At the up-front consumer price, yes it's under $500, or half the price of a MacBook Air or MacBook Pro. But at the corporate monthly payment price it's over $1000.

You can get an entry-level MBP or Air plus a discounted AppleCare for about $1150. You can probably get them cheaper than that if you're buying at least 10 of them. The component specs on the Macs blow away the Chromebooks. And then there's the build quality.

It's as if a current-day BMW were selling at the same price as a 1980's Hyundai.