http://bit.ly/ffnFJ7
1) Status symbol - Let's be honest, probably doesn't factor in for HN audience but to the larger general public, status symbols are part of their lives and identities. Using an Apple product conveys outward that this is a person who can afford an Apple product, is perhaps appreciative of design, and is part of a more "elite/creative" crowd. Not my personal opinion fully but I don't think I'm wrong with this generalization.
2) Operating system - OS X vs Win 7. I'm not even going to start this discussion but it's a preference thing and to many, using the Mac OS is worth $x more.
3) Design - The HP Envy looks nice but it's missing the roundness and sleekness of the unibody MBP. What is .21" of extra thinness worth to a user?
4) Battery life - Can you add this since it's a big deal to a lot of users, especially when traveling.
I might have glossed over this, but how about the value of Thunderbolt?
The listed HP with 4GB of memory (down from the standard 6), a 750GB drive upgrade, Windows 7 Pro and a $199 warranty costs $1702 according to the supplied link.
That means a difference of $846 at the end of the day. $150 of that difference is simply the higher cost of AppleCare vs. HP extended warranty.
Even then, if you consider the life-span of this machine to be on the order of three to four years, which is not unreasonable, then that's a premium of about $16 to $22 a month amortized over that time-frame.
Note that the drive option (500GB vs 750GB) does not change the price -- you can have either for the same price. I chose the faster drive (7200 rpm) over the slower (5400 rpm) -- a 25% increase in drive speed makes a world of difference in performance.
I'm not sure what you did with the HP configuration -- starting with the base config ($999), adding the specs listed on the sheet (note: there is no base 6GB to downgrade to 4GB -- and Apple memory options are never* competitive compared to other options), the price remains as noted on the sheet. Perhaps try it again from the base config. So, the rest of the analysis is unfounded.
As for 16x9, blame HDTV.
Dimensions --- MBP: 14.35 x 9.82 x 0.95 HPE: 14.01 x 9.33 x 1.17
Weight: --- MBP: 5.6 lbs HPE: 5.5 lbs
The command key is so wonderfully consistent and logical across the vast majority of apps that I can't believe Google didn't clone it in ChromeOS - it's a design decision that'll haunt them for years.
Long term macbook users trying to use a PC laptop is like trying to sleep in a crib after years of sleeping on a king size bed.
Needless to say, I wasn't impressed.
My second HP I bought about a year ago; I was the proud owner of a DV8t, one of the first i7 laptops. Not only did customer support lie to me (infinite glass screen, what?), but this laptop is badly-designed, too. The battery has been completely dead for several months now and I hadn't even owned the laptop for a year at that point.
The volume, wireless, and CD tray are all controlled from a touch-sensitive panel. The kicker? The panel often malfunctions, resulting in my sound going haywire, my CD tray popping out randomly, and worst of all, my wireless flipping on and off constantly.
To add insult to injury, I can't disable it from the device manager like I could the crappy wacom layer in my previous laptop.
So whatever the price difference between Apples and HPs, I'm sure they cover something other than just the numbers associated with the hardware. I'm certainly never buying another HP and I'll tell everyone I know about how terrible HP's machines have been to me whenever I have the chance.
