Wish Apple was more open to us....

[spmiz12]

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Apple's strategy yet probably for us consumers is not right, it does allow them to constantly have profitable financial quarters... Let me explain, They seem they never leak a product release, a timeframe for an upgrade or any honest speculations; plus they get very upset on their own forum boards if anyone speculates or guesses.

Let's say Apple leaked that an update was coming to the MacBook Pro line, MacBook Air line or even iPad line in the near future; let's say feb or march. Many consumers would hold off and that in turn would drastically effect their quarterly earnings significantly, especially at the holiday season... I don't like it as a consumer, but it is what it is; it's just a shame many people spend hard earned money.

I wish Apple would at least offer a upgrade program to their loyal customers that put faith in them to purchase and support their company..... Don't get me wrong, I love all the Apple products I have; and think they are bar none to anything else...

I just wish Apple was more transparent....

 

[chrono1081]

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Apple's strategy yet probably for us consumers is not right, it does allow them to constantly have profitable financial quarters... Let me explain, They seem they never leak a product release, a timeframe for an upgrade or any honest speculations; plus they get very upset on their own forum boards if anyone speculates or guesses.

Let's say Apple leaked that an update was coming to the MacBook Pro line, MacBook Air line or even iPad line in the near future; let's say feb or march. Many consumers would hold off and that in turn would drastically effect their quarterly earnings significantly, especially at the holiday season... I don't like it as a consumer, but it is what it is; it's just a shame many people spend hard earned money.

I wish Apple would at least offer a upgrade program to their loyal customers that put faith in them to purchase and support their company..... Don't get me wrong, I love all the Apple products I have; and think they are bar none to anything else...

I just wish Apple was more transparent....

Apple is successful partially because people want to see what they are coming out with, so they hold off on purchases until they see what apple does. Not to mention, Apple hardware is usually available almost after the announcement of it. People get excited from the announcement, then rush out to purchase the new product.

Now look what other companies do. They announce something well before it is ready, hype goes up, then back down, and eventually by the time it is released people forgot about it or found something else that came out that was better.

Not to mention Apple is revolutionary in the stuff they bring out. They don't want the competition seeing it then trying to imitate it.

 

[GimmeSlack12]

I just wish Apple was more transparent....

Not sure how long you've been an Apple user, but you best just let the non-transparency go. It's always been non-transparent and as far as I know it always will be.

Apple is great because they don't sell great concepts or demos or prototypes. They sell great, finished products.

 

[spmiz12]

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Sorry wasn't trying to insult Apple; just realized alot of people are spending cash now but a new line might be right here very soon... Plus Apple has allows more then exceeded expectations, yet the price gets higher

 

[chrono1081]

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Sorry wasn't trying to insult Apple; just realized alot of people are spending cash now but a new line might be right here very soon... Plus Apple has allows more then exceeded expectations, yet the price gets higher

No one thinks your insulting anyone. Its just how the company appeals to people. Look at Microsoft when they got all of their customers hopes up over the courier tablet, then canned it for no reason. Apple doesn't like to do that type of thing which is why their prototypes and such stay secret.

Also prices have been dropping on Apple stuff. They used to be much more expensive. I remember paying $2500 for my macbook pro in 2008 : /

 

[weckart]

Also prices have been dropping on Apple stuff. They used to be much more expensive. I remember paying $2500 for my macbook pro in 2008 : /

Not at the low end they haven't. The price of Macbooks, iMacs, Mac Minis etc have all risen appreciably the last few years against the run of the market where prices have fallen.

 

[toxic]

I wish Apple would at least provide hints on their "professional" hardware/software roadmaps. they didn't fancy announcements about Logic, Aperture, Final Cut, or Mac Pro/XServe (when they existed) updates, so no one who doesn't need them isn't going to rush out and buy it. non-transparency doesn't do anything to help in the professional market.

 

[bri1212]

I wish Apple would at least provide hints on their "professional" hardware/software roadmaps. they didn't fancy announcements about Logic, Aperture, Final Cut, or Mac Pro/XServe (when they existed) updates, so no one who doesn't need them isn't going to rush out and buy it. non-transparency doesn't do anything to help in the professional market.

In the professional market one buys what one needs when one needs it and doesn't really worry about updates unless something isn't working right.

And although they do not announce their software updates, Apple does seem to run pretty regular hardware updates so that you know where you stand.

 

[gnasher729]

So what are Dell's plans for the next six months, or HPs? Nobody knows, nobody cares. People buying their computers just go to a shop and buy them. If you want to buy a Macintosh, just go and buy one. Check what's the best model for you, and buy it.

You are saying if Apple released a new model in February you wouldn't buy it and save money. Well, you wouldn't have a Macintosh for four months, so you wouldn't save anything.

 

[Winni]

So what are Dell's plans for the next six months, or HPs? Nobody knows, nobody cares.

Actually, It would just cost me a phone call with my sales contact at Dell to find out what they are up to -- but we are business customers, and different rules apply there. In the business world, product road maps are essential. You don't do long term business with somebody who sells you out-dated technology when fabulous new releases are around the corner. And when you look at Dell's business products, you will find that they actually make sure that their products line stay compatible and only have major design changes every five years or so -- for example, as a business customer, you want this new notebook to still fit in your old docking station.

Apple, on the other hand, does NOT play in the enterprise/corporate market: It's a consumer oriented company and their secrecy is part of their marketing strategy and hype. It's just that Apple's customers still hold on to that believe that "Apple is for the creative professional". Well, maybe they are. But those professionals are usually freelancers that do not work in large IT environments.

Apple products are for the living room, not the corporate office or the data center. And if you want home users to buy your stuff, it's better to keep them in the dark about major product changes that are about to happen in the very near future. When a home user feels screwed, it's not a big deal. When a corporate customer feels screwed, you might lose millions on ONE deal - that's why that game is played a bit differently.

 

[Winni]

I wish Apple would at least provide hints on their "professional" hardware/software roadmaps. they didn't fancy announcements about Logic, Aperture, Final Cut, or Mac Pro/XServe (when they existed) updates, so no one who doesn't need them isn't going to rush out and buy it. non-transparency doesn't do anything to help in the professional market.

That's a "professional" market only for freelancing individuals. I do not see a single company buying five hundred thousand licenses of Logic Studio - but I have seen companies and organizations buying thousands of Microsoft Office licenses, including "Software Assurance" which basically means that you buy the existing versions now and get an upgrade of the following versions without having to pay an additional fee as long as your Software Assurance contract is valid (usually at least three years).

Apple does not sell volumes of hard- and software to corporations and larger businesses as Dell, HP, Lenovo or Microsoft do it. How many units of a product does an average Apple customer buy? And how many units do you think an average Dell customer buys?

Apple has never really targeted the enterprise/corporate/business market, and with their philosophy and secrecy they never had a chance in that market anyway. They always aimed at the individual who was willing to spend some extra bucks on a prestigious product. That's what Porsche and BMW do, too. And while I see a lot of BMWs and a few Porsches every day, it's not like the world was depending on BMW or Porsche for all its transportation needs. That's more the domain of Volkswagen, Ford and a couple of others. Heck, even Mercedes builds trucks and buses.

Anyway. There are very good replacements for all those fancy Apple products from other vendors. Aperture can easily be replaced with Adobe Lightroom or Bibble Pro - and Bibble even has a great lens correction built in and it also runs on Linux. I'm currently trying Bibble in a 64-Bit Ubuntu virtual machine on my iMac i5, and it runs CIRCLES around Aperture 3 running natively on that machine.

 

[eawmp1]

Let's say Apple leaked that an update was coming to the MacBook Pro line, MacBook Air line or even iPad line in the near future; let's say feb or march. Many consumers would hold off and that in turn would drastically effect their quarterly earnings significantly, especially at the holiday season... I don't like it as a consumer, but it is what it is; it's just a shame many people spend hard earned money.

1) Apple is in the business of making money...they are not a not for profit. Telling you exactly when a product would be upgraded WOULD cause stock to sit on shelf unsold, or sold at a discount.
2) If you look at previous release cycles, one has a general idea of the timeframe for upgrades.
3) Apple does have a window where you can exchange a product bought 2 weeks before and upgrade.
4) Most know the value of an Apple computer is highest on release day. Prices don't drop (in general) during a product cycle.
5) As for "spending hard earned money" if one does his/her homework and buys the computer that serves the purpose, the money is well spent. Even if one month later the computers are upgraded, that does not make the one they bought suddenly incapable of performing the job for which it is bought.

Anyone who purchases a computer has to know that within a very short period of time, something faster/better spec'd is coming down the pike.

 

[andiwm2003]

Not at the low end they haven't. The price of Macbooks, iMacs, Mac Minis etc have all risen appreciably the last few years against the run of the market where prices have fallen.

true, Apple absolutely ignores the low end computers to not cannibalize the premium product sales.

However there are some very sweet products in their line up:

13" MBP (there will be a lot in the refurb section soon because people return them for MBA's

11" MBA (there will be a lot in the refurb section soon. people return them because they did not realize that the screen is small. i will go for one then.)

ATV for $99

iMac's

 

[r0k]

I bought a 13 in white Macbook in early 2008. I ignored the MacRumors buyers' guide and picked up my Macbook when I was good and ready. A week or two later, the new model came out with double everything: hard drive, RAM and cpu speed. I took it back, paid restocking and was happy to have all the new stuff for less money than it would have cost to buy it all from Crucial or Newegg and upgrade it myself (not that I could have touched the CPU).

I was mildly upset because if I had waited a month I could have saved about $125 restocking. But then I thought about having to put up with a Windows notebook for a whole extra month. To me, getting out from under windows a month earlier was worth it. Just plain worth it. I already had a G4 Mini, but the only way I used it was through VNC from one of the windows boxes we had around. I liked using OS X and wanted to make it my primary machine, not one I had to VNC into to use.

Money now is always better than money later (unless we get deflation in our economy). This means it is perfectly understandable for Apple to keep new products quiet. They are fairly flexible about upgrades for people who bought just before an upgrade cycle so I don't mind one bit. I'd rather have Apple quality and innovation around for years to come than demand that they do stupid stuff like revealing their product roadmap or allowing cheap clones (think Psystar).

As for the low end, Apple now owns the low end outright with their $499 ($399 in some places) iPad. It wouldn't surprise me if they keep the white Macbook around and drop its price slightly, offering yet another low end entry. I bought a Mac Mini the day it came out. If it had cost $100 more, I don't know if I would have bought it. So I hope Apple finds a way to get it back down to that $599 level. But for the true low end of computing, $99 Android tablets are an exercise in frustration. iPad is the true low end and kudos to Apple for coming up with it.

 

[Apple Hero]

I do enjoy how Apple is very secretive, but it does make me want to wait to buy one of their products. Anyone know when they're going to update the MacBook Pro?

 

[maflynn]

I may not enjoy it, but I do believe its secretiveness has helped the company. I think withholding information about products is a very smart move and many companies strive for this. Apple is just very good at it. The less notice you give competitors the better positioned you'll be with your own products.

 

[Stella]

I may not enjoy it, but I do believe its secretiveness has helped the company. I think withholding information about products is a very smart move and many companies strive for this. Apple is just very good at it. The less notice you give competitors the better positioned you'll be with your own products.

Agreed - Apple uses its secrecy to generate hype, speculation and buzz which translates to free advertisement / media coverage, especially upon the announcement of a Media Event. Its a pure Marketing strategy and certinaly has helped Apple's consumer products explode in the past few years.

However, for businesses and pros this leads to frustration, particularly when critical annoucements are made out of the blue , such as XServes being discontinued, or Java being deprecated with no future roadmap.

 

[maflynn]

However, for businesses and pros this leads to frustration, particularly when critical annoucements are made out of the blue , such as XServes being discontinued.

Of course but then apple seems to be moving away from those market sectors and focusing on the consumer sector.

I agree the lack of information from apple for existing customers on existing products is the negative on the whole secretive thing

 

[Stella]

Of course but then apple seems to be moving away from those market sectors and focusing on the consumer sector.

Yup. Sadly.

 

[MacAttack89]

Funny. I use my MacBook for my work. I am in the movie buissness and I find using my MacBook to do task easier and more efficient. I have a HP Pavilion at home running XP and I use it for recreational use

 

[kdarling]

Interestingly, the secrecy concept hasn't really applied to the iPhone. Perhaps because the mobile market is so different.

The original iPhone was announced six months ahead of actual sales, so people could get out of their contracts.

Since then, it's been no secret that a new model comes out every year in the Summer, which means poor sales all Spring.

Also, updates and app stores and SDKs and all sorts of things have been announced far ahead of time. Even down to details like when server-based notifications would be implemented.

 

[*LTD*]

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More imagined problems. When in fact they're precisely part of the formula that makes Apple so successful.

 

[maflynn]

The original iPhone was announced six months ahead of actual sales, so people could get out of their contracts.

But since then apple has tried to shroud the iPhone updates in secrecy. Just look at how they tried and failed to do so with the IP4

When it serves their purpose, they'll pre-announce a product, but that's the exception and not the rule for apple imo

 

[Apple Hero]

Yeah, they're doing it right now with the mystical white iPhone 4.