to about $100-150 which in turn relates to the cost of a software package.
In the case of the PC, the software you get for free is Quicken, Norton Anti-virus, some spam killer, and maybe a home editon of MS Office or Corel Office.
In the case of the Mac, you still get Quicked, but you also get iLike (iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD, GarageBand).
I think you mean, iLife – a giant pack of bugs and loads of problems that will send you looking for stand alone options that actually work.
MDN always gets PISSED when people start comparing prices and capabilities. Whenver they find an article like that, we are always hit with the typical “MacDailyNews Take”
blah blah blah
I will never go back to WXP!!!
http://www.amyblue.net
If there is only a 10% difference on the laptops then there is no doubt which one to buy. What does the pc have comparable to iLife and does the comparable Dell laptop have a built-in camera. I don’t think so.
The real story here is that Dell no longer has the big price advantage over Apple or HP and Apple could even have a price advantage over Dell if they were willing to sell their innards in less than appealing cases.
Dell is in trouble from both Apple and HP. If Dell loses price advantage, what do they really have??
“Twist and twist comparisons all day long and, at the end of the day, Apple insists you pay for their logo which adds nothing to the real world experience of computing.”
Go ahead and believe that all you want if it makes you feel better.
Ralph Winston — what are the iLife bugs?
I use iLife daily, and cruise along nicely. iPhoto and iMovie in particular seem pretty good to me, provided one accepts they are not expensive pro apps — and I work with BIG files.
…….at the end of the day, Dell markets their computers to make you think that they are so much cheaper. I buy them for our company and I see the ads for $299 and a free monitor. It never quite turns out that way when you configure to actual use.
……and at the end of the day, Dell is just cheap as in a YUGO.
Honestly, who cares. Folks will find rationalizatons for and against buying Mac and PCs. The quickest way to shut up the various nonsense is to be uninterested in the twits spouting it.
If you refuse to buy it (as in the arguements), then they stop spouting it and go away.
A quote from the Bard comes to mind – “methinks thou dost protest too much”
I walked into a local computer store recently and checked out the price a customer could expect to pay for fixing up a virus-infected computer.
$100 Hardware/software diagnostics
$ 80 Reformat & Reinstall operating system
$ 70 Data backup
$250 Total
Each time the computer of a Windows-using customer gets infected by malware, he/she can expect to cough up that kind of cash. A technician at that store told me that several viruses out there are sophisticated enough that attempts to remove them with anti-virus software are fruitless – the entire drive must be reformatted. Many customers opt to buy a brand new computer, only to get it infected shortly thereafter.
Computer users must consider TCO, more commonly understood as the old saying, “Pay me now, or pay me later”. Frankly, I prefer to pay a higher price up front (Apple) for greater reliability than to continue to pay it out later in hidden costs.
To Nonsense:
Don’t you have anything better to do than troll Mac news sites? Kinda sad. You should try sex. Or at the very least, masterbation.
And Ralph:
I’ve been using iLife for years without a problem. Actually wait, iWeb was missing a font for some reason after I installed it. Hardly a giant pack of bugs tho. I love iLife. I actually can’t believe it comes with every new Mac.
The Rever:
Welcome aboard sir.
———
Jesus, it seems PC folks really hate being wrong. Guys, really, it’s not a big deal. We’ve been wrong before. Quite a bit. But we’ll at least admit it, fix it, then move on. And we don’t invade PC site forums and make fun of you. We really don’t care that much about you, actually. You’re just a bunch of dumb women that keep crawling back to their abusive husbands.
Nonsense, your name says it all.
Ralph is apparently the new Johnny.
I think the bottom line is simple – the included iLife package is much MUCH better (“giant pack of bugs” and all) than anything that comes bundled with your typical Dell or HP. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Aren´t analysts for PiperJaffray the same ones saying that apple stock should be over $110???
These guys are trying to justify why people should buy more macs and then spin the blame to others who aren´t buying macs. “If everyone would buy a mac like we say then Apple´s stock would be over $100….don´t blame us that we recommended a stock that is tanking…”
Meanwhile apple stock down over $2.50 a share.
For all you knuckleheads that think iPhoto and its siblings ‘just work’, you haven’t seen this:
http://discussions.apple.com/category.jspa?categoryID=143
Now you know so quit your defense of the inferior iLife apps and go buy something that works, such as Adobe’s high dollar replacements for Apple’s junk.
Nonsense is the new MacDude!
ralph
I sometimes use discussion boards to help me decide on one digital camera or another. The bottom line is that it becomes useless as you hear about problems that one person has faced and it is talked about like every user/owner is having the same issue. Take your pick of any computer program, piece of hardware and you will experience the same thing. iLife works very well, period.
Ralph, LOL.
Have you been to Adobe’s support forums??? I’ve been using Adobe products for almost 15 years. You think Apple software has bugs? Nothing compared to Adobe. Nothing compared to Illustrator ALONE, for that matter.
I will defend Apple when they’re right, and I will blame them when they’ve faltered, but in this case, they’re right as rain.
If iLife didn’t work, us Mac geeks would never let them live it down. We’d be all over them. But we’re not, because iLife works.
‘While many Mac buyers will go out and buy Windows Home Editionfor $199 [in order to run Windows on their Mac]…”
What!? So we all just take it for granted that “many” Mac users have been chomping at the bit to run Windows on their Macs? Huh? At best, this should read, “While Mac buyers who need to run Windows…”.
Yeah yeah, I know, but some of us “Mac Users” have to run Windows – Well, been there, done that, I feel for you, but you don’t represent “many”, or “Most”, of us Mac users.
Get Windows out of here! Thanks a lot Apple, NOT!
Let’s talk about Macs, not about Windows – How many Windows forums are there where you can do that? Go thou and sin no more.
Well for what ever it is worth….I priced a Dell online for my friend-which was considering a Mac Powerbook Pro. I come up with a higher price than the Mac once I added all the stuff to bring it on par with it-camera, wireless, software, etc. and it was not built in-which mean you must lug it around like my iSight camera.
But the problem is this….. Most people still consider the initial cost of the lowest cost units sold by Dell and others as the benchmark of cost. Even when they add the additional stuff and pay more for the pc. They will start at the lowest price and stay -you can get a pc laptop for 600 dollars. Then I upgraded it to a better package-thus a better computer. They forgot to see what they would purchase and use then price the systems at that point.
Then the Mac is more comparable in price and the mac in generally a much higher quality product.
Just the way some people perceive things- like spending for an item you do not need and then they say it saved them 30 percent off as a point? Some people buy computers in the same manner they buy clothes.
Wisdom of purchasing=Total Cost of Ownership (TOC)