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Laptop Hunters: It all comes down to price!

Recent research revealed that there’s a slow growth in sales of notebooks and desktop PCs in the last quarter. But thanks to netbooks, the numbers aren’t too drastic. Microsoft is banking on the idea that it all goes down to price.

Like Lauren in the first Microsoft ad, the second ad features Giampaulo who was given a budget of $1,500.

It becomes pretty obvious where this series of ads is leading to. Most people, when they buy a new laptop, will have the ff. considerations in mind:

  • Price. I believe 90+% of all individuals who buy a new laptop will have a set price in mind before anything else. We all have our own budget and I think only those who have tons of moolah can truly be budget-free.
  • Specs. We don’t often settle with just the basic specs. As much as possible, we want to bump up the RAM, the HDD, CPU and other optional stuff we can add (like a higher-capacity battery).
  • Brand. For the same specs, some brands are more expensive than others. HP and Sony laptops are typically more expensive than MSI or Lenovo (and to think the people in the two ads still ended up with HP means they can still get a better bargain with other brands).

After this second ad, I don’t think the next ones will be anymore interesting unless Microsoft veers away from the price argument.

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42 Responses to “Laptop Hunters: It all comes down to price!”


  1. Gravatar Icon Darren replied on Apr 10th, 2009 at 9:35 am (1)

    I like NEO !!!

  2. Gravatar Icon gizmotech replied on Apr 10th, 2009 at 9:36 am (2)

    1st Laptop Hunters ad lady lauren bought an HP
    2st Laptop Hunters ad giampaulo also got the HP
    hmmm..I smell something *** between microsoft and HP….

  3. Gravatar Icon rizalavenue replied on Apr 10th, 2009 at 11:59 am (3)

    I like neo too. lol

  4. Gravatar Icon Selboy replied on Apr 10th, 2009 at 1:20 pm (4)

    hate expensive brands…. love my neo notebook

  5. Gravatar Icon sky replied on Apr 10th, 2009 at 1:30 pm (5)

    There’s a third ad up now, it’s a child and a mother. They bought a VAIO.

    I don’t think HP is in the same league of expensive as Sony, at least in the US. VAIO’s are way too expensive. The HDX is actually kinda cheap for its specs.

  6. Gravatar Icon sky replied on Apr 10th, 2009 at 1:33 pm (6)

    Here’s a link to the third ad: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qui43P1kztw&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.cnet.com%2F8301-13860_3-10216489-56.html&feature=player_embedded

    If he got a VAIO for less than $1500, it’s probably a basic specs VAIO. lol.

  7. Gravatar Icon information
    Twitter: sugodcom
    replied on Apr 10th, 2009 at 2:31 pm (7)

    Punta ka pinas.. mgpanakaw ka.. $1,500 can buy more than 1 laptop.. Hehehe.. :)

  8. Gravatar Icon Darren replied on Apr 10th, 2009 at 2:32 pm (8)

    HP is No.1 so I’m not surprised in the ads the consumer finally chose a HP NB, LOL ~~

  9. Gravatar Icon BrianB replied on Apr 10th, 2009 at 3:00 pm (9)

    Apple has the best warranty service here right now, so if you’re like me and want to budget your electronic purchases in 3-to-5 year segments at a time, no choice but Apple. I just do not trust those retail shops to be honest.

  10. Gravatar Icon jca replied on Apr 10th, 2009 at 3:29 pm (10)

    Based on the video, it’s a VAIO FW series.
    On the Sony website, it starts at USD 839.99.
    Since the mother and son was talking about Blu-ray, I think they got a mid-tier, if not premium VAIO FW model. In Amazon, the FW model with Blu-ray costs USD 1,179.99.

  11. Gravatar Icon Paul replied on Apr 10th, 2009 at 3:52 pm (11)

    brand is indeed the least of our priorities. i mean, with the specs and the price, i guess i am willing to go ahead with a buy. it would be a different story altogether if the brand is apple, of course.

  12. Gravatar Icon Anne replied on Apr 10th, 2009 at 3:58 pm (12)

    @ BrianB
    - Yeah, Apple has good service, but the warranty is expensive, man. That’s 10-12k every 2 years for AppleCare.

    I have a 55k budget and choosing between a Macbook White and a Thinkpag X61, but I’m going for the latter because it’s more durable and comes with 3 years warranty WITHOUT the $200 Applecare.

  13. Gravatar Icon mike replied on Apr 10th, 2009 at 5:12 pm (13)

    other variants of this ad aside form the price argument could be a wider selection with regards to brands, parts and software. Which could really be a key selling point as well if advertised correctly.

    Or maybe games as well, since only a hand-full of mainstream games are available on the mac (correct m if I’m wrong).

  14. Gravatar Icon jhay
    Twitter: jhayrocas
    replied on Apr 10th, 2009 at 6:03 pm (14)

    It’s the price indeed. If I had that amount, I’d go for other brands with higher specs than a Mac.

  15. Gravatar Icon ... replied on Apr 10th, 2009 at 6:14 pm (15)

    giampaulo’s right.. if you go you must pay fo a pc not for a brand…

  16. Gravatar Icon jobucks replied on Apr 10th, 2009 at 6:17 pm (16)

    they are too expensive…..

  17. Gravatar Icon jobucks replied on Apr 10th, 2009 at 6:19 pm (17)

    It’s too expensive

  18. Gravatar Icon jojo replied on Apr 10th, 2009 at 7:17 pm (18)

    … sipag ni boss, may post parin

    cheaper maybe if apple have a marketshare like pc
    (cross fingers pati toes hehe)

  19. Gravatar Icon Mike W replied on Apr 10th, 2009 at 7:54 pm (19)

    yup talagang big consideration ang price.. and tama si sir yuga sa tip nya dati dun sa show sa ch11, na compaq laps are the best bang for the buck! cheap yet very good specs! we just got the compaq pesario cq40 laps, just don’t go for the vista starter kasi really useless for work!

  20. Gravatar Icon LX replied on Apr 10th, 2009 at 8:38 pm (20)

    @Anne. Get a Thinkpad X200. A little more than your budget, but worth it!

  21. Gravatar Icon deuts
    Twitter: deuts
    replied on Apr 10th, 2009 at 10:45 pm (21)

    I don’t think that HP can be that more expensive than others. I think they’re even cheap for the specs they offer.

  22. Gravatar Icon lenard replied on Apr 10th, 2009 at 11:37 pm (22)

    been using a cheap but really functional neo basic with win 7 beta installed. neo rocks (well at least for me)

  23. Gravatar Icon alvin replied on Apr 11th, 2009 at 3:08 am (23)

    iba kasi ang feel ng plastic ng neo eh. sorry to neo fans, pero i personally think that the build quality is as cheap as the price. I’m all for HP and Sony. Acer din madami na budget laptops na competitive. pangit lang talaga ang service center!

  24. Gravatar Icon iceman replied on Apr 11th, 2009 at 5:24 am (24)

    ok from my experience sony is the real deal.. i just bought a vaio vgn-fz140e like 6 months ago and its serving its duties well.. man tatlong araw nang nka on without shutting it down its still running..well kasi malaki ung built in fan nya and its on top of a twin fan swiss gear chill pad i just bought.. sony is very reliable, entertainment pal and a workhorse dont forget its vaio so bragging rights peeps… money well spent… as for HP its very innovative, beefed up RAM and harddrive and stylish in their own american way.. I bought a tx2110us tablet for my fiance weeks ago and heck look at all those goodies bluetooth, swivelscreen, touchscreen and finger print reader and ofcourse its HP.. As for you apple lovers these are entirely for bragging rights.. Yeah they are stylish but heck they had weak ram and harddrive plus expensive. Im thinking of buying a mac air pero I read a news 2 days ago READ THIS MAC LOVERS.. that asus (a taiwanese computer company) is the one making apples macbooks??!! what the heck all those money for a made in taiwan laptop.. ( ofcourse mac will deny it) im not taking any chances dawg.. by the way americans still loves Dell I dunno why.. they are ugly and unreliable laptops. these are the laptop trend here in south beach miami my friends..

  25. Gravatar Icon no_label_noise replied on Apr 11th, 2009 at 5:39 am (25)

    the third ad is out…its still about price…and then purchased a Sony…

  26. Gravatar Icon no_label_noise replied on Apr 11th, 2009 at 5:43 am (26)

    the third ad is out…and MAC if for kiDs…lol…they end up buying a Sony…

  27. Gravatar Icon Karl Mac replied on Apr 11th, 2009 at 9:01 am (27)

    NEO? If you google “neo laptops” this is the second link: http://www.philippinelaptops.com/2007/10/03/neo-laptop-tech-support/
    to appear. Used to be the top hit.

  28. Gravatar Icon maxpc replied on Apr 11th, 2009 at 12:26 pm (28)

    Great update yuga. Todo na pala mag-advertise sa states ang microsoft ngayon. Neo din gamit ko. I just read somewhere else na clevo daw pala gumagawa nun. Pumunta nga ako sa site nila to check kung totoo nga sinasabi nila.

    Here is my neo elan 3103 i bought last week.
    http://neo.com.ph/neoelan.aspx
    Here is the same laptop under clevo name
    http://www.clevo.com.tw/en/products/prodinfo.asp?productid=122

    Trusted naman clevo sa states kasi sila din gumagawa ng sager notebooks dun pero may bad reputation lang talaga tech support ng neo dito sa pinas.

  29. Gravatar Icon Adrian replied on Apr 11th, 2009 at 2:40 pm (29)

    macbook is the best pa din.

  30. Gravatar Icon Bay replied on Apr 13th, 2009 at 5:54 pm (30)

    I’m inclined to agree:

    “Indeed, this is essentially the argument that Mac fans offer when confronted with the idea that Apple’s machines are too expensive. Sure, they say, Macs might sometimes induce sticker shock, but that doesn’t mean they’re inherently much more expensive. It’s just that they include a lot of high-quality components as standard features, making for much more powerful machines.”

    From: http://www.slate.com/id/2215267/

  31. Gravatar Icon Kenneth Yamat replied on Apr 13th, 2009 at 6:21 pm (31)

    what you get with mac is a user friendly, bug free, virus free software. OSX is the best one out there. good thing win 7 is coming out to somehow raise the competition. hardware wise, and talking about general specs, macs are not at par with similar pc’s at the same price range dun sila talo at kita ang galing ng marketing team ni steve jobs, but yeah your getting a cheap deal for a pc but the cost for un-installed softwares out of the box, i.e. office, anti-virus and others would rebate your “mac tax” somehow. pero, sa bagay sa pilipinas, walang arte2 sa software at over all performance basta nagagamit at mura pede na. tulad ng laptop ko. bulok na neo. amp, hahaha

  32. Gravatar Icon BoogieWonderLand replied on Apr 13th, 2009 at 7:30 pm (32)

    I was in the hunt for my 1st notebook for the past 3weeks. on the 3rd week, i plunged in & get an HP Pavilion dv5. why? because its an HP. hehe.. :P i really like how it looks. simple yet elegant.

    before that, i was able to use a colleague’s NEO laptop but was not impressed by its build quality (no offense meant to NEO users here, i do love how it performs).
    i was able to use an MSI laptop as well. this one’s just like NEO but with a better customer aftersales support i suppose. & its really bang for the buck. my brother got his 14.1″ C2D T5800 2.0GHZ, 4GB DDR2 800MHZ mems, 160GB HDD, Intel X3100 builtin graphics,wifi for P26,000. i think its much lower now.

  33. Gravatar Icon Nie replied on Apr 14th, 2009 at 9:40 am (33)

    Okay iceman, Sony is not the real deal. It never was – no offense meant to you… If it can please everyone (which is impossible), then it’s the real deal.

    Why the Americans still like Dell? Common sense dawg, most Dell users are satisfied with their laptops, and it’s not only the Americans. Tatlong araw lang pala sa ‘yong naka-on eh, eh itong laptop ko (na Dell) naka-on 2 weeks, pinatay ko lang kasi dinala ko nung nagout of town ako.

    Just to be fair, nakagamit na ako ng Sony laptop, it was good… But you know what? It was a lot more expensive than my Dell and my Dell had better specs, it was more durable and it gets less attention (less prone to snatchers).

  34. Gravatar Icon Karl Mac replied on Apr 14th, 2009 at 10:11 am (34)

    It should be cheap + good after sales. Lahat yan galing Taiwan or China ang components. I chose Acer, kasi kapitbahay namin ang service center. I once had a problem in restoring to factory settings, I just went to the service center and they did it for free. Pag-HP or Dell ang katabi kong service center yun din siguro bibilhin ko.

  35. Gravatar Icon iceman replied on Apr 14th, 2009 at 11:22 am (35)

    well pop quiz gramps your dell is faltering its market shares faster than the world trade center going down.. It was overtaken by Hp, Sony, Mac and even toshiba already due to customer dissatisfaction they just cant keep up with the growing trend and innovation.. And fyi sony is the 1st one who had introduced the blu ray for a laptop at a cheap price less than 1100 dollars. And HP has a quad core laptop already like 3 months ago in the market. I dunno about your dell homeboi, they just stumbled upon it just like weeks ago, so they intoduced its 1st quad laptop this august 12 no market release yet.. but hey look its still as ugly as as askal.. such a laggard.

  36. Gravatar Icon iceman replied on Apr 14th, 2009 at 12:23 pm (36)

    my bad.. dells quad core laptop was unveiled just this april 12, 2009 not august 12.. as for the market launching maybe autumn this year

  37. Gravatar Icon Era replied on Apr 17th, 2009 at 9:05 am (37)

    kaya nga ist too expensive..

  38. Gravatar Icon Papi_pol replied on Apr 24th, 2009 at 5:28 am (38)

    for a cheaper alternative yet with quality performance… im sticking with acer…

  39. Gravatar Icon punk_princess replied on May 22nd, 2009 at 11:08 pm (39)

    hello just asking if how do i fixed my neo laptop…..its broken kzi eh ung monitor ng crack naupoan kzi…i wait for repliez hehehehehe….then ask lang din ako i have smartbro connection at home 8months nah di nagamit kxi nasira ung pc nmin do i have to pay it parin ba if i never used it with in 8months?

  40. Gravatar Icon Angelito replied on Nov 18th, 2009 at 11:14 am (40)

    masyado tayong brand-conscious, dapat alisin natin yan colonial-mentality. patronize our own and help build our country. sa price ng MAc, i can have many laptops for the other brand which is nice too

  41. Gravatar Icon isaiah replied on Jan 2nd, 2010 at 12:16 am (41)

    i want a lapyop but not that costly…. i want itcheap but reliable… i have a bad experience with dell….it’s expesive but turns off without reason and i decided to change this with cheaper ut reliable one…. :-) )

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