Some of you may have read Seth Weintraub’s blog post about Lauren (her video is below), the star of the new Microsoft campaign. In the spirit of conversation and transparency, I want to share the essence of our input, delivered via e-mail at Computer World’s direction, in response to our request to talk to Mr. Weintraub directly about the post.

We understand that the “Apple Ink” blog is intended to be pro-Apple, which is great. I’m pro-Apple too. And pro-Microsoft, pro-HP, pro-Dell, pro-Google. But I’m especially pro-Lauren, and pro-people out there just like her trying to find the best value in buying wondrous PCs and Macs.

Here’s the points we made to Computer World to address some of the more technical aspects of the post, and the opinions based on those points.  The text in quotes below comes directly from Seth’s blog:

1.          ComputerWorld/Seth: “It runs Vista Home on a slow AMD mobile processor”

·         The nearly three-year-old  ZDNet article to which Seth links actually refers to the Turion™ 64 X2 TL-56 processor running at 1.8GHz, while the processor included in the HP dv7 cited in the Microsoft ad is the 2.1 GHz AMD Turion™ X2 RM-72 dual-core mobile processor.  The HP Pavilion dv7 laptop launched in June 2008, so linking to a ZDNet article from 2006 is incorrect at best and misleading at worst.

2.          ComputerWorld/Seth: “it has DDR2 RAM which is what $300 Netbooks run.”

·         Current market data from IDC shows that only 29% of the entire PC market is currently using DDR3 because DDR2 is generally seen as sufficient, a statement especially true of those consumers looking for mainstream, well-priced notebooks. What’s more, even high-end notebooks, such as the just-announced Asus G71Gx, feature DDR2 memory.  

3.          ComputerWorld/Seth: “this is the type of setup that sparked the “Made for Vista” lawsuits.”

·         I think Seth is referring to the “Vista Capable” lawsuit.  This lawsuit was aimed at notebooks and desktops which failed to visually power the full Windows Vista Premium experience – devices which, by the way, employed our competitor’s integrated graphics solutions.

·         AMD is proud of its strong history of providing graphics processors capable of providing the full Windows Vista Premium experience; in fact, AMD was the first to market with WHQL certified Vista drivers. The HP dv7, in fact, is an AMD “Puma” platform-based notebook; Puma brought full HD video capability to mainstream notebook customers.

4.          ComputerWorld/Seth: “Its networking is five years old.  802.11G wireless and 100Mb Ethernet are surpassed by $300 Netbooks. 2004 called.  It wants its motherboard back.”

·         Actually, wireless technology is not found on the motherboard in this AMD platform. AMD was the first to market with platforms that included 802.11 draft n, and today our current platform based on the AMD Turion X2 Ultra features industry-leading wireless capabilities from Atheros, Broadcom, and Ralink and are compatible with both 3G and WiMAX technology.  If AMD had its way, every notebook would ship with 802.11N but it is not at all uncommon to find many notebook configurations at retail equipped with 802.11G.

5.          ComputerWorld/Seth: “The thing is almost two inches thick and weighs in at almost eight pounds.  Do you think that PC buyer wants to be hauling that thing around?  She didn’t look like she spends her afternoons pumping iron on Venice Beach.”

·         The 17” Macbook Pro weighs a substantial 6.6 pounds, while the dv7 weights exactly 7.8 pounds.  Consumers with portability as a priority would surely choose a notebook smaller than 17”. Lauren, for example, did not state ultra portability in her criteria.  

6.          ComputerWorld/Seth: “The battery is said to last 2.5 hours.  Real world usage is always close to around half of that.  That means you can’t watch a full movie on a battery charge.  It also means that it will probably poop out on that commuter flight from Los Angeles to San Francisco.”

·         Again, the HP dv7 is a desktop replacement model known for its multimedia prowess, not a model intended for someone whose primary criteria is portability. However, while unclear whether the model Lauren chose contained a 6 cell or 8 cell battery, the HP dv7 has gotten a reported 2 hours and 47 minutes of battery life when subjected to rigorous testing by LAPTOP Magazine (enough to watch an average length movie on a battery charge).

It looks as though Seth already has updated the post based on input #1 in the above list, and we’re grateful for that. But we hope sharing the full contents of our feedback to Computer World is useful, added perspective.

John Taylor is Director, Global Platform & Product Communications at AMD. His postings are his own opinions and may not represent AMD’s positions, strategies or opinions. Links to third party sites are provided for convenience and unless explicitly stated, AMD is not responsible for the contents of such linked sites and no endorsement is implied.