Having a titanium MacBook Air tucked under your arm or those characteristic white earbuds leading to a colorful iPod in your pocket has become a status symbol for the digital age. These are symbols that come with price tags to match, however. When it comes time to get a laptop computer for work or school, are you really getting your money’s worth with a MacBook? You probably aren’t. Let’s take a look at some everyday scenarios where a consumer would be better suited with a less flashy computer.
1. The College Student.
While your son or daughter going off to college may be dropping hints toward a MacBook as a graduation gift, you’ll likely do better by looking into Dell laptop computers instead. Taking notes, writing papers, accessing the Internet, downloading music and playing flash games (let’s be realistic, here) do not require a high-end machine. Dell offers many quality notebooks for a fraction of the price of a MacBook. That money can be better put toward books, the cost of which are rising all the time (especially those with bundled CDs.) In addition, when it comes to theft on a college campus, the notebook computer is the new bicycle. The last thing you want is a computer that looks expensive.
2. The Journalist.
From professional journalists to bloggers alike, these are the kind of users that travel constantly. While Apple products look nice, they’re products to be kept indoors and polished, not to survive the open road. Other manufacturers’ notebooks, particularly Lenovo’s ThinkPad line, are far more rugged and offer superior battery life. Even after Lenovo picked up the Thinkpad line from IBM, they have remained one of the few lines of laptop that will take a tumble down the stairs and keep on ticking.
3. The Gamer.
A laptop that can run games as well as its desktop counterpart is never cheap. Why spend all that money on a flashy laptop that still doesn’t pack a reasonable graphics card or a high-end CPU? For $1600, you could easily shoehorn a Core i7 and high-end graphics adapter into your budget.
4. The Graphic Designer.
While Macs have long had the reputation of being “the” computer to have for graphic design, the truth of the matter is that they actually contain the same sort of hardware used in PCs for these applications. Most of the same software is even available for Windows that you’ll find on Mac OS.
5. The Writer.
Glasses, a six-dollar cup of coffee and an Apple computer have become the icons of “successful” writers. The truth is, however, that a top-of-the-line Macintosh is no better at word processing than a computer built in 1994 was. Spell checkers and fonts do not require a powerhouse. Unless the “artist cred” of a glowing Apple logo is worth the price tag to you, a Dell or Lenovo machine will suit you just fine.
So before you make a $2,000 investment into a laptop that will be outdated in a couple of years, consider what you will actually be using the laptop for. If you don’t need the design capabilities of a Mac, then don’t pay the cash for one. A simple netbook will suit you just fine, and will save you a thousands bucks.
Guest article written and submitted by a TechPatio reader!
I definitely i like this post, good thing Apple has established good reputation that customers would not mind spending hundreds of dollars to buy their products.
Macbook is just awesome. I own a Macbook pro and been loving it. But I use my macbook for most of the purposes you mentioned above. I game, I design and I am a college student
Well for my self i dont use macs, never had one. The reason is the compatibility problem that apple products had lets say up to the latest generations, the other thing is the price that you have to pay for an apple computer, that is a bit too high, well, but if you have a boat in your garage at the ferrari, who cares ;.)
The apple will outdate as rapid as a Windows or Linux Notebook/Netbook/PC, this is not so important. Sorry for my bad english, with my 44 years im still in the learning phase jeje.
I confirm all what’s said here! I was once lucky enough to try a macbook for some times, I just hated it. It’s so nice and girly and when you are bored of surffing the net or facebooking and you’d like to run an application or just try a software, you will find yourself stuck with a pricy machine who can just send emails and replay to posts! Go Windows!!
It appears to me that with this fellow’s English skills, a pad of notepaper, a pencil and a slew of GED-equivalency courses would do him a lot more service than owning a complicated pievce of computer equipment.
I agree with all of your points, an average user doesn’t need a MacBook. Although, the MacBook Air isn’t built to any of them. It is an expensive toy, of course of high-tech and best quality. I am a Mac user, but I’ve chosen the MacBook Pro line and I also have an iMac at the office. My husband is an architect, and he told me, that these computers are really worth for the price because of the secure work environment.
This is an interesting perspective… however, I almost wholeheartedly disagree. I first started using a Macbook as a college student, and I have found Macs to be entirely better designed, more durable, and more reliable than my previous experience with Dell laptops running Windows and Linux. The Macbook Pro line with the aluminum cases are especially durable. I am definitely what you’d consider a “power user”, so folks with lesser needs might definitely be happy saving money with a PC.
I completely agree with your list. High end users (gamers/programmers) and low end users (using internet and word) don’t need mac.
Do you have a T-Shirt labeled “I’m a PC” ? 🙂 I do!
I whole-heatedly agree with your posts. For a budget-minded consumer and for pretty much anyone (who doesn’t like “pretty” laptops), PCs are the way to go. You get more features and more power for the same or lesser price.
MACs however do come with their set of software. For example: Papers, the reference software for Mac, is brilliant. I just believe PCs are more useful for the majority of people…
I completely agree with your 5 users that don’t need a Macbook Air. I’m none of those 5 and I have a Macbook Air. If I’m honest, I’d rather get rid of one of the kids than part with it (I’m joking).
Apple kit always divides opinion, but you’ll hear people moan about the price, but rarely that things don’t work…
Is it ironic that you also named the 5 most common purchasers?
The strange factor is they have 5% of the PC marketshare, but 95% of the media coverage. Brilliant marketing.
My Toshiba lappy has been on 24/7 for 5 years and is still running strong. I would like to show some loyalty but when I upgrade I want something light, and have been leaning towards a macbook air. This is one end of the market that macs have cornered unfortunately.
6. Blogger!
7. Online Seller!
I don’t know what it is but I tried different Apple laptops and I didn’t like them. AND I don’t NEED them! I’m an online seller who blogs about the same and I never found myself to need Apple laptop or iPhone. Cheers!
I agree with 6 and 7 extensions on the list.
This is one of the most unbelievable marketing sample.. because media is like a backbone everywhere and yet these 5 people you mentioned, can work without even bothering to be competitive on the gadgets that they use..
This points are valid when it comes to applying certain functions and applications. Except with my experience, I found I definitely made the right decision buying a Mac. I had very few problems with my Mac as opposed to PC, where I had serious problems every week.
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