Stop the Noiz

Judging HP by Microsoft's 'Laptop Hunter' Standards

Frank Fox - 2009.04.14 - Tip Jar

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Many people think the latest Microsoft "Laptop Hunter" ads are directed at Apple, but what if they weren't?

What if we held HP to this same pricing requirement? What happens to HP's line up of laptops if only those under $1,000 are okay, any between $1,000 and $1,500 are on notice for canceling, and any above $1,500 have to be immediately eliminated?

Let's start with the Home & Home Office section on HP's website. There we find four groups of laptops to choose from. If we look only at starting prices, we can give the thumbs up for the Mini Series, Everyday Series, and the Ultra-Portable Series.

The prices on the Performance & Entertainment Series start to balloon up. The HDX 16t Premium laptop is creeping up on pricing. It starts at $1,300, which is above our $1,000 limit, and therefore it must be put "on notice".

When we leave the consumer world and head over to business class, the number of computers above $1,000 is ridiculous. Most of these computers need to be axed or dropped in price.

Everything in the Performance category is at least "on notice". The two big offenders are the Compaq 8710p at $1,799 and the Compaq 8710w at $3,149. The Compaq 8710w is particularly overpriced and should have a requirement for sending a refund to all those who foolishly spent more than $3,000 for a laptop.

The Balanced Mobility group is mostly safe, with only the EliteBook 6930p - $1,199 having to go "on notice". I guess "Balanced Mobility" is code for cheap business laptop.

The final category is Ultralight. Here there are two more laptops that are on notice, EliteBook 2530p for $1,449 and EliteBook 2730p for $1,479. At $2,192, the Compaq 2710p must be "immediately canceled".

So there you have it. HP has a lot of models where it needs to bring the price down, and there are several that must be canceled.

These are tough standards, but if we are going to judge Apple by these standard, it only makes sense that HP and other PC vendors comply.

We are only picking on HP because their models have been the highlights of the first two "Laptop Hunter" commercials, but Dell is on notice. Dell must drop prices, or the next commercial will be about how overpriced its computers are!

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