I know that some people with poor eye sight want larger screens, but buying a cheap HP with a low quality screen isn't going to help. Sub $700 laptops just don't compare to MacBooks, let alone MacBook Pros.
What you get is the lowest quality of everything! the Worst screens with viewing angle of a few degrees, bad black levels and washed out colors. Terrible battery life. Machines which are so heavy they are not portable. Make so much noise that watching a movie is impossible. Really bad internal speakers. Awful bundled software/spyware. + lots of other badness.
She didn't want a 17" screen. She was given very specific instructions on what to buy for under 1000$. Basically : "Try to go out and buy a 17" laptop for under 1000$ and see what you can get, make sure to go to the Apple Store".
It wasn't her choice, it's what the ad agency wanted. They basically found a product Apple doesn't make and asked the poor girl to go out and try to buy it.
It's like saying "Go buy a Chevy HHR, but try to go to Honda first to see if they have any" and then claim Hondas don't provide you with Chevy HHRs!