> The thing we should be mad about are the prices. They’re charging $200 or more for each step-up in RAM.'
To play Devil's advocate (and shill for Apple for a moment), probably from a marketing standpoint the 8GB model doesn't quite hit the profit margin they would like. Not that I'm claiming it's a loss-leader, but it might be on the low-end of what Apple expects when they mark up a device. But they'll take it because they want to have a model "mainstream" enough for the user with somewhat-modest disposable income.
It is with the upgrades that marketing leans in and ramps up the profit margin. They recognize the "power user" that is maxing out the hardware options and deduce they can stick them for it. And this in fact affords them the softer margins on the entry model.
To play Devil's advocate (and shill for Apple for a moment), probably from a marketing standpoint the 8GB model doesn't quite hit the profit margin they would like. Not that I'm claiming it's a loss-leader, but it might be on the low-end of what Apple expects when they mark up a device. But they'll take it because they want to have a model "mainstream" enough for the user with somewhat-modest disposable income.
It is with the upgrades that marketing leans in and ramps up the profit margin. They recognize the "power user" that is maxing out the hardware options and deduce they can stick them for it. And this in fact affords them the softer margins on the entry model.