ZnU
In article <06an24lbldv31g89gr1gji96sfdb1ditmp@4ax.com>, Mayor of R'lyeh <mayor.of.rlyeh@gmail.com>wrote:

Mayor Of R'lyeh
On Wed, 14 May 2008 15:15:52 -0400, ZnU <znu@fake.invalid>wrote:

ZnU
In article <9d3ba$482b0713$7863@news.teranews.com>, Glorb <Glorb@orb.com>wrote:

Glorb
ZnU wrote:

ZnU
Most customers in the market for a $300 or $400 computer aren't what we might call "performance enthusiasts". They want a basic computer for web browsing and other simple tasks. This is basically what the Mac mini is... it just costs more because it has a somewhat better processor than many machines in the sub-$400 range, and there are costs associated with making it so small.

Glorb
Why are you going to the "sub-$400 range?" Why not look at the $400 - $600 range, that gives the same or better processors than the mini, and lots more other hardware, for the same price as a Mini or less?

ZnU
I think a lot of low-end users don't care much more about tech specs than they do about form factor.

Mayor Of R'lyeh
Which explains why the Mini outsells low end mid tower PCs with similar specs 10 to 1.

ZnU
So, making the low-end model larger and cheaper would probably create more interest than making it larger and faster.

Mayor Of R'lyeh
Are you really this deluded?

ZnU
I know there's a constituency on Usenet that desperately wants a reasonably fast sub-$1000 expandable tower from Apple. But my impression is that these folks are mostly computer enthusiasts, and that general users have different priorities.

Mayor Of R'lyeh
Like getting $500 wiorth of computer for $500 and not really thinking that the Mini's form factor is any kind of advantage over a mid tower.

ZnU
It doesn't appear you actually understood my post. My point, slightly more succinctly, was that I don't think low-end users particular care about form factor *or* tech specs, so Apple should probably focus on price if Apple wants to go after low-end market share.