Apple said to be readying Mac price cuts
The last time the rumor mill was sure the mothership was preparing to cut prices, the Cupertino, CA-based Mac maker trimmed the tag on just one product—the entry-level MacBook by just $100. Since then the company’s also begun offering an $899 iMac, though only to institutional education buyers. Thereupon, is the time finally right for cheaper Macs for the masses?
AppleInsider reports that our favorite fruit company is preparing a pair of Macs that will feature reduced pricing. According Mssr Jade, the move is a stop gap measure designed to blunt the effect of the economic downturn and the concomitant rise of the netbook.
“Apple’s move towards more affordable Macs isn’t so much a response to Redmond’s marketing antics as it is an interim solution to combat the proliferation of budget notebooks — often called netbooks — until the company is ready to introduce its own take on the market in the much rumored Newton-like web tablet [Ed—aka iPod touch on steroids], a project which is taking considerably longer to complete than once anticipated”—Kasper Jade, AppleInsider
See also:
— Will netbook party be over before Apple arrives?
— OLED based mini notebook, iPhone said ‘confirmed’
— Analysts predict 7″ touch, 10″ mini notebook
Is such a move even necessary let alone plausible? There’s no question Apple could grow its market share by offering more price points below $800—right now the space between there and $1,000 is packed with refurbs and clearance models—but the economic case for actually doing so isn’t entirely clear. That is, while the US computer market shrank 8 percent in the first quarter, Apple’s sales contracted only 3 percent and we’ve yet to see the impact of the company’s newly revised desktop computer lineup.
Moreover, the one product that propped up PC makers flagging unit volumes was the netbook, and it’s known mini notebooks generate little profit and are cannibalizing higher-margin portable sales. Does Apple need to go there?
Cupertino’s high customer satisfaction ratings and still solid sales aren’t prima facia examples of why Apple needs to cut prices between now and the happy day it ships the fabled “iPod touch on steroids”… What’s your take?
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