I must admit, when my friends came to me with the proposition of writing a piece comparing and contrasting the new HP Touchsmart with the new Macbook, well, I laughed. How can you compare a desktop computer that's all touchscreen to a laptop that's...well...a laptop?
And then I saw the price marks. Cheapest HP is at, did I read that correctly? $1149.99???? Where as the Macbook sits at a very comfortable $1299.00, (we're only looking at the Aluminum Macbook, there is a white polycarbonate shell one for $999.00) which isn't odd for a Macbook. And if you've ever looked at one of these sexy machines from Apple, you'd know that the price range is a little high. So here comes the real question: It's Christmas. I have money. I want to buy my family member or significant other something special. Which am I looking at?
First off, I say this. Do NOT buy a computer randomly for someone unless you know what they like when it comes to technology. Wait...let me rephrase that. Do NOT buy a Mac randomly for someone unless you know what they like when it comes to technology. Many people prefer PC over Mac, and even if it does look cute in the store, no one wants a laptop with an operating system that they are unfamiliar with.
Now lets actually look at the computers. The Macbook is, obviously, a laptop. So that means it's something you can always have on you. The Mac, I find, is a good computer for graphic design. Nicenicenice. Lets look at specs, though. If you're going for the cheapest one (which, if you're smart, you ARE), the specs are: Mac OS X 10.5 "Leopard" preinstalled, 2.0 GHz, 13 inches, Intel Core 2 Duo, 2GB DDR3 Memory, 160GB Harddrive, NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics, Aluminum unibody, Weighs 4.5 lbs. and measures only 1", wireless (obviously, it's a laptop), Ships within 24hours from the site and you can have it for as low as $31.00 a month. Looking good. Did I mention it's Green? Oh yes! For all of you people trying to make the world a better place, the Macbook is made of recycled materials and shit that wont make the planet suck so bad once it's chucked. Works for me.
And in this corner, the HP Touchsmart: Windows Vista Home Premium WITH Service Pack 1, Intel(R) Core(TM) 2 Duo Processor T5750 (2.0 GHz), 4GB DDR2-667MHz system memory, Intel(R) Media Accelerator X3100, 320GB 7200 rpm SATA 3Gb/s hard drive, and it comes equipped with a wireless card and bluetooth, burns CDs and DVDs, and you can pay as little as $35.00 a month. Pretty good. I mean, I have to admit it's a really nice looking machine. By the way, did I already mention it's fucking TOUCHSCREEN?! I mean, obviously the name kind of gives it away, but that alone makes it cooler than the Mac. Sadly, it's not a laptop. So that means no carrying this baby around to show it off. It just gets to sit in your room. And with more and more people only owning laptops nowadays, can the desktop be revived with this or will people just wait for the laptop version to come out?
HP Touchsmart
Macbook
Really, it's all about preferences. Do you want and/or need a desktop? Go HP Touchsmart. Want a laptop and you're comfortable with Mac? Go Macbook (although, you may want to be a bit more than comfortable with Mac, you might want to prefer them over the PC). It's hard to compare a desktop with a laptop, especially when one very clearly blows the other out of the water, but hey. Sometimes the comparisons are needed.
