News Apple to create budget Macs?

I bet they lop £50 off and call it a new, budget, super-affordable price

 

With a 1Ghz slower single core GPU, 256 RAM, and a 4GB SSD..... in a netbook.

 

Gotta love anti-Apple trolls....they always swarm over apple news.
When any PC manufacturer makes a laptop that looks as good and is built as solid as a MacbookPro, let me know. (and don't say lenovo 'cause they look crap...)

I will concede to the apple haters that its easily possible to get a laptop from other manufacturers (or even a white-box OEM like OCZ) that outperforms a Macbook Pro for less money but they generally look like crap, are made out of plastic, and have screens that are slightly shittier than current Macbook Pro screens. (GOD I wish apple would buy up the Dell Studio 16" screens!) Macs, to me, seem to hit enough of the bases to make them worth the money to me.

I have built my own PC on a number of occasions but I will continue to be an Apple customer because of their industrial design and attention to detail. I am a graphic designer though so those things are important to me. That and Macs are pretty much standard in my industry.

As far as a budget mac? I am all for it. Most mac users don't need or care about fast graphics, they just want to "Get to the Internet" (because the vast majority of them are clueless) but Macs also have a place for the power user. For them, the budget mac is irrelevant. For all the other non-computer types of people a budget mac is fine.

 

Budget mac = cheaper brick
ROFL!

 

i knew this kind of comment would be mentioned when i looked at the title of this thread. but first reply? wow.

i just hope it was mentioned ironically...

 

More excited over the stronger portables, my iPhone just shattered today.

I couldn't care less about cheaper Macs, I don't like their OS much, and I've not had a laptop burn my lap since I used a Powerbook G4. Good for whoever wants them, I'm still staying with my EeePC 4G.

 

Would be nice if they could bring back something the lines of the old 10" G4 iBook - small enough to be portable (mine would fit in the saddlebag of my bike, for example) but not so small that working on it for any length of time, say on a train, resulted in major league eyestrain. The keyboard was a sensible size too.

Great little machines, they were, even if mine did cost me over a grand at the time :-o

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grPQ3A9rFNE&feature=related --> Mac for that kind of money

 

I recently purchased an ally macbook... Not entirely sure why anyone would want a netbook size over it, 13.3" is the perfect size. It's that happy medium of being very portable and big enough to do video editing on it.

Don't get the whole "I could get a PC which is 2x the power of an mac product for the same price" - I could go out and buy a Ford Escort which tends to perform as good as a VW Passat / Audi A4 at same level... You pay the premium for the badge, build quality and more whizz bang.. Seems acceptable with cars.

Just like you buy a mac product for the badge, build quality and whizz bang (OSX).

Good test imo - After moving to apple over the last month, buying a Macbook and iMac.. My wife used the iMac while i was at work.. She fell in love with it, said everything was just so easy to use once she got a grip with it.. Thinks the keyboard is perfect and wondered why all aren't as spaced out like that.. Even took her hand at a bit of video editing... Yet she's pretty anti tech. Unfortunately, she now wants a Macbook. Doh!

Yes.. i am sorry... Turning into a bit of a mac fan. Soon i'll be wearing scarfs with big cord jackets, while carrying my starbucks coffee.

 

Apple news on bit tech always leads to a flame session by apple haters. Get over yourselves, macs and pcs are built from the same parts and do the same things. One or the other will suite to your own personal tastes better.

 

Dude... you've gotta listen/read more and talk/write less! Which means you've missed the whole point... even that of this article!

 

I think your car analogy is a little (read long) way off. A VW or audi is going to have a lot more features and a lot better build quality than a ford escort. You may be paying a certain portion for the brand, but not nearly as much as you are for a mac.

Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with the systems themselves, they are perfectly fine. I have in fact fallen in love with their text to speech system, I went into the apple store in Cambridge today and started off a massive long song .

Apple products don't seem to be more expensive because of the name, its seem more because they want people to feel part of an exclusive club as the first response suggested, this is what I disprove of.

Apple won't make a true budget line because they don't want to undercut themselves. They have established a market which works for them, why change it.

As for anyone who says how amazing macs look and no one can say x make x model of laptop because they are all ugly, did you know that different people prefer different things? I know, I know, that can be hard to understand at first. But look around, not everyone wears the same clothes or has the same things. I personally think the black and white 13.3 mbs look hot, the new ally ones I hate.

 

really a nice articture

really nice
mac has made its own identity in the market

adam carter

 

I own a VW Passat ... I was hard pressed to find much in the way of difference between it and a Ford Escort.. Sure some extra features and my impression was the build quality was better with the VW Passat... However.. That's exactly what you buy a mac for.. The 'extra features' is OSX and the things that come throw in with it like iMovie. Then you've got the build quality.. Let alone the form factor of a mac product. One of the reasons i'd never go back to a windows based laptop is due to the multi-touch trackpad on the new macbook, again, an extra feature. You make any analogy, there is going to be holes.. Especially when it's between cars and computers, but the general idea is correct.

Pay for exclusivity? Isn't that the entire premise of paying for badge... A product's 'badge' appeal is inextricably linked to the public perception of the exclusivity of that product. This is true of cars, clothes, shoes etc..

People may prefer the way a giant server rack looks in their office, or a white plastic macbook over an aluminum one. It is down to personal taste.. Apple products are purposefully designed to meet certain aesthetics, whether they're leading the charge in innovate design or following the trend. In general, they're perceived attractive and well thought out. Down to the little details like magnetic locks for power cables on the macbook range, or more pronounced way they've packed a PC a small unit for the iMac.

Also if you look closely at the PC market with all-in-one type computers like the iMac, the price is pretty comparable to say sonys offerings in that area.

 

If they really wanted to enter the budget market they should release OS X from their 'proprietary' hardware more headaches with compatibility drivers etc but the user base would explode legitimate copies of OS X on everything from VAIOs to eeePCs

 

I don't have a clue why those sound studios and Graphics works with weak mac systems.

Bad macs that looks good. What A joke

 

ComputerKing - Because macbook pro's and mac pros are powerful... Powerful enough to handle FinalCut (apple video editing software), which is a industry standard in film and media.

 

aha mean the problem with Industry standards, Because I think there are many other good softwares that might be better than final cut...

Some thing I worked with. Digi Pro Tools, This software is not that good But it works good with Windows systems faster than macs and it considered a Industry Standard. There are tons of software out there do better things and cost less but no one use ....

So kinda it's related to Industry Like what you said AndyDEL, So Industry uses macs, you must use mac. When they change you change with them

Me myself I will never use a mac as my main computer. Maybe I will buy one of those budget macs in future to know what this OSX is all about

 

You asked why studios use mac's ... Not why i did ... So i answered your question.

Also it's not an 'Industry Problem' - FinalCut is the defacto video editing software because it is the best video editing software... It's not just for ad or marketing video, most large studios use FinalCut.. The film 300 was edited using FinalCut as an example. Have a couple of friends who work in sound production who wouldn't use a PC over a Mac Pro for all the tea in china.

Then you've got the print media side.. Where the reason most people use macs is because Photoshop is incredibly stable on OSX.. Where on PC it leaves a little to be desired. I've also heard it's allot more efficient with mac, not sure why.. Having not used it on here yet.

I moved to mac products because i fancied a change.. Really liked iMovie / FinalCut and wanted to develop apps for the iPhone.

 

If apple take the atom CPU and developes a netbook style portable with thiness of the MAC air, then manufactures the whole case out of carbon fibre with a 10in screen, that would be one hell of a machine, esspecially if its using nvidia's ION plateform!

Cream Dream!

Imagin having a portable thats strong enough to beat someone to death with that isn't a panasonic toughbrick!