[G4] Apple = Bentley?

[Richard ramsowr]

jack
His is part of a article I came across the other day
...check the article out at the following blog
..."Musings from Mars" ...the guy's good!

Of Course Macs Are More Expensive... Aren't They?

There is also the issue of relative costs. Even to
this day, there is a certain premium to be paid for
choosing an Apple over a PC. I did two careful
comparisons the other day of four systems from Dell
and Apple, two desktops and two portables.... The Mac
is $270 (20%) more expensive. I also compared the Dell
Inspiron 9200 portable with the top-of-the-line 17"
screen Powerbook G4. Again, these are virtually
identical computers as far as their specs. The
Powerbook is $961 (55%) more expensive than the Dell.

-0-

And the winner is...?

You can check out the detailed writeups for each
competition, but the results boil down to this...

So despite all the urban myths to the contrary, when
you actually compare Apples to comparably equipped
Dells, the Apples are not only tastier-looking, but
they're less fattening, too! Every single one, which I
have to admit surprised me a little bit.

And my shopping experience also confirmed my
suspicions about Dell. In every single case, Dell
starts you off at a ridiculously low price, only to
lead you slowly and surely to a much higher one. They
do make you feel better--at least, in the "home"
computer section of their store--by showing you that
you're still getting $250, or $350, or $500 off, but
the discounted price still turned out to be higher
than Apple's. 

The most ridiculous case is their "budget" system.
Walk into the store, and you look around and say,
"Wow! Look at that, Martha! They have a computer for
$299! It comes with a printer, too!" But what a crock
that is. The $299 system is so ridiculously crippled
that no one will ever walk out of the store with one
and be happy. No, before you know it, the price has
climbed way up, well above the Mac Mini comparably
equipped.

How refreshing it was to step into Apple's store after
the confusing mish-mash that is a Dell shopping trip.
At Apple, the choices are simple, and you can make
your choices and be out in a few minutes. It's very
easy to understand the differences between the
systems, and the choices are clearly explained without
distracting you from your task. Try that at Dell! No
way. 

One last thing. Throughout the week I spent
researching and configuring these systems, Dell seemed
to change their prices every single day. It was
impossible to nail down a consistent price... even the
prices of the options seemed to change, and were even
sometimes different from system to system. Contrast
that with the Apple store, where you know what the
prices are and can be sure they will be the same
tomorrow as today.

Some people like to play the price game... you know,
like shopping for airline tickets these days. The
prices are never the same, and so you keep trying for
the best one on the best day. At least, those of you
who actually have the time to shop indefinitely. For
me, I like shopping trips to be brief, to know I've
gotten a quality product, and to feel like I haven't
gotten ripped off.

At Dell, there's always some salesman asking you if
you want another option for your system, each of which
has to be explained. At Apple, the products really do
speak for themselves.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention. Not only are Apple's
computers actually less expensive than Dell's, they
are also beautiful machines you won't mind showing off
in your living room. The beauty and style come for
free. They wouldn't be Apples if they weren't both
well made and thoughtfully designed.

At Dell, they figure you will pay more for ugly
machines, because everybody knows that Macs are more
expensive... right? Once Windows users start to see
through that myth, they'll have one more reason to
think about making their next computer purchase an
Apple. 

food for through...

rich

--- Jack <baron58 at sbcglobal.net> wrote:
> Jose Vittori wrote:
> > You bet we would, but isn't it the fact that Apple
> is more like Bentley 
> > than Ford or Chevrolet? You know what Bentley
> means, right?
> 
> Jose,
> 
> Other than "an automobile for owners who could have
> a chauffeur, but prefer 
> to drive themselves," I don't know.
> 
> Perhaps you'll want to explain it off-list?  ;>
> 
> 
> 
> Jack
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