Mac - PC PriceWatch 2008

2008 retail prices of new computers in Australia (taxes included)
prices in Australian dollars - updated 27 February 2008

Pricewatch
in
Previous Years
Costing the FREE Apple software bundle- "iLife 06"- with approximate prices for PC equivalents

Read a PC advocate's view of iLife: "iLife '06: Why Can't the PC Do This?"
"If you're unfamiliar with iLife, it's basically a complete and integrated suite of digital media tools that's available only for Mac OS X. In most cases, these applications are best-of-breed, meaning that there are no alternatives that come even close to combining the power, ease of use, and integration that the iLife applications provide."

Read a review of Comic Life: Create your own comics

New

Second hand

April 2003
January 2003
June 2002
January 2002

 

Consumer digital video making
IMovie and iDVD
on a new Mac, cost = $ 0

Music Making
Garageband
on a new Mac, cost = $ 0

Photo organisation
and simple editing
iPhoto
on a new Mac, cost = $ 0

Simple web page editing and publishing; blogging and podcast publishing
iWeb
on a new Mac, cost = $ 0

Make your own Comic Book
Comic Life
on a new Mac, cost = $ 0

 

Total = $ 0

Vegas® Movie Studio+DVD $227
or
Pinnacle Studio 500 v10 $239

similar to iMovie and iDVD but without the ease of use and integration that are found in iLife 06
(Read review at right)

similar to GarageBand but without the ease of use and integration that are found in iLife 06 (Read review at right)

 

Picasa and PhotoStory
(free downloads)


many free applications do these tasks but without the ease of use and integration that are found in iLife 06

Read a review of iWeb from ars

Comic book Creator $40

similar to Comic Life but without the ease of use and integration that are found in iLife 06

 

Total = $ 400 plus

February
2008

Core 2 Duo Laptop 13.3 screen

Core 2 Duo Laptop 15" screen
Dell online store
27 February 2008
AppleStore Australia
online configuration

27 February 2008

Dell online store
27 February 2008

more 15" notebooks from Techbuy

AppleStore Australia
online configuration

27 February 2008

 

  Dell XPS M1330 Laptop
E-VALUE CODE : R540212
Macbook
Dell XPS M1530 Laptop
E-VALUE CODE : R540215
Macbook Pro 15"
Processor 2.2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
4MB L2 cache
2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
4MB L2 cache
Memory
3GB 2GB 2GB DDR SDRAM  2GB memory (667MHz DDR2 SDRAM)
Hard disk drive 250GB SATA 250GB SATA hard drive 250GB SATA  250GB Serial ATA hard drive
Graphics NVIDIA128 Mb Graphics
Intel GMA 950 graphics processor with 64MB of DDR2 SDRAM shared with main memory Ultrasharp Widscreen 1680x1050 with TrueLife 256 MB video card ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 graphics with 256MB SDRAM
Optical drive

DVD burner 8x dual layer
video card not stated

Superdrive 8x (DVD+R DL/DVD+RW/CD-RW) 8x DVD +- burner dual layer   Slot-load 6x double-layer SuperDrive (DVD+R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
Connectivity: USB, FireWire, Ethernet

2 USB 2.0 compliant 4-pin connectors
IEEE 1394a
RJ45 Ethernet port (10/100)
External Modem via USB
Video: VGA
Video: HDMI
ExpressCard 54 mm slot
8-in-1 removable memory card reader
Audio jacks: Stereo in & headphone/speaker out (x2) dual digital array mics

22-34mm thick !!!

• Gigabit ethernet
• 1 x Firewire 400
• 2 x USB 2
• Built-in Bluetooth 2.0+EDR (Enhanced Data Rate)
• Combined optical digital/headphone out
• Combined optical digital/audio line in

23mm thin

3 USB 2.0
HDMI
VGA
Firewire (IEEE 1394a)
RJ45 Ethernet port (10/100)
8-in-1 card reader
1 ExpressCard 54 mm slot
Stereo in & headphone/speaker out (x2) dual digital array mics

Weighs 2.62kg
23-35mm thick !!!

Two USB 2.0 ports, one FireWire 400 port, one FireWire 800 port, one ExpressCard/34 slot; full-size, illuminated keyboard with ambient light sensor
Combined optical digital/headphone out, combined optical digital/audio line in, microphone, speakers

Weighs 2.45kg
1 inch, 25mm thin

System Software
Bundled software

Works 8.5

 

 Mac OS X v10.5 Leopard (includes Time Machine, Quick Look, Spaces, Spotlight, Dashboard, Mail, iChat, Safari, Address Book, QuickTime, iCal, DVD Player, Photo Booth, Front Row, Xcode Developer Tools)
iLife ’08 (includes iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD, iWeb, GarageBand)
Works 8.5

 Mac OS X v10.5 Leopard (includes Time Machine, Quick Look, Spaces, Spotlight, Dashboard, Mail, iChat, Safari, Address Book, QuickTime, iCal, DVD Player, Photo Booth, Front Row, Xcode Developer Tools)
iLife ’08 (includes iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD, iWeb, GarageBand)

notes

2 Yr warranty

Built-in web camera
Touchpad
802.11n wireless
8-in-1 media card reader

Built-in iSight camera
Apple Remote
1 year warranty
60W MagSafe Power Adapter
Battery life Up to 6 hours
2.75 x 32.5 x 22.7 cm
2.36 kg
802.11n wireless

built in webcam
1 year warranty
802.11n Wless LAN
1 ExpressCard Slot, (DOES NOT SUPPORT PCMCIA CARDS)
8-in-1 media card reader
Integrated 10/100 Fast Ethernet
NO 56K MODEM


• Built-in iSight camera
• 1 year warranty
• 60W MagSafe Power Adapter

• infrared sensor
• 802.11n wireless
comparable price   $1,927
cost of antivirus software not included
$1,949
includes free software worth over $400
$2,093
cost of antivirus software NOT included
 $2,779
includes free software worth over $400

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