Second-guessing Microsoft's latest 'Laptop Hunter' TV ad |
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Microsoft's new "Laptop Hunter" ad, making its TV debut tonight, features a self-described technically savvy laptop shopper who wants a powerful machine with portability and good battery life for less than $1,500. He admires a "so sexy" Mac but says he's buying a computer, not a brand, and ultimately chooses an HP HDX laptop for $1,099.
Did he make the right choice? A closer look at the specs shows that this Mac vs. PC comparison isn't nearly as lopsided as it was for Lauren in Microsoft's previous ad. As shown in the chart below, I was able to put together a MacBook in Giampaolo's price range that's much better on two of his key specs -- battery life and portability (weight).
However, the HP is considerably bigger than the Mac, accommodating Giampaolo's "really big hands." More importantly, under these configurations, it also wins out on many other key specs -- including processor, dedicated graphics and hard drive. (I added as much memory and hard-drive capacity to the MacBook as I could without going over budget.) And the HP is hundreds of dollars less.
So which machine should "G" have bought?

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