VSWith all of the commotion following Apple's annual WWDC, or world wide developers conference, for those of you who aren't down with the tech lingo; Apple has yet again stirred up peoples emotions as they release their "stunning" upgrades to their product lines. While the majority of the upgrades are useful tools, many of the upgrades we see from Apple are tools that are already in place in the market today from other hardware manufacturers and or carriers depending on the device in question.
Mac Book Pro with Retina Display
One of the most anticipate announcements of the WWDC was the release of a new type of laptop that had never before been made available by Apple. This new and improved laptop is the "Mac Book Pro, with Retina Display". While this shiny new Apple toy comes packed to the hilt with the latest technology including an HDMI port, two fire wire ports, and various other "precisely engineered" nuances when broken down and compared with laptops in the similar price range it doesn't necessarily blow away the competition.
The Competition
The competition consists mainly of a new type of lap top due out in the next few months. Many of these new laptops are going to be referred to as "Ultra Books". The term ultra book refers to a new line of laptops driven by the computer chip manufacturer Intel. According to Intel this new line of ultra books will boast new Intel i3, i5, and i7 processors, solid state drives, and top of the line graphics cards.
Processors
Both the new ultra books and the new Mac Book utilize Intel's new "i" processors. These "i" processors provide immense processing power that ranges anywhere from 2.1 GHz all the way up to 3.8 GHz. While both laptops utilize these new processors the new Mac Book only comes with the new i7 processor. As this is the case those who don't necessarily need quite that much processing power are overpaying for power they won't fully utilize.
Displays
This is one category that Apple has dominated for quite some time. Since the inception of the new "retina display" no company has come close to developing a display with the beauty and clarity of this display. As this is the case I like to question the necessity of this particular aspect of any device. While the display is beautiful to say the least, often times when utilizing the device to complete day to day tasks one can hardly tell the difference between a retina display and an high definition display found on many comparable laptops. Regardless of the comparisons the retina display can indeed be a deal breaker for some.
Hard Drives
Hard drives are another critical component of any computer. As this is the case both Apple and the new ultra books both boast the new solid state drive. For those of you not familiar with the new solid state drives, these types of hard drives provide extremely fast response times when compared to the traditional hard disc drives we have used for years. The biggest benefit of these drives is the computers ability to start up and wake up from sleep mode in roughly the blink of an eye.
Battery Life
When comparing batter life between the two types of laptops there is little difference. The new Mac Book is slated to provide up to 7 hours of batter life when utilizing the web, the new Asus Zenbook is also slated to provide exactly the same batter life expectancy. As this is the case, this category is roughly a tie between the two competitors.
$$$$ PRICE $$$$
This is often times the distinguishing factor as to whether or not one decides to go with any Apple product over it's competitor. The new Mac Book is slated to go on sale at two price points, $2,199 and $2,799. On the other hand, I was unable to find a single Ultra Book either out now or due on in the next few months that even comes close to the hefty price tag put in place by Apple.
As many of you know Apple is very good at putting on a show. Many of their offerings aren't all that different than those offered by their competitors. The biggest distinguishing factor between Apple and it's competitors is Apple's ability to create the need. When Apple advertises it's products it creates such a need that many consumers feel they can't live without it regardless of the price tag. I hope this helps to clear the air with regards to Apple and the new Ultra Books that are sure to give the Mac Book a run for it's money.
