The Indian prices for the new Macbook and Macbook Pros, announced by Apple last Tuesday, are now officially available. Here is what Apple’s new line-up now looks like:

MacBook White
Old Model: 2.1 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo 1 GB Memory 120 GB Hard Drive Intel GMA X3100 Combo Drive	Rs. 49,900	New Model: 2.1 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo 1 GB Memory 120 GB Hard Drive Intel GMA X3100 Super Drive	Rs. 56,580	Rs. 6,880
MacBook
Old Model: (White, Polycarbonate Plastic Body) 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo 2 GB Memory 160 GB Hard Drive Intel GMA X3100 Super Drive	Rs. 59,500	New Model: (Unibody Aluminum) 2.0 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo 2 GB DD3 Memory 160 GB Hard Drive NVidia GeForce 9400M Super Drive	Rs. 72,910	Rs. 13,410
Old Model: (Black, Polycarbonate Plastic Body) 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo 2 GB Memory 250 GB Hard Drive Intel GMA X3100 Super Drive	Rs. 68,100	New Model: (Unibody Aluminum) 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo 2 GB DD3 Memory 250 GB Hard Drive NVidia GeForce 9400M Super Drive	Rs. 88,280	Rs. 20,170
MacBook Air
Old Model: 1.6 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo 2 GB Memory 80 GB Hard Drive (4200 RPM) Intel GMA X3100	Rs. 87,900	New Model: 1.6 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo 2 GB Memory 120 GB Hard Drive (4200 RPM) NVidia GeForce 9400M	Rs. 97,890	Rs. 9,990
-	-	New Model: 1.86 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo 2 GB Memory 128 GB Solid State NVidia GeForce 9400M	Rs. 1,36,310	-
MacBook Pro 15″
Old Model: 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo 2 GB Memory 200 GB Hard Drive NVidia GeForce 8600M GT 256 MB Video Memory Super Drive	Rs. 89,200	New Model: (Unibody Aluminum) 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo 2 GB Memory 250 GB Hard Drive NVidia GeForce 9400M + 9600M GT 256 MB Video Memory Super Drive	Rs. 1,09,410	Rs. 20,210
Old Model: 2.5 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo 2 GB Memory 250 GB Hard Drive NVidia GeForce 8600M GT 512 MB Video Memory Super Drive	Rs. 1,11,300	New Model: (Unibody Aluminum) 2.5 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo 4 GB Memory 320 GB Hard Drive NVidia GeForce 9400M + 9600M GT 512 MB Video Memory Super Drive	Rs. 1,36,310	Rs. 25,010
MacBook Pro 17″
Old Model: 2.5 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo 2 GB Memory 250 GB Hard Drive NVidia GeForce 8600M GT 512 MB Video Memory Super Drive	Rs. 1,24,800	New Model: 2.5 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo 4 GB Memory 320 GB Hard Drive NVidia 8600M GT 512 MB Video Memory Super Drive	Rs. 1,48,800	Rs. 24,000

The prices have left me scratching my head. While I can understand that Apple would want to command premiums over the new Unibody Aluminum enclosures and the new NVidia 9400M chipset, I don’t know if I can justify paying more for a slower processor. This is precisely the case with the older ‘mid-end’ white MacBook. Not to mention the ‘entry level’ for an Apple notebook in India has moved from about Rs. 50,000 to Rs. 56,580. For something that became cheaper by 100 dollars in the US, we are paying even more!

MacBook Air also gets a refresh and incorporates the new NVidia chipset.

In case of the 15″ MacBook Pros; in addition to the Unibody Aluminum enclosure and improved NVidia chips, you are also getting better Front Side Bus speeds, and the new glass touchpad but then you are paying dearly for it. A lakh is a huge psychological barrier even for a ‘Pro’ lineup.

The 17″ MacBook is largely unchanged and a Unibody Aluminum ‘refresh’ is expected in a few months. The ‘new’ model merely adds 2 GB RAM and increases the capacity of the hard-drive to 320 GB. You pay Rs. 24,000 for this generous upgrade. Heist is the politest word that I can think of here. Update:The refresh also gets you a better 1900×1200 display – up from 1680×1050 that was standard on these machines. Now you could upgrade the earlier models to 1900×1200 for a hundred dollars so I still think that the Rs. 24,000 is not justified.

And don’t forget the taxes and local levies that you’ll pay on top of these prices. The new MacBooks aren’t available in stores yet and are expected in 2-3 weeks.

It is evident that Apple is not serious about the Indian market. Prices like these will seriously impair Mac adoption in Indian, and make sure that Apple’s name remains synonymous with words like – premium, pricey, rich and yuppy.

p.s. All prices and model details are from Apple’s Indian website.

Update: Here is how these prices compare to the prices in US.

This entry was posted Monday, October 20th, 2008 at 8:30 pm and is filed under Hardware, Mac. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.