We wouldn't trade anything for our beloved Macs, but Dell knows that not everyone feels that way. Most people just care about the final price. Unfortunately for them, their most recent Dell to Apple comparison has been outed for being just plain inaccurate. We know companies often omit a lot of the extras Macs come with when they make these comparisons, but we're glad the rest of the world, via Electronista, is catching on.
This time, Dell pit its Zino HD against the Mac mini, the Inspiron 560 against the 21-inch iMac, and the Studio 15 and 17 against the comparatively sized MacBook Pros. They claim Apple charges over double for their portables with "similar" specifications.
Not surprisingly, Dell compares models that omit a lot of what you actually get with the "equivalent" Mac. For example, their notebooks use 1.73GHz quad Core i7 processors, while the MacBook Pros they compare use 2.66 GHz dual Core i7s. The Mac processor is not only potentially faster, but also gives the MacBook Pro a much longer battery life. Dell's maximums are 5.5 and 8 hours. The MacBook gets 9 hours.
And, like every other MacBook versus PC notebook comparison, Dell conveniently omits screen quality, size, weight, backlit keyboards, materials, overall construction, Bluetooth, and trackpad quality. Even worse, they compare the sale prices for their products, not the regular full price.
Dell's desktop comparison is even shadier, since their specifications are seriously weaker. The Zino HD they compare to the Mac mini uses a far slower Athlon Neo X2 processor, lower grade graphics, and no Wi-Fi or Bluetooth (especially shocking to Mac users, who are used to getting Wi-Fi and Bluetooth with everything).
The Inspiron tower they compare to the previous-generation iMac has a Core 2 Quad fixed at 2.33 GHz, significantly slower than the dual 3.2 GHz Core i3 Apple currently uses in its $1,499 iMac. They also say the iMac doesn't have 802.11n Wi-Fi, when it has both this and Bluetooth. Plus, the iMac's screen is a color-accurate IPS panel and comes with a matching wireless keyboard and Magic Mouse. The Inspiron uses a budget LCD.
Did we mention students get at least 10% off all Mac systems and a free iPod with every purchase? Maybe it's time for Dell to just leave Apples to Apple, since we all know there's no comparison.
Follow this article's author, Ambika Subramony, on Twitter.
miketrike2001
September 01, 2010 at 3:31pm
That's exactly the point, only stuck up douche bags drive a lexus and go around telling people how great they are.
Also @theshark15
And you believe everything Apple says?Frankly I don't care about either company. I just find it sad enough (to make me sign up and comment) that people give a s***. Rather than using their brain and finding something that does what they want for a reasonable price. Then people wonder why there is so much debt in the U.S. for example. It's funny that debt is proportionate to the lack of any real intelligence. Let me go out and put this $2,000 mac on my credit card instead of saving up $800 for a machine that will get the same work done and put extra money away for my children's future, or to better humanity. Lets support china's slavery and buy a bunch of crap we probably could live (better) without.
I could continue for pages of this crap, seriously.
/rant
theshark15
August 10, 2010 at 8:00am
I can't understand why someone would buy from a company that so obviously lies about their competition. This just shows Dell can't even get the little things right, let alone make a decent computer.
mateozzz
August 09, 2010 at 5:38pm
Maybe Dell took liberties with some things, but a slower quad core can be faster in a lot of situations than a faster dual core.
Carmine5
August 09, 2010 at 12:35pm
Or, in view of the scandals and poor sales that have been plaguing the company of late, maybe it's time for Michael Dell to simply close down Dell, Inc. and pay back the shareholders. Sound familiar, Mr. Dell?
