Did Apple OK price cut on latest MacBook Air?
No, this isn't a price cut reflected on the Apple Web site. And it's not much. But if you're in the market for a high-end MacBook, every dollar counts. Besides, Apple will probably match the lower price.
At major resellers like Newegg, PC Connection (i.e., Mac Connection), and Buy.com the latest version of the high-end MacBook Air (1.86GHz, 128GB solid-state drive) is now selling for--hold your breath--$2,399 instead of the listed $2,499 on the Apple Web site. Not much. What is best described as a price snip rather than a price cut.
Listing for Apple MacBook Air (1.86GHz, 128GB SSD) on newegg.com
(Credit: newegg.com)But my question is, did Apple green-light this? Or is this simply resellers adjusting their pricing to market realities. (I would imagine that luxury laptops like the MacBook Air are not jumping off the shelves at resellers these days, considering the state of the economy.)
Whether Apple green-lighted it or not may be immaterial, however, because (some? most? all?) Apple stores have a policy that stipulates: if you find an Apple computer priced lower at a major reseller (like Mac Connection), they will price-match it up to 10 percent of the listed Apple price. (This is the policy at the Apple Store that I frequent.)
Maybe there's a trend here. Maybe Apple will even make an official price move. Makes sense, right? The economy is in a tailspin and consumers have less disposable income, so Apple caves and officially cuts prices before the scheduled introduction of new MBA models. But then again, this is Apple. It doesn't have to stoop to unscheduled price cuts--so much for that fond hope.
Brooke Crothers has been an editor at large at CNET News, an analyst at IDC Japan, and an editor at The Asian Wall Street Journal Weekly, among other endeavors, including co-manager of an after-school math-and-reading center. He writes for the CNET Blog Network and is not a current employee of CNET. Disclosure. 
I've seen MUCH bigger discounts
c'mon Newegg, you can do it!
you are reaaaalllly reaching for "news"
There is absolutely nothing newsworthy about this.
You basically splitting hairs. While Amazon's discount has nominally been around 2-3% on MacBooks, there have been exceptions. Your quoted difference is $18, less than a tank of gas. The point here is that third-party resellers have been offering some sort of discount on a wide range of Apple products for years. Heck, certain iPods are about 5% off at some retailers, maybe more (I don't do massive price searches to shave off $2-3 from an infrequent purchase like an iPod).
ckh1272 replies--Ummm...I admitted to splitting hairs!!
and "Your quoted difference is $18, less than a tank of gas."
ckh1272 replies...it's $28, not $18!!
I am full aware of the discounts (have taken advantage of them a few times myself). Just pointing out the obvious (which is, some other people just might want to know about any kind of discount these days) !!
1. A Netbook is a gutless computer that is only any good for basic tasks. While the MacBook Air lags behind the entire Mac range in terms of performance, it's still not bad and a lot better than you'll get from a Netbook.
2. A Netbook isn't much use if you need it to run Mac applications.
And let's not forget that this market is hardly the purvey of Apple alone - the likes of HP and Lenovo have thin-n-light laptops that are far more comparable to the MacBook Air than any Netbook.
You probably should also consider that the MacBook was released before anyone started mentioning "recession" and the world was apparently full of "Paris Hilton's", much to everyone's distress...
a netbook is useful in running Mac apps, its called Hackintosh
Mr Dee, however fails to understand that there are many people, such as myself, who are in the arts industry. I use graphics programs for substantial parts of every day. In that case a lower spec netbook is not only impractical, but downright frustrating and in most cases totally useless.
Whether choosing a Mac or a PC the specs I require make the computer (no matter who makes it) in a very similar price range. My choice is a 17 inch Macbook Pro with high res screen for the studio and a smaller Modbook tablet computer for mobile work. No netbook has the capability of replacing either. Besides, my iPhone allows mew to do basic email, text documents, and web on the go and that was free with my plan
The Macbook Air is a little different in that it is a bit more money for the power but then it is a viable workhorse with a good sized screen and to pay the extra for the smaller form factor is a reasonable value proposition for many mobile artists, designers, engineers, architects, and so on.
I am happy for Mr Dee that his computing needs are so small and that netbooks are a good solution for him, but he really needs to get out a bit more often and discover that people other than himself have different needs than he has and that some people buy the Air and other computers for reasons other than looks and price.
Check again, that was first generation. Second generation introduced a nvidia 9400 graphics card, faster processor, cheaper solid state drive, and more hard drive space.
For those suggesting that a Hackintosh is the solution to this "issue", are you nuts? What you are describing is never going to be a mainstream solution and is something that only the extreme enthusiast is going to attempt. The clue to this is in the "Hack" part of the name and consumers have absolutely no interest in "hacking" anything, particularly when it won't be supported.
look sepc 1.86GHz, 128GB solid-state drive very low sepc
My desk top costs me 500$ and it faster than this
2.66
160GB
2GB Ram
8500 GT 512
Width: 0.16-0.76 inch (0.4-1.94 cm)
Depth: 12.8 inches (32.5 cm) x 8.94 inches (22.7 cm)
Weight: 3.0 pounds (1.36 kg)
I don't mind people comparing the Air to other notebooks, or even Netbooks, but a desktop? Seriously?
However your reply to Mosa007 totally ruled :)
If you had any knowledge of how resellers have been pricing macs over the last 5 or so years you would know your little piece here is a non-story. Resellers like macconnection.com and the others you mention above have been offering discounts above and beyond what apple has been offering for their entire mac line and this is nothing new. The lessor expensive models are discounted less but still it is a discount. You could have just slept in this morning and the rest of the world would have been none the wiser. Maybe next time familiarize yourself with the products you write about.....mmmmkay?
- by lickmoreshoes March 9, 2009 8:19 AM PDT
- seriously $100 off... come back when its below $1000 ( so much for technology geniuses). I seriously almost craped my pants when I saw how much this thing costs.
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