Microsoft ups cash limit, takes aim at MacBook Pros in new ad

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
Following a trio of TV ads that cast Apple's 13-inch MacBook line as impractical purchases for average consumers on budgets between $1000 and $1500, Microsoft on Thursday took aim at the company's professional line of notebooks in a fourth ad that doubles the initial spending limit of its role players.



The latest installment of the "You find it, you keep it" campaign features "Sheila," a self-described filmmaker shopping with a $2000 budget for a notebook with a "fast processor, big screen" and the ability to "cut video." She enters Fry's Electronics "open to any brand," but quickly discounts Apple's $1999 2.4GHz MacBook Pro -- the "best Apple" in her price range -- because it only has 2GB of DDR3 memory.



Sheila ultimately settles on a version of HP's 16-inch HP HDX 16t, which includes 4GB of slower DDR2 memory, a 2.13GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, a NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT with 512MB of video memory, and a display with a maximum resolution of 1366x768, compared to the MacBook Pro's 1440x900 max resolution.



The commercial, which can be seen below, ends before Sheila can begin her search for a viable video editing application to cut her video.



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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 505
    dimmokdimmok Posts: 359member
    Keep it.
  • Reply 2 of 505
    saareksaarek Posts: 1,520member
    This is one area they should not have gone too, no way does the software or feautres match the Mac Pro, sadly the average dumb user whom this is ad is aimed at wont know the difference.
  • Reply 3 of 505
    istinkistink Posts: 250member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by saarek View Post


    This is one area they should not have gone too, no way does the software or feautres match the Mac Pro, sadly the average dumb user whom this is ad is aimed at wont know the difference.



    she can play left4dead on it.
  • Reply 4 of 505
    I dislike that these commercials trick those who are not knowledgeable into buying a pc.



    To AppleInsider: FYI, that is a Fry's Electronics, somewhere in Bay Area or SoCal. So it's not a best buy, i'm guessing maybe because of the relationship that microsoft has with best buy. I think there were a few commercials by microsoft during this campaign that filed at best buy. But not recently right?
  • Reply 5 of 505
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by saarek View Post


    This is one area they should not have gone too, no way does the software or feautres match the Mac Pro, sadly the average dumb user whom this is ad is aimed at wont know the difference.



    But she's a filmmaker... and an artist



    (I'm a filmmaker, and an artist, and I use a MacBook Pro)
  • Reply 6 of 505
    kasperkasper Posts: 941member, administrator
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by albert1028 View Post


    I dislike that these commercials trick those who are not knowledgeable into buying a pc.



    To AppleInsider: FYI, that is a Fry's Electronics, somewhere in Bay Area or SoCal. So it's not a best buy, i'm guessing maybe because of the relationship that microsoft has with best buy. I think there were a few commercials by microsoft during this campaign that filed at best buy. But not recently right?



    Thanks!



    K
  • Reply 7 of 505
    woolinesswooliness Posts: 3member
    I may be wrong, but as far as I understand unless the notebook is running a 64 bit version of windows it can't use more than 2.5 G of that slower 4G. Strangely they don't mention that too often.
  • Reply 8 of 505
    cozagadacozagada Posts: 19member
    obviously she's not bothered with the glossy screen
  • Reply 9 of 505
    sweirichsweirich Posts: 1member
    Seriously, let's not forget this "artist" software? How much more does that add to the price? Oh Really, you're a pc, Oh Really...
  • Reply 10 of 505
    Hardware aside, how much do you think she's going to have to fork out for some software to compare with iMovie?
  • Reply 11 of 505
    modularmodular Posts: 9member
    dont all macbooks come standard with 4gb ddr3 memory now?



    its shocking how deceiving these commercials are. apple should really interview these people a month are two later and ask, so how's that pc working out.
  • Reply 12 of 505
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by modular View Post


    dont all macbooks come standard with 4gb ddr3 memory now?



    No. The 2.4 GHz Macbook Pro that the commercial is showing only comes with 2GB of RAM standard. You're thinking of the 2.66 GHz version, which comes with 4GB of RAM standard.
  • Reply 13 of 505
    madplemadple Posts: 4member
    Not truthful, but one of MS's better advertisements that stresses up front cost but ignores total costs of ownership. For some buyers however, this might backfire as it seemingly encourages potential buyers to compare PCs to Apple. Once you know all the facts, the more buyers are likely to see the value in a Mac.
  • Reply 14 of 505
    taurontauron Posts: 911member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Rexys Pride View Post


    Hardware aside, how much do you think she's going to have to fork out for some software to compare with iMovie?



    About $300.



    The dumb average user is always screwed when buying computer and in life. Nothing anyone can do to change that. Given that Winblows Sh1tsta needs 4 GB of RAM just to boot up in a reasonable amount of time that argument alone falls apart pretty fast.



    Nevermind all the other factors such as viruses, having to reinstall windows and all your applications every 6 months, etc.
  • Reply 15 of 505
    vt profvt prof Posts: 4member
    AAPL needs to respond to these ads at some point. If there is ever a time where differentiating on price is emphasized, it's in these current economic times.
  • Reply 16 of 505
    istinkistink Posts: 250member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by wooliness View Post


    I may be wrong, but as far as I understand unless the notebook is running a 64 bit version of windows it can't use more than 2.5 G of that slower 4G. Strangely they don't mention that too often.



    You are correct. MS can utilize only 3gb of ram on a 32bit os of vista or xp, but system builders like hp don't ship 32 bit versions of the operating system when offering more than 3gb of ram.
  • Reply 17 of 505
    bsenkabsenka Posts: 799member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by wooliness View Post


    I may be wrong, but as far as I understand unless the notebook is running a 64 bit version of windows it can't use more than 2.5 G of that slower 4G. Strangely they don't mention that too often.



    The HDX 16 ships with the 64 bit version of Windows. It can utilize up to 8Gb.



    It's actually a very nice machine. No glossy screen, a number pad on the keyboard, HDMI out, memory card slot. The RAM is a little slower, but it's also a LOT less expensive. If it ran OS X, I'd much rather have the HDX 16 than a Macbook Pro. It's nearly the same on the specs it shares, and has extra features that the Macbook does not, for half the price.
  • Reply 18 of 505
    andyappleandyapple Posts: 152member
    Really I think the upshot of these ads will be to get a lot of consumers who never before even considered purchasing a Mac to become curious about them. Thanks for the publicity M$!
  • Reply 19 of 505
    wrong. apple should absolutely under no circumstances respond to these commercials.



    do you remember bud light vs miller light? president of beers, king of beers, back and forth nosense a few years ago. no one came out a clear winner, and it was basically a waste of millions in advertising that ended up being a pissing contest.



    Apple doesn't need to lower itself into that game. Apple doesn't do well on the defensive especially in this economic climate. Saying, "we are more expensive, but we are better" isn't a good commercial to air at this time. The I'm a mac ads are really well done and they are able to focus on apples strong points, which is ease of use, integration, stability, and security.



    The reason microsoft doesn't counter THOSE ads is the same reason apple shouldn't counter the cost ads, they will lose. It's better to stick to what you are good at. Who wants to see some desperate looking Apple ads trying to explain WHY they cost more?
  • Reply 20 of 505
    jdmlightjdmlight Posts: 29member
    She didn't buy a MacBook Pro because it only had 2Gb of RAM?







    Why wouldn't you buy your own RAM from OWC or something? It'd still be cheaper than movie editing software comparable to iMovie (i.e. Premiere Elements or similar).



    RAM is easy as pie to upgrade, even for someone not too familiar with computers...
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