Market Positioning...
...which is something I know next to nothing about, however, it boils down to Apple not wanting to be Wal*Mart. And hey, who would? :-) Apple keep pushing the quality, the chic, the nebulous 'prestige' aspect of their products. Going the Wal*Mart or Dell way means cranking out any stuff as cheap as possible so price is the only reason you buy it. Sure it may work, but you don't get a reputation for quality and 'cool' by doing it that way. In the end, I guess it's all about how companies want to be seen, and the kind of people they want to attract.
On and on and on and on,
and on and on and on goes John.