Macbooks: Tempting but is it worth it?

Apple has now earned the title of the worlds most valuable company and by looking at the demand for their products you can see why. The iPhone is one of the most popular phones available, they created an entirely new category of products which people didn't really need and it became wildly successful and then they have the Macs. Macs are some of the best looking computers you can buy and for many people in the market for a new computer, purchasing one has definitely crossed their mind.

Some of the reasons why Macs were not a serious option in the past was because their OS was foreign (i.e. not Windows), they were comparatively underpowered and very expensive when compared to competitors. Fast forward a few years and OS X, although not the most popular OS, is very well known and owns about 10% of the market. The appeal is growing with each subsequent release sharing features with iOS (e.g. OS X Mountian Lion comes with a new Notification Centre) which is good for those who know how to use an iPhone (the vast majority of people in developed countries).

In terms of hardware, Macs have definitely caught up with their Windows counterparts. They are no longer a generation behind other PC makers and their computers have the latest components inside.  Graphics cards are top notch on the higher end models making them quite decent gaming machine (always an argument against buying a Mac previously). As well as this the build quality of Apple products is undeniably good. Parts used are of good quality, especially the display and keyboard. Although some features which Windows users have come to expect can still not be found on a Mac such as a BD drive, USB 3.0 or eSATA ports although the addition of a Thunderbolt port is supposed to make up for the last two (despite the lack of devices).

One area which Apple hasn't really improved is their pricing. Comparing builds with similar specs really makes it obvious that Apple seem to charge extra money because they can. For example when upgrading to 8GB of DDR3-1333 RAM from 4GB on an Alienware M14X the cost is $120. To do exactly the same thing on MacBook Pro 15.4-Inchthe cost is $200. There seems to be little justification for the extra $80. One way to justify the price is the amount of software which is already loaded on the Mac when you buy it. The iLife suite is complimentary which has some very useful programs, some of which would cost quite a bit of money on a Windows computer.

So what makes the Mac so tempting over Windows computers despite the price? I think that it is the little details which do it. One thing I found absolutely amazing was how Apple thought to make the display hinge loose enough so that you can open the lid with one hand (without the bottom of the computer lifting up as well) but tight enough that the screen doesn't flop around. The MagSafe power adapter
is also very well thought out to prevent people form tripping over the cable and throwing your computer to the floor. The other thing is the option of an anti glare screen. Most laptop manufacturers do not have this option on the vast majority of their products as anti glare screens aren't what the majority want. Clearly Apple don't care about this as they still have the anti glare option despite the relatively low demand for it. These little options really make people feel that Apple cares about the needs of the end user and is probably what makes Apple products so tempting. This is why Apple's market share in the PC world is growing at a fairly fast rate despite not being able to compete directly with other companies on price.

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