I wonder if anyone has actually analyzed Lion's price point and determined whether they are making a profit on it? Apple's strategy has always been acknowledged to be focusing on the software to sell the hardware, since the hardware is where they have good profit margins. It wouldn't surprise me if $29 for Lion just covers the development costs or is even a lost leader. There is certainly software a lot less comprehensive than an entire OS selling for a lot more.
And physical products also have associated shipping and transportation costs. In Apple's case, their main concern is what better use of floor space can they be doing in Apple Stores. Apple is already phasing out most boxed software because they are comparatively low volume while taking up a lot of room. By stocking Lion USB keys, they are potentially losing revenue and profits compared to using that space to sell high volume iPhone 4 accessories for example.
This is silly. Even with the flash drive Lion is still cheap as far as OS upgrades go and prices anyway are "political" here -- Apple is trying to convince users to try and use their online store and the $30 price is just a carrot dangling before the customers.
And you're free to buy the $30 version, get a $5 flash drive and copy it over yourself.
The cost of the physical media never has much to do with the price you're paying in the end for digital content (or software).
"So we have a $30 piece of software (Profit markup already included) and a $10 flash drive for $70. Sounds like typical Apple to me."
I wonder how you reacted to Windows 7 pricing. Did Microsoft get any flak for selling "basically the same Windows 7" in a black box for, er, a "premium"?
Without even knowing how much OS X Lion cost Apple to develop, comments like yours are just as naive as my Window 7 Ultimate example.
Do you really believe that there were no development costs involved in creating the extra features that the different versions of Windows have?
Besides development costs, there are also additional support requirements for those features, incurring continuing costs for the lifetime of the software.
Actually Ultimate has Language Packs + Enterprise features.... honestly its really just to screw people who don't speak English, but its a feature right?
I really hope microsoft sells them for win8, too. I install all my os' by usb stick by now. Much faster, and much more handy than having a disk around. Even update-able.
Other than that, typical apple-can-make-money-out-of-everything. No comment there.
"Given the company's push to digital downloads and its notorious stubbornness, Apple probably thinks we should be grateful to have the option at all."
Well, given how narcissistic Apple is, Apple probably thinks this article’s author is a complete retard. You know. Probably. As far as companies "think". And as much as they can be characterized as "stubborn" because they do things differently than random article authors on the internet expect, and, surprisingly, are raking in billions of dollars.
Literary term I'm coming up with is 'Personification'. I'm thinking I was looking for some other term but I suppose that will do.
Are you seriously criticizing the article or its writer for attributing 'thought' or 'stubbornness' to the Apple company? You do realize that the company is made up of people who think and are perfectly capable of being stubborn?
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pattycake0147 - Tuesday, August 16, 2011 - link
So we have a $30 piece of software (Profit markup already included) and a $10 flash drive for $70. Sounds like typical Apple to me.ltcommanderdata - Tuesday, August 16, 2011 - link
I wonder if anyone has actually analyzed Lion's price point and determined whether they are making a profit on it? Apple's strategy has always been acknowledged to be focusing on the software to sell the hardware, since the hardware is where they have good profit margins. It wouldn't surprise me if $29 for Lion just covers the development costs or is even a lost leader. There is certainly software a lot less comprehensive than an entire OS selling for a lot more.And physical products also have associated shipping and transportation costs. In Apple's case, their main concern is what better use of floor space can they be doing in Apple Stores. Apple is already phasing out most boxed software because they are comparatively low volume while taking up a lot of room. By stocking Lion USB keys, they are potentially losing revenue and profits compared to using that space to sell high volume iPhone 4 accessories for example.
uhuznaa - Tuesday, August 16, 2011 - link
This is silly. Even with the flash drive Lion is still cheap as far as OS upgrades go and prices anyway are "political" here -- Apple is trying to convince users to try and use their online store and the $30 price is just a carrot dangling before the customers.And you're free to buy the $30 version, get a $5 flash drive and copy it over yourself.
The cost of the physical media never has much to do with the price you're paying in the end for digital content (or software).
Mumrik - Tuesday, August 16, 2011 - link
"Cheap as far as OS upgrades go"I'm curious. Which OS upgrade prices would you be comparing to here? Apple's own?
xype - Tuesday, August 16, 2011 - link
Windows Vista's upgrade to Windows 7, perhaps? Or is it that much bigger a leap than OS X 10.6 to 10.7?quiksilvr - Tuesday, August 16, 2011 - link
I think you answered your own question.xype - Tuesday, August 16, 2011 - link
"So we have a $30 piece of software (Profit markup already included) and a $10 flash drive for $70. Sounds like typical Apple to me."I wonder how you reacted to Windows 7 pricing. Did Microsoft get any flak for selling "basically the same Windows 7" in a black box for, er, a "premium"?
Without even knowing how much OS X Lion cost Apple to develop, comments like yours are just as naive as my Window 7 Ultimate example.
sprockkets - Tuesday, August 16, 2011 - link
The point is, why is a USB stick of the same OS available online $40 more, when the drive itself costs around $3 for apple?And why not just a DVD for those who don't want to spend $70?
KITH - Tuesday, August 16, 2011 - link
Do you really believe that there were no development costs involved in creating the extra features that the different versions of Windows have?Besides development costs, there are also additional support requirements for those features, incurring continuing costs for the lifetime of the software.
Bluestealth - Thursday, August 18, 2011 - link
Actually Ultimate has Language Packs + Enterprise features.... honestly its really just to screw people who don't speak English, but its a feature right?bupkus - Tuesday, August 16, 2011 - link
not another Apple article!"No comment"
davepermen - Tuesday, August 16, 2011 - link
I really hope microsoft sells them for win8, too. I install all my os' by usb stick by now. Much faster, and much more handy than having a disk around. Even update-able.Other than that, typical apple-can-make-money-out-of-everything. No comment there.
But at least, it's not a dvd or something.
xype - Tuesday, August 16, 2011 - link
"Given the company's push to digital downloads and its notorious stubbornness, Apple probably thinks we should be grateful to have the option at all."Well, given how narcissistic Apple is, Apple probably thinks this article’s author is a complete retard. You know. Probably. As far as companies "think". And as much as they can be characterized as "stubborn" because they do things differently than random article authors on the internet expect, and, surprisingly, are raking in billions of dollars.
Just sayin’. That’s what Apple probably thinks.
KITH - Tuesday, August 16, 2011 - link
Literary term I'm coming up with is 'Personification'. I'm thinking I was looking for some other term but I suppose that will do.Are you seriously criticizing the article or its writer for attributing 'thought' or 'stubbornness' to the Apple company? You do realize that the company is made up of people who think and are perfectly capable of being stubborn?
name99 - Tuesday, August 16, 2011 - link
"Given the company's push to digital downloads and its notorious stubbornness, Apple probably thinks we should be grateful to have the option at all."Can we please keep the childish editorializing limited to DailyTech?
AnandTech is better than this sort of silly supposed "analysis".