In a study carried out on 753 customers, Retrevo.com signals that 64 percent of PC users accustomed to low-cost machines may not buy Apple’s upcoming (rumored) tablet, should the company price it $600 or above. The survey, however, reveals that 27 percent of Mac users would have no problem paying between $600 and $800 for the device, while 41 percent say they would cough up even more than $800 to own the elusive iTablet.

“Apple just announced a record quarter and they didn't do that by just selling Apple products to loyal Mac fans,” Retrevo says. “If Apple wants to add to its bottom line with a rumored Apple tablet, it will have to capture buyers from the PC side. Unfortunately, as a recent Retrevo Gadgetology study found, they’re going to have to be very aggressive on pricing if they want to win over PC owners,” the Retrevo.com report reads.

The Retrevo Gadgetology Report is an ongoing study of people and electronics. For this report, the data came from a study of online individuals conducted by an independent panel, according to the company. Sampling 753 individuals, the data was distributed across gender, age, income and location in the United States, while most responses have a confidence interval of 4% at a 95% confidence level, according to Retrevo.

The company continues to stress that, “[By] making the iPhone more than just another Mac product and attracting non-Mac buyers, Apple has been able to turn in record sales numbers. It needs to do the same thing with the iTablet [...] Apple had better hurry up if they want to capture any of the netbook market because many consumers, both Mac and PC owners, have already bought a netbook and many more plan on buying one soon.”


1 - Pie charts showing how much each category of consumers would pay for the rumored Apple tablet
2 - Who’s planning to buy a netbook, and when
Credits: Retrevo.com
“With a rumored price of $800, Apple is going to have an easier time getting Mac owners to pay for a tablet than non-Mac owners,” Retrevo claims. “In the study, 68% of Mac owners said they would pay more than $600 for a tablet. PC owners don’t seem to have the same pain threshold as Mac owners with only 36% of PC owners saying they’d be willing to pay more than $600,” the company writes on its blog.

In conclusion, Retrevo asserts, Apple will only be able to “get in on the netbook craze” if it does something to attract PC owners. This is where Retrevo sees significant sales, while converting PC owners into Apple owners will also require considering a price point close to $600 for the tablet. Also, Retrevo notes, Apple mustn’t, under any circumstances, fail to deliver on time.