[nkohari]

It's not just build quality, it's also aesthetics. You say you can't speak for design, but that's what most people care about more than the ability to bounce their laptop off of concrete. That's why the average consumer isn't in the market for a Toughbook.

[daten]

What data are basing the opinions of "most people" and "average consumers" on?

[jasonwocky]

Does it matter? Are you disputing the claim? Do you think that people care more about the ability to bounce their laptop off of concrete than aesthetics?

[tomjen3]

Depends on which group you look into. The social level who can afford to buy apple? Most likely not that many.

Those who can't afford to change the laptop if it breaks (or who would find this to be a major expense)? Yeah, I can believe that.

[jodrellblank]

The social level who can afford to buy apple?

A Toughbook costs more than a comparable MBP.

[moe]

And for the price of a MBP you can buy 2-3 "normal" laptops.

I.e. the low-end budget stuff that ain't pretty, may have a whiny fan, but still gets the job done.

[moe]

Why did that get downvoted?

For reference, here's a Lenovo G550 for $389:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834146...

The MBP starts at $1199.

[tomjen3]

And insurance costs more than not having it, but the poorer you are, the more you need it.

So yeah, it is maybe more expensive but I can totally see why you would want that.

[jodrellblank]

I can see why you would want it as well, but if you can afford it then you are in the social group who "can afford Apple".

(As long as toughbook refers to Panasonic Toughbook brand, if there is a cheap laptop marketed as durable that would make a difference.)

[jshen]

consumer sales?

[ShaunK]

Well then HP, Dell and Acer make the most beautiful laptops in the world.

[jshen]

Are you including sales to businesses in those numbers?

[ShaunK]

Yes probably. And in reality if you look at laptops > $1k it's not even close, Apple has 90% of that market. What that says to me though is that most people care more about cost than aesthetics. The point being that aesthetics isn't really the trump card that a lot of people think it is.

[jshen]

I think we have to bucket buyers into different groups. For one large group I think it is the dominant factor. I think the word "aesthetics" maybe be a bit of a misnomer. It's more than just physical appearance. There's a clean elegance to almost all aspects of the device including the software.

The tablets will be a good test, so far the android tablets aren't a lot cheaper than the ipad. We'll see how they do.

[recoiledsnake]

You mean around 17% to 20% ? That's 'most people' and the 'average consumer'?

[jshen]

can you link to the numbers

[kgermino]

I disagree. I think that the average person looks almost exclusively at price, and not much else. However, in my experience the few people that pay much attention to the specific type of laptop they are buying pay at least as much attention to quality as they do to aesthetics. (Note that I don't have any numbers to back this up, this is just my experience from the people who I help buy computers)

[recoiledsnake]

>That's why the average consumer isn't in the market for a Toughbook.

The average consumer isn't in the market for a beautiful piece of a glass laptop that breaks with little impact either.

[stcredzero]

My original Aluminum Unibody 13" macbook has been dropped 6ft onto a hardwood floor, and banged multiple times against aluminum braces. Has a few dings, but still going strong.