I'm not sure about your position either. You can usually get more bang for
the buck by NOT buying Apple.

For the same money you can get a faster processor, more RAM, bigger drive,
a better graphics card, etc. My wife's Lenovo laptop came with a better
processor, bigger HD, more RAM, bigger screen, etc. than my daughter's
Macbook Pro and cost $500 less.

When it comes to the iPad (my wife has one) there are a couple of limiting
factors that few Apple users mention. You cannot expand it and the camera
has fewer MP. My Android tablet has more basic RAM than her iPad (32 MBs vs
16) and can be expanded with microSD cards (up to 32 Gbs more). My camera
is 8 MP compared to her 5 MP. Ditto for my Android phone and her iPhone.
With Apple you are locked in and are more likely to have to upgrade before
a similar Android user due to lack of expansion. Which the cynic in me says
is Apple's plan to sell more devices. Planned obsolescence.

The intent is not to knock Apple, but to show how they work. You are paying
a premium price for solid hardware and OS, but can get more for less by not
buying Apple with the added bonus of being expandable.