Channon

Mac Pricing: Value Is in the Eye of the Buyer

Hedged In:
Have you ever used the aluminum laptops? They are far superior to plastic. The case and size is the only reason I'm using a 4-year-old laptop. That is, the lack of availability of a metal-case small-format laptop until recently. And, likely the only reason my laptop has survived for 4 years. I think you are in very small company if you prefer a plastic case to AAPL's new unibody aluminum case. Premium pricing, surely an arguable position (until you go try to build a comparable Dell), but plastic over metal???

Mac Pricing: Value Is in the Eye of the Buyer

Only one data point, but the hardware upgrades (specifically firewire and battery) on the 13" are enough to put me in the "buyers" column.

Am I still paying a premium? What is my time worth? At the office, I'm still running XP because of Vista, and that's very dated technology that costs quite a bit of productivity. Updates, virus scans, firewall maintenance all eat up precious time.

Right now I'm typing this post on my 12" PowerBook G4 that is 4 years old this month. 4 years is about twice the life of a typical PC laptop, WITHOUT having to live through the upgrade hassle. I'll gladly pay $1500 again (incidentally, that's what I paid 4 years ago for my 1.5Ghz G4, plus $100 to get to 1.25Ghz RAM) for another painless 4 years of computing; this time on a 2.5Ghz Core 2 Duo & 4 Ghz RAM onto which I'll install my copy of XP and ditch the office PC thanks to Outlook support... My only regret is that AAPL doesn't make something smaller than the 13".

Is Microsoft About to Multi-Touch a Nerve with Apple?

Jimbot, you can delete "shipping", and your comment has merit. For MSFT, the issue is the thing actually working!

Recession Takes a Bite Out of Mac Sales

"But if our survey numbers are correct, then why did the Street react so favorably to Apple’s latest earnings announcement?"

Perhaps it is the convergence of cash on the balance sheet and market cap?

Buy, Sell or Hold: Research in Motion Poised to Snag More Market Share

The item that trips up most analysts when comparing AAPL to RIMM, including Mr. Marquez here, is AAPL's whopping cash position. Three months ago, AAPL now had about $27/share in cash; that is now well above $28. When buying a share of AAPL, one is buying that $28 in cash, compared to about $3 when buying a share of RIMM. Want to compare the two companies' P/Es and PEG Ratios? Back out the cash per share from each share price first, since the remainder is what one is truly paying for the future business.

10 Ways the Financial Meltdown Impacts Tech

Regarding point #9, consumers cutting back on spending, this will remain a true statement in the aggregate, but may not extend to all aspects of consumer spending. As consumer spending has exploded this past decade, it has almost become a self-medicated antidepressant. Will "gadgets" suffer? Perhaps, but it was after 9/11 and during that recession that the iPod exploded in popularity, a nice little "pick-me-up" for depressed Americans.

How does this relate to this article? Smart investors know that missed opportunities are a lot better than being short and wrong. Be more careful about betting on the list of "negative impacts" than the list of "positives". Some of these stocks are already off more than 50%, a sizable haircut. There's more to gain by looking for the companies that are oversold than by betting on more downside. Long term, we all would probably agree that Google will eventually trade above $386, and Apple surely above $97.

Response to Larry Dignan’s 'Will Google Play Spoiler and Bid Also?'

I have been amazed at how few people weighing in on this offer truly understand ecommerce and the revenue structures of these companies.

The MSFT offer is a great deal for YHOO shareholders.

It's a terrible deal for MSFT shareholders.

I am the CEO of an ecommerce company. MSFT's problem the past 5+ years is a lack of vision and creativity. Buying a company that hasn't had a new idea in the same 5+ years does nothing to address that company. YHOO should JUMP at this opportunity before MSFT shareholders wake up and force Ballmer out. MSFT should spend 1% of that $46B to actually innovate.

(No direct position in MSFT, YHOO, or GOOG, but all owned long through index funds. And, I agree with your opinion that GOOG is a buying opportunity. Our PPC expenditures at GOOG are up significantly in 2008 YTD. And, we view that as a good thing.)