How much is style worth?

Much speculation has been made, and much bull has been shot, over Apple’s announcement that they would be transitioning away from IBM’s PPC chip line and over to Intel’s new chip series. And as soon as people saw OS X running natively on an Intel processor they began to speculate on the idea of clones. Now, anyone familiar with Steve Job’s history with Apple should know that one of the first things he did after coming back was to kill the clone program. Furthermore, ever since that day he has emphatically denied any suggestion that Apple would ever license OS X and, as recent as June, reaffirmed that OS X will only run on Apple hardware. So there.

Of course, this is Steve Jobs we are talking about so everything he has said concerning clones needs to be taken with a grain of salt. After all, if Apple did decide to license OS X he would categorically deny it up until the time when he walked onto stage and introduced Mr. Dell. So, no matter which course of action Apple ultimately decides on they will still give us the same song and dance until it is officially released to the world. Well, having established that we know nothing of Apple’s plans for certain let us return please to our wild speculation and see where that takes us.

Guess #1 - Apple will license OS X
Guess #2 - Dell will sell computers with OS X
Guess #3 - Dell’s computers will be cheaper

Of those three guesses, if you assume #1 is true then the other two are givens. Dell is the largest PC maker around and they are also the cheapest. Thus, it is reasonable to expect them to become a major seller of OS X loaded machines. And this line of thinking will eventually lead one to the following question:  If OS X runs on an Apple as well as a Dell, which one should I buy? Here is my answer. (by the way, I chose Dell for this comparison for a number of reasons but any PC maker would work, HP, Sony, Acer or Lenovo it doesn’t matter because the principles involved are the same for each company)

You should buy an Apple if. . .
Style, quality and ease of use are the most important factors when buying a new computer. Head on over to Consumer Reports and take a look at the reliability ratings for Apple and you will see that they lead the pack by a good distance. Same goes for technical support. On average they have much better support than their competitors. As anyone who has ever walked into an Apple store and had someone behind the Genius Bar help them fix a tough problem for free can attest to. So if quality and support are high on your list, choose Apple.

Likewise there is no computer out there that can come near an Apple product where style is concerned. Sleek lines, no wasted space and a glossy finish set their computers apart. And, if that wasn’t enough, they are laid out with ease of use in mind. The best example of this can be seen in their laptop offerings. There are no ugly vents, confusing array of lighted symbols (explaining batter charge and the like) nor stickers adorning every surface. The ports are state of the art (do we really need a serial port anymore?) and intelligently laid out (anyone who has ever seen 2 USB ports stacked on top of each other knows what I mean). The screens are bright and secured by a catch that folds out of the way when not needed. Throw in a back lit keyboard, low weight and an ultra thin profile and you have a laptop that is second to none in design. And if these features are most important to you then buying Apple’s hardware is your best bet. However, you will be paying a premium for their product. (Hey, what can you say, innovation doesn’t come cheap) But this isn’t the end of the story.

You should buy a Dell if. . .
Price and customization are the most important factors when buying a new computer. In the same way that Apple charges top dollar for a superior product, Dell charges the bare minimum for a decent product. It isn’t pretty, it isn’t sleek and it definitely could be designed better but when it comes to price they are the cheapest (remember, don’t confuse having the lowest price with having the best value, they aren’t the same things!) However, it should be noted that a good many people will be quite happy with a “decent” computer that works “good enough”. And so, if you need a $300 computer for your grandmother then maybe a Dell is what you need.

Customization is Dell’s second big advantage. If you have deep enough pockets then you can get just about anything you want in a Dell (or, if you want to go really crazy, then maybe you need to check out Alien Ware). Need two built-in optical drives? You are SOL on a Macintosh but Dell would be happy to hook you up. Need a floppy drive? No problem. Want a huge choice of harddrives, video cards, sound cards, input devices or monitors? Dell has you covered. Now, it might cost you an arm and a leg when you get into the really high end systems but if you can afford it Dell can put it into your box. Apple makes some very nice, very powerful hardware in their PowerMac line, but there is a certain type of customer who wants a $10,000 computer. And those types will feel right at home buying an Alien Ware product and skipping out on the newest PowerMac. They don’t care if it is ugly if it is powerful enough. Running Doom 4 full screen, max resolution on a 30” monitor can make people forget that their computer isn’t the most stylish piece of equipment on the block.

This brings us to my final question, how much is style worth to you? Now, I am not looking for a emotional or philosophical answer. I was hoping for a response with dollar signs in it. Think about it like so:  If Apple and Dell both made a machine with equal specs and sold them for the same price, which would you buy? Apple of course, all things being equal.

Ok, same scenario as before but now the Dell is $100 cheaper. Do you still go with the Apple? Well, now you might pause for a second and think about it. Maybe, like me, you would conclude that the superior style and reliability are worth $100 and still go with the Mac. But then maybe you wouldn’t. Maybe that nice crisp $100 bill in your hand would persuade you to the Dell side.

Once more with the same scenario only now the Dell is $200 cheaper than the equivalent Mac. Now which one do you choose? If you are like me you are thinking long and hard about it now. You see, $200 will buy a lot of RAM or a nice big harddrive or a brand new iPod. Suddenly you are reconsidering how much that Genius Bar’s free support is really worth. Would you still buy from Apple or would the lower priced Dell tempt you too much?

So, the real question is how much of a difference in price must there be before you jump ship from Apple and buy from Dell or Sony or anyone else? Is $200 a big enough gap or does it have to be $300? $400? Never? What is your magic number? How much before you decide that Apple just doesn’t offer the better deal? Mark my words, if Apple does indeed license OS X then there will be a very large number of Mac loyalist, switchers and potential customers who will be asking these questions.

So, what is your answer?