What's up with the black MacBook costing an extra $150?

[Spanky Deluxe]

Or even simpler, don't buy one at all. That's the choice I'm making. Had they not offered a white one at all, I'd have bought the black one. When I saw the identical white one was $150 cheaper, it turned me off from Apple as a company... maybe for good, I don't know yet. We've always known Apple gouges their customers with sky-high margins. They've made it painfully obvious this time by proving they can shave $150 off the black's price and still make a fat profit. I'll just continue with my 3 year old 12" Powerbook, thanks.

To be fair, that's not really true, Apple doesn't always gouge their customers with sky-high margins. The macbook as it stands is outstanding value for money.

For 1099 you get:

T2400 Core Duo Processor + 945GM chipset and wireless - $361 source
60GB SATA 5400 RPM 2.5" Hard Drive - $79.99 source
2x256MB DDR2 SODIMM RAM - 2 x $28.99 source
CDRW/DVD Combo Drive - $48.99 source
13" 1280x800 Ultra Bright Screen - $150 (Guesstimate since you can get very cheap and nasty 13" lcd sets with lower resolution for about $230-$250)
Bluetooth - $7.99 source
Keyboard and trackpad - $20
Cost of casing, psu, cooling etc - $50

Putting all that together gives you a cost of about $775. Sure Apple will get some discounts but then they also pay a ton on R&R, having stores open, loads on advertising and then there's of course their cut as well.

Or you could look at the cost of the nearest competing Dell laptop. $1039 buys you a 12.1" laptop with a 1.7Ghz single cored processor. Everyone was surprised at the Core Duo chips in the MacBooks, expecting them to be far lower speed and cheaper.

 

[bbrosemer]

It's actually pumping crude oil through the outer casing to give it the black color... Hence the extra $150