I've never met a knowledgeable person who would recommend an HP if you're looking for a quality laptop.
At least compare Apple with a good PC brand. Then you'll find that Apple isn't overpriced at all.
Whats wrong with HP?
I have an HP dv6500t notebook. I got it in October. It has a 2GHz SR based C2D, 2GB of RAM, 160GB HDD, GeForce 8400M GS w/HDMI output, DVD writer, 15.4" screen and real world battery life of over 3 hours at a higher brightness level than the MacBook. Plus the HP version of the GeForce 8400M GS does deblocking and inverse telecine for all video formats supported in hardware. It does full hardware decoding, deblocking, deinterlacing, upscaling, etc. of MPEG-2, H.264, VC-1, etc. It also has a fingerprint reader. So far I have not had an issue with it at all. It also has a memory card reader, firewire port, 3 USB, VGA, modem, gigabit ethernet, S-Video, and a FULL ExpressCard 54 slot as well as two headphone jacks.
The build quality is great too. Its solid, not "bendy" at all. Its every bit as strong as my MacBook. I don't have to worry about the issues my MacBook has had or might have either. Like the case discoloring and cracking from heat because of an improper cooling system. Or the "top case" coming apart (which it already has) or cracking because of the "feet" and magnetic latches pushing down into the case and causing it to separate.
As far as price goes... Apple is near the top.
As far as value goes... Apple is the standard which others should be judged, and most will fail.
Heh. So a $1406 (after taxes) MacBook is the standard at which all others are judged? That $1406 MacBook which only has an Intel GMA X3100, which has proven to be an underperformer and all around terrible especially when it comes to stability. That $1406 MacBook which has no HDMI, no memory card reader, no fullsize ExpressCard slot, no optional blu-ray drive..
The MacBook is a nice little computer. But the $1299 model should be $999 and the "entry level" model should have a DVD writer and cost about $200 less.
Had to call HP tech support a while ago for a friend, since they were clueless on this type of thing. After a 40 minute wait and several poor englsih speakers, we got it fixed.
When I call Apple - I talk to people who speak ENGLISH, and I talk to them within 5 - 10 minutes. Oh, and I can take my computer in for service in a face-to-face meeting when I want to, something you can't with HP.
You only get the "face to face meeting" if you live around an Apple Authorized Repair Center or Apple Store. And if its not "mobile certified" then you're SOL with your MacBook, MBP, or MBA. If you're someone like me, then you're SOL with "Face to face meetings".
I've also spoken to people at Apple with bad English.
HP also runs their own repair center. You don't have to worry about Flextronics scratching up and practically destroying your system like they've done to BOTH of my Macs MULTIPLE times. Oh, and HP customer support is open 24/7. If your system dies Friday night, you can call and get a repair setup. With Apple, since there are no Apple Stores or authorized repair centers within reasonable driving distance, I have to wait until Monday and then be sure I call before 6PM local time.
HP is not in the upper echelon of laptop manufacturers.
HP does not make as good a product as Lenovo, Sony, or even Dell.
With my HP I don't have to worry about case cracking, case discoloration, or the case coming apart like my MacBook already has.
Lenovo is purely a "business notebook" computer. However, anyone can tell you that their build quality is not even close to what IBMs was. Sony's consumer notebooks are every bit as "bad" as the rest. Their line geared towards the business person costing $2,000+ is okay. Same goes for Dell. But see, if you're spending as much on an HP as you would on a Mac, you can get their "business" line which is built much better than the consumer line. So good in fact that they generally come with THREE YEAR warranties standard.
My MacBook only has two advantages over my HP. Battery life and OS X. But OS X falls short in a couple of areas. First of all, it can't take advantage of GPU features for video playback. So videos don't look nearly as good as they do on Windows. My HP is better in every other respect. It plays video better, it plays my games while costing more than $1,000 less than the entry level MBP. It has HDCP certified HDMI output so I can hook it and a blu-ray drive in a USB external enclosure up to my HDTV and watch blu-ray discs. The screen is bigger, better. It has that ExpressCard slot so I can use a nice, slim, and out of the way TV tuner. It has the memory card reader, so I can just pop the card in rather than getting out the USB cable and connecting my entire camera. Etc.