Mac OS X Lion in USB Drive in August; Is $69 Reasonable?
Apple's newest operating system, the Mac OS X Lion, made its debut on Wednesday via the Mac App Store downloadable for $29 dollars.
The total size of the entire OS software is reported to be 3.74 GB, which means it could take as much as 30 minutes to several hours to download depending on your connection.
Apple today announced, however, that it would be making the OS X Lion available through physical means in August. That's right, for all who don't have a fast internet connection or can't afford the time to run down to an Apple Store and download it there will be the option to purchase the OS X Lion saved on a USB drive for $69.
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Unless Apple is using the latest and most advanced USB driver to store its newest operating system, then Apple's price hike from $29 dollars on the downloadable version to $69 on the USB version is quite overwhelming.
What is behind such a price hike? What are consumers saying about such difference?
Read some commentator hypothesis shared:
Queue the complaints about overcharging for a thumb drive version.... ghostface147 Comment from the Apple Insider
The delay and cost are definitely trying to push users toward digital downloads. solipsism Comment from the Apple Insider
Makes total sense, a shame that Apple decided to release this in August. Either through deliberate planning or ineptitude on their part. Considering that they have to buy the drives, install the data, package them and then ship them to the Apple Store I think the pricing is fair, certainly far cheaper than Windows. saarek Comment from the Apple Insider
The reason the flash drive copy of Lion is $69.99, is to push people to use the Mac App Store. Once people know how easy the Mac app store is to use, they might start buying apps from it, and therefore Apple earns more money! Clever, hey? - Luke, Comment from the Wall Street Journal
Hey, just a damn minute. I remember when OS X updates were $129.00 so keep your shirts on, $69 is cheap. lkrupp, Comment from the Apple Insider
$69 covers the $29 for Lion, the $29 for Snow Leopard and $9 for the actual drive. This is intended for those that never updated to Snow Leopard and would be in trouble because Apple's SOP is to yank the old OS disks when the new one is out (just like they do with older application software). So by August (which is really just in two weeks) they will have sold out of all the Snow Leopard that is around if it's not gone already. Since the intended audience never bought Snow Leopard they want that licensing money. - charlituna, Comment from the Apple Insider
Oh for crying out loud - it's a way to cover costs for a minor amount of users. If you’re in the minority, you should expect to pay more - costs are higher for lower volume purchases, especially for low volume purchases that have the overhead of physical goods that have all the related logical requirements. All this "discourage" nonsense is just that - pure nonsense. DocNo42 Comment from the Apple Insider
Other Mac OS X Lion Amusing Comments:
HotelRomeo1080P, Comment from Engadget
Can Africa sue apple for stealing the name Lion?
MichaelangeloNinjaTurtle in reply to HotelRomeo1080P, Comment from Engadget
No, but I'm not so sure Apple won't sue Africa.
Simon Gustavsson in reply to MichaelangeloNinjaTurtle, Comment from Engadget
OH they can!
Karim Munir in reply to MichaelangeloNinjaTurtle, Comment from Engadget
Better not count on that now a days.
Tim Meesseman in reply to HotelRomeo1080P, Comment from Engadget
Wow, another comment about Apple suing someone. How original.
TheNNS in reply to Tim Meesseman, Comment from Engadget
They'll sue you for that.
Have an opinion? Feel free to comment below.
