The MBP is a cool machine. And Leopard is a cool OS. Neither is perfect, but then neither is WindowsXP, or Vista, or any Inspiron, Vaio, or ThinkPad any other consumer would buy. The question people ask themselves is whether or not the Apple tax is worth paying for various products. In the case of a lot off Apple offerings, that question has had a reduced margin within which to provide financial justification. The MacBook is easily as competitive price wise as other thin-and-lights and/or ultraportables within the price range of that line's various models. The iPod now has models that are comparatively priced against other DAP's/DMP's, until you start analyzing the price points of the variants of the iPod Touch. The iPhone, in at least its 8GB skin, is in the same price range as many other smart phones, and I would contend its increased functionality over other smart phones easily justifies any price differential. The MBP has long for me been the one Apple product that still falls within that questionable zone of appearing to be a luxury product with little or no justification for its cost. Now being the owner of one, I do not know that I can say that my assessment has changed.
The MacBook Pro is certainly a product that I could not recommend to laymen who are not familiar on at least a casual level with Apple products and OS X in general. In all honesty, while it was more expensive overall, I think it took me buying my MacBook last year in order to gain any confidence that a MacBook Pro would be worth it. I do not think that I was knowledgeable enough a year ago for the purchase of a MBP to have been an educated choice. And I can further assert that it is my current love for things Apple that allows me to justify the cost in my own mind, because it can certainly not be done on a dollar-for-dollar basis comparison against Windows-based PCs if you only look at hardware specs.
I went on Newegg and did a pound-for-pound comparison against a similarly priced laptop. I selected the Asus G1S-B2, which is the 15.4" mid-range gaming notebook from the Japanese manufacturer. This is a variant of a model that about 6 months ago I decided was too expensive and opted for the COMPAL IFL-90 instead. I selected the G1 because I insisted on it being a comparison against the MBP and another 15.4" notebook. There are a few 17" models in the sub-$2k price-range, but the cost trade-offs that manufacturers go through in the larger form factor would have caused the analysis to be flawed.
The first comparison was in price. I gave both the MBP and the Asus credit for the discounts that were applicable in my scenario. I received about a $160 discount on my MBP since my friend was able to buy both using her military ID. The Asus currently has a $150 rebate available. My MBP came out to $1840, without tax. The G1S would have been $1700 after the rebate. This is within a margin where I am not particularly price sensitive, so it comes out as a wash in my personal assessment.
When it gets down to specs, the models come out as below:
MBP Wins: better operating system
Lighter (5.4 lbs versus 6.8 lbs)
Asus Wins: faster processor (by 200MHz)
Higher resolution display (1680 X 1050 versus 1400 X 900)
More memory (3GB versus 2GB)
Larger Hard Drive (200GB versus 120GB)
More Video Memory (256MB versus 128MB)
Faster Hard Drive (7200RPM versus 540RPM)
More USB Slots (4 versus 2)
So , from this listing, at the time I purchased my MBP, by specs, the tally sheet did not weigh in the MBP's favor. However, later today, after I wrote the first half of this article, the new MBP's were released. After calling the Apple Store to find out what options I had, I was told that I could bring my MBP in on Saturday, pay a 10% re-stocking fee, and then receive a new MBP. My friend who, much to her credit, had not opened hers yet, will be able to take hers in and do a one-for-one exchange. The re-stocking fee will be roughly equal to the discount I received by letting her buy the MBP's and receiving the discount on both. So it's a wash and a turn of good fortune. The only bad thing is that I will have to spend a good chunk of next weekend repeating the setup I just went through last weekend to get the new MBP configured.
Further, this changes the analysis I had begun based on my MBP's specs. If I compare the Asus against the new models, the list comes out with a much smaller delta between the two:
MBP Wins: better operating system
Lighter (5.4 lbs versus 6.8 lbs)
Asus Wins: Higher resolution display (1680 X 1050 versus 1400 X 900)
More memory (3GB versus 2GB)
Faster Hard Drive (7200RPM versus 540RPM)
More USB Slots (4 versus 2)
In both of these tally sheets, any spec not listed meant that the two system's specs in that area were equal.
Now, what I lump into those score sheets above are the small design advantages and operability advantages of the Operating System in Apple's favor:
Backlit keyboard
Mag-Safe Adapter
OLED Display
Multi-Touch Trackpad
Boot Camp
Operating System Advantages (no low-power state issues, Entourage, Spaces, Stacks, Stickies)
Free-fall protected hard drive
Now the latter list will be of varying total value to varying customers. Many Windows proponents claim that any of these functions can be replicated by a slew of third party apps (available for free) in order to provide Windows with the same functionally that is embedded in OS X. My problem is that this requires effort on the consumer's part, and after considering dropping this much money on a product, I'll pay the higher price if it means not having to immediately install a bunch of workarounds to make the system operate the way I want it to. The point is, depending on the user and the need, it is a completely viable perspective to have that it is worth the few extra bucks to not have to deal with Vista in its current state. In specific cases of some of the design choices above, certain ones could mean the difference in your laptop having a few dings and dents after a fall and your system needing to be completely boxed up and returned, and in the case of the mag-safe adapter, may mean never experiencing the fall in the first place.
There is absolutely no question in my mind as to whether or not the MacBook Pro is worth the Apple Tax that is imputed in its pricing. This is all the more true when considering the capabilities of the new models. I absolutely can not wait until this weekend to get my upgrade. In the interim, I am considering delaying my article on my actual setup and installation of the MBP until I transition to the new model. Stay tuned, because I may go ahead and write it…just so I can ignore you all this weekend when I pick up the new one.
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