New MacBooks - bad timing - bad pricing.
- Added : 14/10/2008 by TheBigO
- Category : Mac Life
We're all suffering due to the wordwide economic crash - so it wouldn't be a surprise if we are all astonished at the gall Apple have had to release their new MacBooks at such a steep price.
You do the math
We can all appreciate the cleverness and great new 'improvements' in the new MacBook range - but with everyone's purse strings tightened to breaking point is anything in the new MacBooks worth the £200 price difference? Observe the following diagram and specs.
| New MacBook - £1149 | Old MacBook - £949 |
|---|---|
| 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo | 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo |
| 2GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM | 2GB of 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM |
| 250GB Serial ATA Drive @ 5400 rpm | 250GB Serial ATA Drive @ 5400 rpm |
| SuperDrive 8x (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW) | SuperDrive 8x (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW) |
As you can see the specs - apart from the screen, aluminium body and RAM are virtually identical - with a price difference of £200.
Consider the previous line-ups introductory prices: £749, £899 and £1029. Now consider the new line up prices: £719, £949, £1149.
Now the entry price has dropped - but all the introductory prices drop within months. However the second and third models are dearer.
My advice
If you cannot wait and are not bothered about wanting the latest version, get the black MacBook where you can find one and save £200 - which you could use on expanding the RAM to 4GB.
Or wait for a few months when Apple will drop the prices as the old MacBook stock dries up.
