Unibody MacBook dips to $728 educational pricing

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!

[artshark Posted Dec 29th 2009 3:16PM]

if you have a friend in college/a friend's family member in school...now would be the time

[gjscds Posted Dec 29th 2009 3:24PM]

This is only for the U of Maryland... Other schools will *not* have this deal. Apple pricing seems to be school dependent...

[Dank Dillweed Posted Dec 29th 2009 3:47PM]

I picked up my first laptop at WallyWorld for $350, a 17" Toshiba and love it. Double the price for a 13"? Can't say I see the logic. BTW, I grew up on Apples in the 80's, never looked back since I got first Tandy. Just a lot more economical, customizable, and of course, versatile.

I mean seriously Apple fans, does your machine really do that much more than a far cheaper Win machine, besides make you feel cool nowadays. There was a time they did (I've been in the printing business since the '80's), so I've seen the desktop publishing revolution/evolution firsthand.

[Alec Posted Dec 29th 2009 4:10PM]

@Dank Dillweed

I don't know if my machine really does that much more than a far cheaper Win machine, because I bought a MacBook. I know it does far more and performs far better than my Dell Dimension 2400 2.4Ghz with 768MB of RAM, which is what I bought it to replace.

I had the money to buy the machine I wanted, I bought the machine I wanted, and now I'm happy with the machine I bought. Who cares about the rest?

[Dank Dillweed Posted Dec 29th 2009 5:34PM]

@Alec:

"...I know it does far more and performs far better than my Dell Dimension 2400 2.4Ghz with 768MB of RAM".

Uh, yeah, I'm glad it does, considering that Dell is probably 4+ years old. My new Honda runs better than my old Ford, too. In computer terms, that's like comparing a single barrel carburetor flathead V8 to a modern fuel-injected engine.

Actually, I'm glad you're happy with your purchase. It's just that I have a family to feed, a mortgage to pay, motorcycle and Mustang habits to support. And that extra $375-$600 apple buyers spend, goes a long way if one is as thrifty as I am.

[zenomatic Posted Dec 29th 2009 4:10PM]

But does the screen flicker?

[Jigielnik Posted Dec 29th 2009 4:18PM]

my acer timeline is nearly 2X better spec for spec in every category except processor speed, yet it cost almost half the price... im sure if the flamers catch this there will be many a response saying how mac OS makes up for it or some other excuses... i guess im just a boring old PC with an extra few hundred dollars in my pocket and a smile on my face

[puggsly Posted Jan 1st 2010 4:40AM]

@(Unverified)
I have no idea which timeline you are talking about but the 13.3" bests the base model in RAM 4 vs 2, Hard drive 320 vs 250 and is even a bit smaller and lighter and has a list price of $919 vs the mac book $899 which was discounted to $729 for this article.

Even at Apple's over priced additions to this unit we are only talking about $135 to match the two specs you mention. On the flip side you give up almost a 2:1 cpu clock speed advantage, a faster graphics chip a faster system bus and did we mention no optical drive?

This leaves out any value you place on the iLife suite of applications Apple provides or any comparisons between OS X and which ever version of Windows ships on the Acer. It ignores any perceived or real benefit Apple's service gives.

[reallynotnick Posted Dec 29th 2009 4:29PM]

I have a feeling this deal is going to be shut down with people exploiting it, why one college gets a deal and the rest don't I'm not sure. You would think for such an 'exclusive' deal they would require you to use a university email or something.

[rednano74 Posted Dec 29th 2009 4:46PM]

Wow! Still slightly overpriced for what one gets considering you still have to buy iWorks to get real work stuff done like documents and spreadsheets. But if this price was offered to the general public who no doubt subsidizes these low prices for "educational" people, I would buy one. I also believe the white Macbook should be sold as a 15 inch only at $799. Come on Apple, where is the LOVE???

[justinofthemoss Posted Dec 29th 2009 4:58PM]

i'm not getting the 728 price...i put in my school and it still says it's 899....

[Prince David Posted Dec 29th 2009 5:42PM]

Wow my alma mater!
Fear the turtle!

[mtnDewFTW Posted Dec 29th 2009 7:18PM]

They sell pretty good anyway.
Even without the price drop, people will still buy it.
It's a MacBook. Most popular Mac there is.

[vibhorgoyal Posted Dec 29th 2009 7:39PM]

THERE u go:



You are chatting with Steven M, an Apple Expert
Hi, my name is Steven M. Welcome to Apple!
How are you today?
Hi Steven, Myself Vibhor. I am good, how are you?
Hi Vibhor. I am well!
Steven I am trying to buy Macbook at advertised price of 728, but when I add it to cart, it shows me 899 instead.
That is correct.
That price is only in specific colleges bookstores.
which ones?
The only one I know of is the University of Maryland.
ok
Sorry for the confusion.
so why is it advertised widely on apple's store?
It was done in error.
ok, thanks
Were you going to get a MacBook today?
yes if it was at that price.
Sorry. You can check your college bookstore to see if they have it.
ok
thanks
You are welcome.
Thank you for visiting the Apple Store. We appreciate your business. If you would like more help, please chat with us again.
Thank you for choosing the Apple Store. If you have any additional questions, please chat us again.

[Zathu Posted Dec 29th 2009 7:41PM]

Doesn't work. Shows up as $899 in the cart.

[Brother Unit No 4 Posted Dec 29th 2009 9:20PM]

Things are looking better in the low end Apple PC market. :)

[Wesscoast Posted Dec 29th 2009 10:32PM]

@Brother Unit No 4

Let's think this through... if you go to university you qualify for this deal... so presumably, you don't really make a lot of money as a student. when you graduate, and get a job, then you shouldn't have any problem paying $1000 for a laptop that's gonna last you about 3 years ($330/yr).

Seriously guys, the idea that Apple products are unattainable to the masses, with or without this 'offer' just makes no sense at all. They're slightly more expensive, but its worth it in the end to use Mac OS X.

The 5-10% marketshare thing has NOTHING to do with prices, and everything to do with the way the business community uses their 'dull grey boxes'... That's about 70% of the PC market in the US. Business computers running Windows break down more, yes, but can easily be swapped around, and even interface with separate suppliers (eg, Dells and HPs working together on the same network).

All Mac users understand this, and it seems like PC users look at the 90% share and think it means something. Because Macs don't exist (closed architecture) in the business world, they'll NEVER get any significant marketshare. But as a home user, you don't care about that stuff, just get a Mac, there are tons of wicked applications, no games though.

But hey, if you graduated from university already, isn't it time to put down the games? :P

[Harrison Posted Dec 29th 2009 10:36PM]

Damn it, that's almost better than a ThinkPad T400 with the discrete graphics and w/ the contractor discount! I guess Apple is finally doing something for the commoners who helped them get where they were. Too bad they only want to help a few people.

Have they explained why this is only for that school? This is especially strange as my school frequently marks down MacBook Pros for instore purchases and I don't think any of their bundle packages/markdowns show up online. Or maybe they'll finally kill the MacBook line.

[Kyle P Posted Dec 29th 2009 11:07PM]

@Harrison

It's not only for those schools. See my comment below.

[Kyle P Posted Dec 29th 2009 11:07PM]

Mr. Melanson, regarding your update, it is untrue.

My girlfriend's father purchased one today for that price and he is a high school teacher. The discount applied.

[jers Posted Dec 30th 2009 2:53PM]

Hey, what high school did your girlfriend's father pruchase the macbook for that price and where is it located? Any info. would be amazing. I missed out on the deal!

[Kyle P Posted Dec 30th 2009 2:57PM]

@jers

I would rather not say because he is a teacher there.

I can tell you, however, that I was eligible for the discount and I'm a student at a law school here in Chicago, so it wasn't only those two schools.

[Dusty Posted Dec 30th 2009 9:15AM]

Steal or a deal for the time being it was posted...