--Relevant as of August 1, 2009

This chart compares Apple's consumer laptop to dell's consumer laptop. For $50 less for the Mac, you get a faster computer with no craplets or security holes. You get a better battery and in our opinion, a better operating system.

For an extra $50 for the Dell you get an express card slot and a media card reader. The express card slot is used to temporarily plug an external device like a big sound system, or a wireless card which receives internet via cell phone providers. It is possible to purchase similar devices for USB ports. We really believe that most consumers won't use an express card slot or may not even know what its fore to begin with. A built-in media card reader is nice, but consumers can purchase a USB media card reader for less than $20 if they need it.

Also, the Dell has a weaker battery and with the 7200 RPM hard drive and the power inefficient Windows Vista, the charge on the battery isn't going to last very long.

Additionally, you will need to buy anti-virus and security software for your Windows Vista Dell machine, adding to the final price.

The bottom line—the MacBook is not more expensive than a comparable Dell with similar specs. Based on our own experiences with Mac OS X and Windows Vista, the MacBook is going to be much faster and the over all experience is going to be much more enjoyable.




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