Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Iphone 5 $800!?
- Thread starter VitalSigns
- Start date
Well, about four years ago I needed a new desktop. My room mate at the time was in the same situation. I bought a Dell (would have preferred to build my own but didn't have the time to deal with it) for $700. My room mate bought a top of the line Mac, the one where everything was built into the screen, for $3000. My machine had more processing power and ran faster and more consistently with no crashes. His machine was slow and clunky, and borked after a few months. So not only do I get better performance at a third of the price, I get to use an OS whose GUI doesn't treat me like a five year old.
And I'm not complaining about the price; Apple is free to charge what they want. I'm as pure a capitalist as you will ever find. The beauty of it though is that I can have a superior product at a fraction of the price without the baggage of a bizarre cult telling me how great their computers and phones are.
I am finding it hard to believe your Dell ran much faster and better more consistently than the Mac. Especially at those two price points.
-Mike
-Mike
I get my service through Virgin Mobile and the iPhone 4s is $649. I was stoked when I heard VM was getting the iPhone 4s, since my Samsung not-so-smartphone was junk. I saw that price and got the HTC Evo and am so glad I did. It's 4G, has a 3D camera, and has a bigger screen than the iPhone 4s. Plus, it's over half the price. Yeah, I'm not as cool as most of the other musicians I play with, since they all have iPhones, but everyone likes watching Youtube on my phone so I'm cool that way I guess.
That's cool, you can think I'm lying all you want, doesn't really affect me.
The thing about having a PC that runs better than a Mac is being on top of your system maintenance. It's not hard, and it's worth it. Only problem I've ever really had with my machine is a RAM channel that went bad about six months ago. So swap out one of the 1 gigs with a 2 gig, problem solved. The reason people think that PC's run slower is that the PC's they've tried have likely been absolute disaster machines that had never had a drive wipe or a registry scan.
Snarf said:
This is true.
PC's can be better if cared for properly. But Macs are better for the casual user that doesn't want to or know how to do all that stuff. They just open it up and go, and that's why it appeals to them.
Yeah, my experience differs a bit.
Our Dell was similar speed to the same hardware Macbook Pro my wife had for work, hardware very similar, etc.
Performance wise (other than differences in OS) they were pretty identical.
Durability wise, it was obvious the Apple was better built.
Hardware feature wise, the Apple had a few more bells and whistles built-in.
Cost on the other hand was a no contest win for the Dell. Same CPU, same amount/speed of RAM, same size/speed hard drive, same size display...
MacBook Pro - $2400
Dell - $600 (and it came with a free inkjet printer)
PC-illiterate/challenged folks often fail to understand that it's how a PC is operated that determines whether it'll be problematic or not.
The beauty of an Apple computer is that you don't need to know anything and you can randomly click on things without the risk of damaging it or doing irreversible damage to your data. Not so with a PC. However, not knowing how to properly operate a computer (whatever its platform) can and will lead to problems eventually ranging from crashes to slowdowns, etc.
Instead of educating themselves on how to properly use/operate a PC, some people say "Screw *that!*" and they opt for another platform (Apple) that is more forgiving. But they charge a premium for that.
That's the reason why I find it incredibly ironic whenever an Apple fanboy starts trumpeting its products as he/she clearly doesn't understand the first thing about using the products.
Having said that, I'm seeing that the thread is going towards yet another Apple vs PCs segment, which this thread isn't about.
Let's go back to talking about the iPhone 5.
I'm waiting for the announcement before I decide to get one as my contract has been over for a month. Apple will need to impress me as I've grown tired of them simply upping the CPU power and having slightly better screens. They'll need something more revolutionary than evolutionary.
Nevertheless, my 3G is still working strong without any issues.
Let's go back to talking about the iPhone 5.
I'm waiting for the announcement before I decide to get one as my contract has been over for a month. Apple will need to impress me as I've grown tired of them simply upping the CPU power and having slightly better screens. They'll need something more revolutionary than evolutionary.
Nevertheless, my 3G is still working strong without any issues.
Wow, that's a blatantly untrue generalization. I currently own zero Apple products and prefer open source *nix so I'm hardly a fan boy, but to claim that the only people who like Apple products are technical illiterates is just proof of your own bias.
Hmmm...If those are the reasons you justify your decision, I guess that's what you need to go with.
Personally, as a definite non-hipster, trendy, or hype-driven kind of guy, and as a former Droid X user (I loved that phone) who has recently switched to an iPhone 4S, I have come to realize from my own experience that the iPhone is easier to use, and easier to set up with my company's email system (the Droid was a pain in the @$$). To me, these things constitute functional value. It also seems to me that the iPhone is a solidly built device with good quality materials (which don't seem as apparent on many of the current Droid devices). To me, this seems like a higher material value. As I said, this is just my own experience. YMMV.
Pish, everyone who claims to value simplicity and ease of use is obviously just too stupid to know how to do things the hard (and therefore somehow better) way.
All apple products are cool as hell. Sexy looking (in comparison to other similar products) and generally fast and glitch free. That being said, they aren't the bees knees. I actually prefer android because there's so much more you can do with it as opposed to apple products. For one (don't judge, I'm broke) I can download music free on my android phone where as you cannot on an apple device unless you jailbreak it or whatever the kids do now. Also, I can have live wallpapers, I'm diggin the live matrix data rain 
on apple you can't. These are just my pros and cons. The only thing I think apple has for it that android doesn't is the fact that viruses haven't yet been fully adapted to the apple softwares so they are for the most part virus free. But I'd still take a MacBook air over a HP or Dell. Anyday.
As for the price of these products, you gotta remember, the materials are from what I've seen the highest of quality. Machined aluminum cases, gorilla glass (I believe), good batteries, very high quality audio, high high high res screens, the list goes on. Most other products in comparison are made of plastics and the electronic components aren't as good. So for the money, I can see why an iPhone can go for 800 bucks, they are solid phones. But also, you can complain about a Lincoln costing 55,000 bucks but then realize the one you're looking at has all the options and gizmos. I'm willing to bet the 800 dollar iPhone is the 64 or 32 gig. And then there's a 700 dollar 32 or 16. And then 600 for a 16 or 8. Typical apple pricing. I think for the price it is a good buy because I haven't seen an iPhone not last under 3 years (unless the screen has gotten messed up).
on apple you can't. These are just my pros and cons. The only thing I think apple has for it that android doesn't is the fact that viruses haven't yet been fully adapted to the apple softwares so they are for the most part virus free. But I'd still take a MacBook air over a HP or Dell. Anyday. As for the price of these products, you gotta remember, the materials are from what I've seen the highest of quality. Machined aluminum cases, gorilla glass (I believe), good batteries, very high quality audio, high high high res screens, the list goes on. Most other products in comparison are made of plastics and the electronic components aren't as good. So for the money, I can see why an iPhone can go for 800 bucks, they are solid phones. But also, you can complain about a Lincoln costing 55,000 bucks but then realize the one you're looking at has all the options and gizmos. I'm willing to bet the 800 dollar iPhone is the 64 or 32 gig. And then there's a 700 dollar 32 or 16. And then 600 for a 16 or 8. Typical apple pricing. I think for the price it is a good buy because I haven't seen an iPhone not last under 3 years (unless the screen has gotten messed up).
Oh please.
Talk to Mac users. This is personal experience working in the IT industry for half of my life, now. It's not some rash judgement.
And I never said all Apple users. I said fanboys. They're usually the most ignorant users.
You make some valid points S-M, but a couple I'm not so sure about. But hey, that's fine.
I've had a few problems over the years on our Windows based machines and the Apple ones. Most times it was something I did. They all seem to work fine for me. But I perform regular maintenance on the machine, Mac or Windows, as you mentioned.
I'll often recommend Apple products to those who are less technical mainly because they do just work, more so than Windows machines for many people. The price tag keeps many from taking that step, but then it allows me (as an IT pro as well, not half my life though, only about eight years) to make some cash on the side performing maintenance and repairs for them.
-Mike
I've had a few problems over the years on our Windows based machines and the Apple ones. Most times it was something I did. They all seem to work fine for me. But I perform regular maintenance on the machine, Mac or Windows, as you mentioned.
I'll often recommend Apple products to those who are less technical mainly because they do just work, more so than Windows machines for many people. The price tag keeps many from taking that step, but then it allows me (as an IT pro as well, not half my life though, only about eight years) to make some cash on the side performing maintenance and repairs for them.
-Mike
I think this is more true than anything. I know it is for me. My Apple stuff just works and does what I want. Never had issues, just plug stuff in and it works. I don't want or care to know how or why really.
Carriers are getting out of the business of subsidizing phones. This one may or may not be offered with a contract discount.
