Are Microsoft ads are really hurting Apple?

[mikes70mustang]

can we all just agree that at least those horrible Seinfeld and Gates commercials are gone? what a train wreck

i'm sorry but i disagree. they focus on only 1 point, price, and we all know that you get what you pay for

but money is money. and the vast majority of people are too cheap or stupid to get the concept of paying more for a quality product.

 

[mikes70mustang]

o yah, i almost forgot to say.....snore....zzzzzzzzzz

 

[chaosbunny]

I dont think anyone doubts the design of Apple products; they are the best in the class (Although I happen to think the previous Macbook Pros look much better than unibody ones); at the same time though we are ignoring the limitations caused by the same design and layout (less ports, no full Displayport or DVI/HDMI, no Firewire, no e-SATA)
The question is, is it worth the premium in these economic times?

You really expect them to sell a premium designed machine (I'm only talking about the design, which you agreed to be excellent) for the same money as some plastic piece of a system? Do you also go to nike and expect them to sell their shoes at the same price as some no name brand shoes?

Face it, people pay more for good design (often in combination with brand name), not all people and not for everything. One may value a nice car and buy a mercedes, another doesn't care about cars but buys designer furniture. And some like their computers to look good, so they buy an apple machine.

(And yes, the previous mbps looked better than the unibody ones, that's why I got myself a very cheap "leftover" mbp last october)

 

[RainForRent]

This thread has invited in the trolls, it seems.

Let's apply this "spec only" rationale to another purchasing niche– cars.
You can go to Dodge, and order an SRT4. It will have great specs, on paper.
250HP, quick 0-60, and heck, even decent gas mileage. But it feels cheap. Plastic covers everything and the seats are cloth. Now stroll over to your local Audi dealership. Sit in an A4 or A6. Take it for a drive. It will perform fairly similarly, but there are noticeable differences– ride quality, cabin noise, quality materials. Dodge is a Dell. Apple is an Audi. The Dell will do what you need it to do, and isn't bad. But you can just look at numbers and compare it to Apple, because there is more to making a purchase than JUST numbers. You can't quantify the experience of a brand and product with just numbers.

And even if you could, you're on site FOR FANS OF APPLE. Wise up, you are a minority group here.

 

[Melrose]

i'm sorry but i disagree. they focus on only 1 point, price, and we all know that you get what you pay for

Word.

I could have purchased an HP or a Dell for $1.5k less than I paid for my Mac - but I didn't want Windows and didn't like the quality of HP or Dell.

You get what you pay for.

 

[Goona]

They still airing these or they been retired?

 

[Eidorian]

They still airing these or they been retired?

I see them from time to time but they're rare.

 

[raygungirl]

I guess I'm weird... I think the new MacbookPro's look way nicer than than the last design. I never really coveted a MacbookPro until this generation. To each his own, though.

Anyway... The MS ads aren't working for everyone. My family is in a bit of a rough patch after being comfortably middle class for most of my life. Those laptop hunters ads are targeted directly at me and my family. I'm a college student, I have to be very mindful of pricing, I'm even a girl.

Unfortunately for MS, that doesn't mean I'm a mouth-breathing deal-seeker, either. That would be my mother. (Joke!) Actually, my deal-seeking mother taught me that you get what you pay for - even SHE realizes that a "deal" doesn't necessarily mean "cheap."

Unfortunately, my mother - and most of the people these ads are targeted at - uses her chintzy plastic laptop for emailing me guilt trips and forwards of puppy photos. She really, REALLY doesn't care about a single spec. If the laptop works, and is cheap, she'll take it. End of story.

But you try to sell her a Kia, and she'll have none of it. I'm still amazed she ever bought a Hyundai.

The point is, I think everyone has that one product they will "overpay" for, because it's worth it. For most people, computers are not that product. For everyone else, there are Apple computers.

tl;dr - Microsoft's new ads will keep bargain hunters who don't want or deserve Mac's to begin with. Nothing to be concerned about.

 

[joro]

can we all just agree that at least those horrible Seinfeld and Gates commercials are gone? what a train wreck

I agree those ads were ridiculously stupid and I think Microsoft realized that after 1-2 ads and pulled them accordingly.

I do think the ads are doing a good job at highlighting the differences in price between PC and MAC and while some may argue about it, Macs are definitely priced higher than similarly specified PCs. However, the difference lies in the architecture and durability of Macs which are made out of more expensive and durable materials (e.g. aluminum) and use newer technology which may not be as “big” when they are released but become the standard eventually.

 

[neiltc13]

tl;dr - Microsoft's new ads will keep bargain hunters who don't want or deserve Mac's to begin with. Nothing to be concerned about.

So what do you think you've done to "deserve" a Mac?

 

[dmmcintyre3]

One of Micro$oft's laptop hunters ad (the one one where the person buys the Piece of Crap because the MBP only has 2 GB RAM does not apply now because all 15 inch Macs have 4 GB.

 

[kmiahali]

I don't know how much it is hurting Apple really. Ever since Apple changed the acbook to macboo pro and put the SD card slot in there, i would assume that their sales would increase. oh, and the price drop.

 

[kmiahali]

I don't know how much it is hurting Apple really. Ever since Apple changed the macbook to macbook pro and put the SD card slot in there, i would assume that their sales would increase. oh, and the price drop.

 

[neiltc13]

One of Micro$oft's laptop hunters ad (the one one where the person buys the Piece of Crap because the MBP only has 2 GB RAM does not apply now because all 15 inch Macs have 4 GB.

I still don't understand why people do that $ thing with Microsoft. The company's goal is the same as any publicly traded corporation - to make money for its shareholders. Apple's objective is exactly the same.

 

[Melrose]

I still don't understand why people do that $ thing with Microsoft. The company's goal is the same as any publicly traded corporation - to make money for its shareholders. Apple's objective is exactly the same.

It has more to do with market domination and greed than with trying to earn a profit. M$ jumps into a market with the sole goal of pushing everyone out.

I still don't understand WHY they made IE in the first place. And despite failing miserably, they still are trying to upstage Google in the search arena. They do one thing well: Server & business software and Windows. They should just stick with that instead of producing other crappy products that they just keep throwing money at.

/tangent

 

[nick9191]

I still don't understand why people do that $ thing with Microsoft. The company's goal is the same as any publicly traded corporation - to make money for its shareholders. Apple's objective is exactly the same.

Not only that, but Micro$oft would imply they are trying to make a smaller profit than other companies.

 

[sjinsjca]

The lies are so easily exposed

I find the MS ads to be alternately annoying and sad. The self-satisfied idiots who think they've found a bargain are in for a rude awakening once they realize they must pay for antivirus, disk defrag and other utilities that are unnecessary on the Mac, and that the Mac comes with stuff that PCs can only dream of. I agree with other posters here who find the ads mainly appeal to Luddite cheapskates. Uninformed Luddite cheapskates.

 

[MacDawg]

I still don't understand why people do that $ thing with Microsoft. The company's goal is the same as any publicly traded corporation - to make money for its shareholders. Apple's objective is exactly the same.

But there is no "S" in "Apple" to substitute the "$" for it

Woof, Woof - Dawg

 

[NoSmokingBandit]

But there is no "S" in "Apple" to substitute the "$" for it

Woof, Woof - Dawg

Appl£€?

 

[hamish5178]

One of my friends just got a windows laptop. It is thick, ugly (blue plastic?), has vista (I can't believe no one has commented on how awfully tacky it looks), and she told me the battery only lasts for an hour when watching a DVD.

Hm. . .

Her laptop probably cost half as much as mine. It may even has more RAM or a larger HDD. But it's battery doesn't last for 7 hours (mine does, thank you very much), her screen looks like ****, she doesn't have OSX, and she will have no one to talk to when it breaks or gets loaded with spyware and junk files (which it will).

The difference seems clear to me. . .