Unibody MacBook dips to $728 educational pricing
By Donald Melanson 
posted December 29th 2009 1:06PM
posted December 29th 2009 1:06PM
As you may recall, we weren't exactly overflowing with praise for Apple's new polycarbonate unibody MacBook in our review a couple of months back. It's not that it's a bad laptop (though it does certainly have some shortcomings), it's just that it didn't quite feel like $999 of laptop. But $728? Now that's a bit more like it. While it's unfortunately not a permanent price drop, or even a sale that's available to everyone, that is the price that at least some students and educators can now snag the entry-level MacBook for. It's not clear how long that price will last though, as the regular educational pricing for the laptop is now apparently $899.
[Thanks, iSandy]
Update: From the looks of it, this "deal" is limited to the University of Maryland, College Park. Go Terps!
Update 2: Looks like the page has been yanked -- you snooze, you lose! Thanks John!
[Thanks, iSandy]
Update: From the looks of it, this "deal" is limited to the University of Maryland, College Park. Go Terps!
Update 2: Looks like the page has been yanked -- you snooze, you lose! Thanks John!
These would sell like hotcakes if the price drop was permanent.
@DoorsnotWindows
Yeah they should really find a way to keep a low-end laptop at this price. It's not that they can't design and sell one profitably for this price (just keep slightly lower CPU spec; c2d's are pretty fast anyway), it's just more about keeping the 'premium' image that has kept them from selling a cheap headless Mac.. *sigh*
G4 cube doesn't count
nor does the Mini which has premium pricing for the small form factor/laptop components.
@DoorsnotWindows - I don't see why, as thats still quite expensive for a P8400 / 2GB RAM / 250GB drive / integrated graphics in an entirely plastic chassis.
Acer is offering MUCH better deals lately.
@DoorsnotWindows
Apple tax is still present. Doesn't matter how much it's on sale when the original price is marked up even more.
@DoorsnotWindows
Just got off the phone with Apple tech support and he said that the pricing was a "glitch". Upon ordering we would be charged $899 on our credit card regardless of what the "discount" says on the internet. Grrr...
- John
@DoorsnotWindows
Have you seen Apple's profit margins. These days?
Now compare that to your beloved Dell/Gateway, etc.
Just slashing prices to move units is not a business plan. Unless you work on the Xbox team. In which case, yes, losing money is a brilliant move (that everyone outside Redmond will laugh at).
@Ducman69 did you really say acer? no. really did you? I'm not sure how new you are to tech, but comparing apple, to.. acer.. complete horseshit. acer uses low low quality parts, worst customer service,(literally hang up on you) and, ive been through a few of there laptops. first one caught fire, next one had motherboard issues, next one cpu is blown, i mean come on. you cant compare. also do acers even HAVE nvidia graphics?
horrible computers.
@DoorsnotWin I was a little disappointed with the review, because it failed to mention the MB Pro at the time of this release only had a 160 GB HD, and that was the deal killer for me, this had a 250 and the same specs for 200 less... I bought a cool rubberized translucent black case for the outside, and a black silicone keyboard cover... it doesn't scratch now LOL, and combined on Amazon, those accessories only cost me 50 bucks.
That's still far too much money for that spec.
@(Unverified)
That's a given. You're paying for software integration (i.e. that nice big glass trackpad) and the unibody.
@(Unverified There are no laptops currently on the market in which the track pad is not integrated with the operating system.
@(Unverified)
I have Never owned or will own a MAC.
But I have always been disappointed with my PC laptops structural sturdiness. I think $749 is a great price for someone willing to use a MAC when it is also unibody (the plastic part is a little disappointing but then there is PRO for that). I used to just compare specs like you did but after 3 broken necks in the laptop and keyboard failure the specs arent everything.
@ghdtpdna It's Mac(intosh), not MAC.
@Putzy09
Some people call it the iTouch, IsLate (my name for the iSlate), and MAC to watch the Apple fanboy go into a rage as they are screaming "M$, M$, M$"
@(Unverified) "There are no laptops currently on the market in which the track pad is not integrated with the operating system."
If by "integrated" you mean that they work as normal mice with almost no configurable options by default, I guess. You can't even turn off tap-to-click on most trackpads without installing a third-party driver.
@Rollins
I have yet to see a laptop where the 3rd party touchpad driver was not loaded by the manufacturer.
Remember, Windows does not have the luxury of limited hardware and must be general, utilizing standards for hardware control where possible, and often leaving it to third parties where it is not.. I would be willing to bet there is no standard API for a lot of deeper trackpad functionality.
However, with Synaptics being as prevalent as it is, I would think that could be built in, but then of course there may be licensing issues to deal with.
@(Unverified) You're not just paying for the components. You're paying for the design, the included software, the build quality and the customer service. Many people find that those things justify the higher price.
@NohOne1
The problem is MAC is already a completely different term in the computer world. I'm not even an Apple fan and I have problems with people calling them a MAC. You're what is wrong with Engadget, quit feeding the other morons like yourself and grow up.
@Mitch
"You're what is wrong with Engadget, quit feeding the other morons like yourself and grow up."
I should really start using the new Engadget policy of anything goes since "censorship" is wrong.
@Rollins
If by third-party you mean the drivers by the designer of the trackpad which are installed by default, I guess.
@Zweben I agree. The plastic in this model is far superior to the plastic found in other manufacturers models.
Looks like a great deal, these things are pretty sturdy even though they aren't aluminium. OSX on the cheap! gotta love it
I'm not sure about the US but in the UK anyone can seem to get the education price, just by clicking on the option saying that they are in "other" types of education. I got £200 off a Pro a few years ago and they didn't ask for any extra details.
@Oliver Taylor - I know I didn't have to enter my student ID when I purchased my first MBP, but I still had to input my school info (was more like selecting from a list after inputting your zip, but either way I don't think they check into it).
@Oliver Taylor Yeah thats correct, it just asks for your school name and then it dosnt double check it
That's pretty reasonable especially if you include the student discount for Windows 7 which is what you're going to be running on it most of the time.
...
I kid, I kid!
...
Kind of.
wait, you can run windows7 on it?
@One Love
YA RLY!
@One Love Windows 7 runs on anything. It's OSX that's picky.
Windows 7 doesn't run on my G4, while Ubuntu and OS X both do.
Windows runs on anything /Intel/. *random plug for ARM*
@ethana2
Not if it's Snow Leopard it doesn't.
@ethana2
No love for AMD? Don't worry I don't really like them either ;)
@One Love
Yes you can.
@ethana2
I lost all respec for apple when they jumped the shark to intel.
I wouldn't pay $1
Expensive.... Dell has something better specéd for less... way less.... around 500.... I mean 2 GB of RAM?
@TikiTeko Link? Hard to find anything with a nice screen, battery life, and non-crippled Core 2 Duo for under this price.
@Dreamwell I cant link a customized machine. Head to www.dell.com and build a laptop with those specs apply 10% that is Student discount and you get it.
@TikiTeko
yeah please link a better specced 13inch laptop
@TikiTeko The Roughly $500 Dell laptops have Celerons in them. You have to go to like a $1049 XPS 13 to get a similar processor. You also get more ram and a bigger drive, but we're in the same range here.
@TikiTeko Hmm, no you get the same 2.2 GHz core 2 duo... and you can get that on an Inspiron 15 or 14. Bigger drive. I cannot paste a link as you have to customize... just go to Dell.com and play around with the specs and students can get from 10 to 15 % off with DELL. All my pcs are from them. Not to mention you can get even better deals off the Dell Outlet... so yes, I am PC, so what?
Why cant i see the 728 dollar pricing? I only see 900
@Rkilbane1
education discount
@Rkilbane1 nvm just have to click on the picture
@Rkilbane1
Have to follow the "source" link on this page. For some reason, its different than if you navigate through the apple store on your own.
@uck
This discount isn't just due to the student discount. Here's the apple student store for my university: http://store.apple.com/us_edu_12761
It still lists the macbook as 899.
@Rkilbane1.that shot was a fluke. it was probably supposed to be a refurb and someone hit the wrong tag. cause it's fixed now.
makes me wanna grab it right now. i think its a pretty reasonable price. OS X with the whole iLife.
Price is right. Make it a matte case finish that doesn't get fingerprints and scratches after 15 minutes of use and we'll talk.
@CommentsTroll My sentiments exactly.