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The battery in your MacBook Pro is a consumable item, which means it will require replacement at the end of its useful life.

What laptop battery isn't a consumable item?

$220 to have a MacBook Pro battery replaced after 1 year of ownership? That's just insane. It wouldn't cost so much if Apple products were USER-SERVICEABLE.

Don't forget that the browser on an iPad will probably identify as a Mac as well. I'm sure that iPad users in general have significantly more disposable income than all other users, including regular Mac users. So targeting them with upsell offers that people with more disposable income would be attracted to makes sense.

1. The cost, per Apple's website, to replace a battery is $129 for the 13 and 15" models and $199 for the newest Retina Display models. The iPhone is $79 to replace, the iPad is $99 to replace.(http://www.apple.com/support/macbookpro/....
(http://www.apple.com/batteries/replaceme....

2. If the battery failed at one year of ownership then it is defective and should have been a warranty claim, or the owner was doing something to scuttle the battery.

3. There are trade-offs in any design. A user serviceable battery would not meet the product design specifications, end of story. Judging by the number of Macbooks, iPhones, iPads and iPods that Apple has been selling it sure doesn't seem like the marketplace is all that concerned about self-service batteries.

you guys are hilarious. is the tire in your car user replacable? what about the oil? its like 4 or 6 screws to remove the back cover to get to the battery on a mac laptop. its easily dooable by anyone who knows how to use a screw driver. ipads and phones may be different. youtube can show you its not too hard. motoroloa is now encasing batteries in tablets and phones....does that make users of motorola products also spend more on orbitz?

The new i-whatever ones are glued in, not screwed in.

Asimov wrote..

The new i-whatever ones are glued in, not screwed in.

Yep. And Apple sends you a different product when you have the battery replaced, not yours back with a new battery. They tell you to back up your device on iTunes so you can restore all your data, etc., when you get the different product (someone else's reconditioned product?) in return.

And, again, there's the time delay in getting a product in return...

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Will the data on my iPad be preserved?
No. You will receive a replacement iPad that will not contain any of your personal data. Before you submit your iPad for service, it is important to sync your iPad with iTunes to back up your contacts, calendars, email account settings, bookmarks, apps, etc. Apple is not responsible for the loss of information when servicing your iPad.

How long will it take to receive my replacement iPad?
If you arrange service by calling Apple Technical Support, you can expect service to be completed within approximately one week from the time you send your iPad to Apple.

http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/13/dead-....

Mikeit83 wrote..

is the tire in your car user replaceable? what about the oil?

Do you mean user-serviceable? Why, yes, they are. When has anyone ever had to send their car off to the manufacturer's service center for a few weeks to have a tire or the oil changed? When has anyone ever received a different car (though same model) in return after submitting their car to the manufacturer for a mere tire or oil change?

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is the tire in your car user replacable? what about the oil? its like 4 or 6 screws to remove the back cover to get to the battery on a mac laptop.

Doubt you've fully considered the issues here. I dont lose the warranty on my vehicle if i change the tyres or oil...

A conversation i had recently with a girl i work with:

Her: "I have to go to the Apple store to pick up my macbook. The hard disk died and i have to pay $400 to get it fixed. This is the third time Apple has ****ed me like this"

Me: "You're still gonna buy more Apple **** arent you?"

Her: "Probably. I still like it."

Thats the mentality of Apple consumers.

Exactly, Poid.

Hang in there, fanbois. I'm sure with the release of this information, Apple is now working furiously on their own iTravel app that you will be forced to use find in their ecosystem that will overcharge you 33%, but it is clearly faster and better.

Overcharging people is part of Apple's business model. So much so that the government is suing them for anti-trust violations and collusion with publishers to restrain competition and raise prices in the electronic book market. The quotes from Steve Jobs make this look like a slam dunk case too.

So some third-party firm has noticed and decided to treat Apple's customer base the same way that Apple treats them. BFD.

Coincidentally, just today my employer supplied me with a new cell. (Actually they supplied everyone with one, the rank and file got Samsung flips, the management ranks got iPhone 4S's)
I'm a working supervisor, I crawl and climb into and over machinery, weld, and pull wrenches. I'm the guy with the greasy, burnt and torn coveralls.
Should be interesting to see how the iPhone survives that, looks pretty delicate to me.

It's called a premium pricing strategy. Good grief, they do it with everything from car wax to furniture. Does a Thomasville chair function better than one from the local Walmart? Nope, but I doubt many here buy furniture at Wally world.

It goes beyond that, Twox2. Apple deliberately designs their products so that the user CANNOT maintain the equipment, and must therefore pay excessive servicing costs on top of the already comparatively exorbitant product prices.

Apple's *charge 'em every which way we can* business model sure seems to work for those who are incapable or too lazy to learn how to maintain their own equipment, though.

...as does BMW and a host of other "premium" product makers. I don't disagree with you...I just don't think it's an uncommon strategy for sellers...or buyers who pursue image as much as function.

I don't like the Apple cult, but it's hard to argue that Apple doesn't deserve the premium it charges on its PCs.

I just ordered a MacBook (at a 50% premium) to replace my 2-month-old Dell XPS15.

Why?

Well, turns out that "secure 64 bit Windows with Microsoft Security Essentials" is completely vulnerable to a rootkit infection delivered as a payload in a banner ad.

I was reading the Economist, and one of the banner ads "served" me the Alureon rootkit, which is just-about impossible to remove.

After wasting about 10 hours trying to remove it from my machine with various anti-virus programs, my machine finally simply hosed itself.

I then had to spend another four hours tracking and changing passwords on my bank account, email, etc. since the rootkit has a keylogger and was probably sending all my account information to some scammer in Russia.

Then I had to spend a couple of hours running a "disk shredder" to overwrite the entire drive, start-to-finish, with zeroes.

Then another two hours reinstalling Windows 7.

That's about 18 hours of wasted time.

The Mac cost $600 more than the PC.

Even assuming the Dell wouldn't get reinfected (a frankly risky assumption), is 18 hours of my time worth more than $33 and change per hour?

Hell yes.

Am I willing to risk reinfection?

Hell no.

Is a PC that can be infected with a serious piece of malware through a commonly-encountered phenomenon like a banner ad a good piece of technology?

Hell no.

Am I willing to waste dozens of hours a month keeping a "clean Windows PC," or reinstalling the system after an infection?

Hell no.

Does Apple have a security model that is anywhere near as flawed as Windows 7?

Nope.

Apple it is.

I'd like to point out that the Apple user demographic is wealthier. This is basic 2+2=4. Wealthy people have greater ability to spend than poor people, and who would have thought, when you're wealthy, you buy expensive things!?! someone call the press, Orbitz figured out basic math and decided to market expensive things to folks that actually have the money (or credit) to buy them!!

Guess what? If I have the money, I get the nicer hotel room too. Who in their right mind WANTS to sleep on an uncomfortable mattress in a small hotel room? If the basic motel 6 is $100, and $30 more will get me a night at the 3 or 4 star Hyatt across the street, if I can, I'm going to stay at the nicer hotel. It's not rocket science.

In case it's not clear, Orbitz is suggesting more expensive rooms and upgrades to the Mac users because Orbitz found that they want them. The Mac users aren't paying 30% more for the same room but for a better room.

The average annual household income for Mac users is over $90K, while for Windows users it's about $70K. Mac users are willing and able to purchase more expensive items. What is wrong with that?

As an Apple consultant, I routinely replace drives and memory in Macs. Don't confuse Macs and iOS devices; Macs can generally be serviced in the field but iOS stuff can't. That doesn't stop our Fortune 500 customers from deploying thousands of them though, and the management interfaces make it all work well with Active Directory and Exchange.

You may think Macs and iPhones overpriced but the consultants out there do a brisk business integrating and supporting them.

This whole thread cracks me up. The fanbois are out in force today.

Newsflash: Apple makes computers. Guess what? They're made from the same parts as PCs. Guess what else? They have nearly an identical failure rate.

Regarding viruses: Macs have 'em too, and I haven't had one on any of my PCs in YEARS...yes YEARS. Nope, I don't spend 18 hours (!) reworking my rig when I do decide to (I've never done it because i HAD TO either). It takes a total of 30 minutes to restore my last backup...just like with Time Machine.

With the Mac crowd it has always been form over function. I laugh at that philosophy...as I'm fixing their Macs...for the third...fourth...fifth time...all the way to the bank.

Macs "just work"? So do my PCs...all running Windows 7, with free antivirus software, and any other programs I choose to run on them...and they ALL "just work".

Here is a Mac virus

http://scripting.com/stories/2007/10/25/....

Apple sells appliances (or at least, appliance-like) products to people who want appliances or appliance-like consumer devices. Sending your TV or toaster back to the manufacturer or sending to a central repair center isn't all that odd.

If ya want user-serviceable, buy something other than Apple. If you want Apple products, buy 'em. The price and lack of serviceability hasn't hurt them yet, and I doubt it will. Different strokes for different folks.

Put another way: "What kind of computer/tablet/phone defines me as a person?" -- seems ridiculous, but sometimes it's as much about fashion as functionality.

Oh, and for those who post "haters gotta hate" when people point out that they think it's dumb for people to buy Apple products, it's fair to point out that "believers gotta believe" or "fans gotta be fans".

All's fair in love and product fanaticism.

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Put another way: "What kind of computer/tablet/phone defines me as a person?"

Exactly. One I can repair and maintain myself.

No sending it back to the manufacturer for several weeks to get a new battery or for a simple repair like swapping out a hard drive.

Rjazz117 wrote..

Newsflash: Apple makes computers. Guess what? They're made from the same parts as PCs. Guess what else? They have nearly an identical failure rate.

Regarding viruses: Macs have 'em too, and I haven't had one on any of my PCs in YEARS...yes YEARS. Nope, I don't spend 18 hours (!) reworking my rig when I do decide to (I've never done it because i HAD TO either). It takes a total of 30 minutes to restore my last backup.

Yep. And I'm not getting why anyone would need to spend 18 hours to restore their rig to a pre-infected state. That's what images are for.

I've said it before and I'll repeat it here: I don't understand the vitriol toward Apple products here on the Ticker Forums. If you believe Apple's valuation as a company is too high or their stock price is in bubble territory - fine, I get that. The sheer anger spewed toward Apple products and its users here is incredible.

Apple's focus is in providing an appliance-like experience for the end user. That means compromises in things like user serviceability. For many people that's a fair trade-off. Contrary to the invective spewed here it isn't necessarily about being cool or about being fashionable or about any of that. It's merely about functionality, simplicity and good design. For the mass market those things sell. Details matter.

But as usual, it ain't for everyone. If you prefer the "open" Android environment, you've got dozens of models to choose from. If you prefer to be able to swap your own battery, there are dozens of competing products to choose from. If you don't like Apple's forced ecosystem, there are dozens of competing products to choose from. The market is large enough for all of them, but for the love of God, please cool it with the tired old storyline about Apple Fanbois, Apple's lock on the public school dollars, the idiocy of Apple buyers, the inferiority of a closed ecosystem or of a non-user-serviceable product.

For everyone here who is of the opinion that markets matter and that markets make good decisions please realize that a large segment of the market has spoken and they've pretty clearly stated that they have no issue with Apple's approach. Different strokes for different folks, but cool it with the invective and fury, please.

Note: I don't "hate" Apple products, but I do dislike iTunes...they ARE just computes after all...and I LOVE computers. It is the haughty arrogance of a large percentage of Mac users I have little tolerance for.

Note 2: Most PC users I've encountered are thrilled that you can fix their machine at all. Most Mac users not only expect their banged-up 4 year old computer to be fixed, but they expect it done while they wait, and want the machine to be "as new" when they get it back. Sometimes, that is impossible...and they just don't get it, no matter how nicely you explain it to them. (We have many abandoned Macs in storage at the shop...which is how I have one at all. I call it FrankenMac, made from the parts of other dead Macs.)

Note 3: My labor rate doesn't change, based on which type of computer I'm brought to fix, but it does sometimes change based on how I am treated by the user.