Another huge issue to keep in mind is that the people who are buying the $300 Dells are probably the ones who will need the most technical support. So if Apple suddenly had a zillion new users buying $300 Mac Pamphlets instead of the $1,100 Mac Book, Apple would have a lot more tech support calls to deal with. And those calls would quickly cause the few dollars made on the sale to evaporate.
Original article: The Truth about the “Apple Tax” at AppleMatters.com