[dragontamer]

Then get the $300 Asus Vivotab Note, instead of spending $60/month on a lease on a new laptop. Within 6 months, you'll have made your money back and then some (Especially since the $300 tablet can do everything a 4-year-old computer can do, while having superior battery life, significantly less weight, support of a Wacom Active Stylus and a touchscreen)

Yes, I have run Photoshop and Gimp on a $300 Baytrail Tablet. Yes, they work. I can personally verify that fact. On the other hand, I do notice significant performance increases when comparing these cheap, tiny computers against my beefy Desktop. Regardless, I speak from experience.

Benchmarks do not lie however, these $300 Baytrail tablets are faster than Macbook Pros from 4 years ago.

Regardless of how you slice it, computers depreciate significantly faster than cars. For those where "just enough" performance is good enough, you might as well buy these modern $300 netbooks / tablets than lease a top-of-the-line laptop for $60/month... unless you really throw away your laptops after less than 5 months of usage.

A brand new cheap computer is better than a top-of-the-line computer from 4 years ago. And for those who are chasing the top end, modern premium computers are released too often for this lease business model to make sense IMO.

[auctiontheory]

Regardless of how you slice it, computers depreciate significantly faster than cars.

Actually an MBP [1] holds its value better than many Detroit products[2].

[1] See eBay. [2] http://www.forbes.com/2010/10/27/cars-resale-value-lifestyle...

[dragontamer]

I'm thinking of the typical car vs the typical computer.

>> New cars typically lose about 20% of their value the moment they’re driven off the lot, and about 65% after five years.

MBPs are one of the few computers that hold their value the best. But after 5 years, you're looking at a depreciation rate of 75%+ (going from $2000+ in 2009 to only $500 in 2014).

But we're looking at the _best_ computer that holds its value the best. No one gives a damn about a refurbished Dell Inspiron from 2010.

www.sears.com/dell-refurbished-dell-latitude-e6400-14inch-notebook-intel/

You're looking at ~90% depreciation for the more typical laptop, and maybe 70% if you focus only on Macbooks. With Cars, you're looking at 65% typical depreciation, with only ~45% if you focus on Camrys or Corolas.

A 2009 Camry will run you ~12k today, only 45% depreciation.

[auctiontheory]

Did you read the article? These guys are leasing MBPs, not Dell Inspirons. Your MBP depreciation numbers ($2000->$500 in 5 years) are also wrong.

[dragontamer]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Apple-13-Inch-Macbook-Pro-2009-4GB-2...

You're right. Macbook Pros depreciate down to $400, (if you have $100 office tacked on). I guess its closer to $2000->$300 in 5 years.

Without Office... it looks like the Macbook Pro depreciates to $175.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Apple-MacBook-Pro-13-3-Laptop-MB990L...

Not looking good for a laptop that 5-years ago costed $2000.

Realistically, I'm seeing $500 on certain EBay deals, but really its anywhere between $175 to $500.