HP Pavilion dv3510nr: Best Buy's Blue Label laptop wins Editors' Choice award

(Credit: CBS Interactive)

With the HP Pavilion dv3510nr, Best Buy's Blue Label laptop program is off to a hot start. It packs a ton of features and performance in a sleek, 13-inch frame and earned itself an Editors' Choice award in the process.

What is Blue Label, you ask? It's a new program where Best Buy takes input from its customers and then works with its vendors to create a laptop that serves up the features its customers want most. According to Best Buy, the features its customers wanted most in a laptop are longer battery life, a thin and lightweight design but with a roomy screen, and a backlit keyboard--all backed with "superior" support. The HP Pavilion dv3510nr hits on all of these points, and it looks good doing it.

It offers an attractive alternative to another popular, 13-inch laptop, the Apple MacBook. The MacBook, too, won an Editors' Choice, though for different reasons than the Pavilion dv3510nr. While many rightfully point out that the MacBook's core specifications and expansion options are lacking for the money, we thought it more than made up for those deficiencies with its new aluminum chassis, huge trackpad, and the iLife software bundle. Whether you like the Pavilion dv3510nr's bronze color is a matter of taste, but you can't argue with its long list of features that includes the Centrino 2 platform, a backlit keyboard and media control keys, a fingerprint reader, a remote control, and HDMI and eSATA ports. It's also $200 cheaper than the cheapest MacBook (excluding the old, white model).

After comparing the two line by line, which do you feel is the 13-inch laptop to own?

[crescentdave]

Just an fyi, but it's not a push on memory if you're using software that can use memory. In addition, test after test has shown absolutely minimal differences in overall speed between memory speeds. Amount of memory is more significant.

[Zeeshan47]

I'm just waiting for Microsoft fanboys to start railing on the advantage given to the macbook for its OS. Hurry up!

[Waveblade]

Leopard vs. Vista? Eh whatever

A better point would be HDMI/VGA native vs. mini displayport which requires an adapter and there is no adapter for HDMI.

*Shrugs* Just my 2 cents. Personally feel that Apple's laptops are priced higher so that they can make a profit vs. other PC manufacturers have razor thin margins. But if you like OSX, that's the make or break so yeah

[Zeeshan47]

I'm running vista right now, and it works fine. I want the new macbook simply because it's an elegant machine. I don't use the video out features of a laptop often, and I don't need to play games on my laptop, so i have no other compelling reason to stick with windows. I feel that if they can make a profit, they should. The advantage of capitalism, I say. If you don't feel like you can stick with their features or price points, don't but it. Simple as that. At least you're not mindlessly bashing waveblade. That's a lot more respectable than 99% of the posts on this site.

[The-Gdog]

I like the macbook best just because of its os. Os aside, it depends on what you do with it. Travel would be the macs advantage and more hardware the hp's. Though a mac with 1gb-2gb of ram could smoke a vista w/4gb. I bet I could load ubuntu on the HP and be fairly happy.

[flyingfieryfox]

Just for political correctness I would have put the OS comparison as push.

[ev61]

THIS is the laptop I want to buy... My only dislike is the glossy body. I love everything else about it.

[meowser007]

The author forgot to include that the macbook has an environmental significance and LED display. Never seemed that the DEll had one either.

[AlanHub]

When did Al Gore serve you the Kool-aid?

[RSpreitzer]

I'd prefer an LED display........the O/S should be a push IMO. I think the RAM should also go to the MacBook for being DDR3 vs DDR2.

[JRockDetroit1]

Video out should be advantage HP.

[AppleSuxLeo]

Mac=half the RAM , half the HDD , a crap integrated video , lack of ports , no Express card , no eSATA , no backlit keyboard and Jobs still asks for $200 more. What a joke ! These are just a few reasons that Apple Sux....BIG TIME. Wow , it`s aluminum...but it lacks all the above. so who cares.

[Zeeshan47]

Apparently all the people who purchase Apple products.

[AppleSuxLeo]

As usual , Mac is style over substance.

[WeSeed Tech Editor]

I think the cooler story here is about Best Buy and HP actually listening (or pretending to, I don't know the details of their "survey") to customers and building something they want. More companies should show a little more initiative like this if they want to get on our good side.

[chu_man_00]

I would not give Best Buy the advantage in the warranty even if it is twice as long as the Macs. I have bought a laptop from them within the last year and purchased the extended warranty in which I have had nothing but problems. As soon as their Geek Squad (16 year old kids) cannot figure out a problem they immediately ship it out and you are left without a computer for 4 to 6 weeks at a time just to have it sent back again becaues they did not fix it.

[tcr071]

Both have LED displays.

4GB of ram at a slower speed will yield MUCH better results than 2GB of ram at a faster speed unless you are using 4 year old ram with crazy low speed. 4x 667 > 2 x 1033. Check out any benchmark for evidence.

Operating System should be a push.

I will take a back-lit keyboard and a fingerprint reader over a gimmicky multi-touch trackpad but I can understand why it is a push.

The Macbook has style points and that is about it. Put any other operating system on there and that laptop tanks.

[wlau]

You know, CNET is losing credibility in my book. Time after time, its editors show bias. This is a perfect example of that. So many of the "Mac" advantages should be at least a "Push" or even tilted to "Pavilion". Most of the comments posted before me are correct.

Shame on CNET!

[hawaiiinsomniac]

I wouldn't get either. I need FireWire.

[dfinniga1]

Personally, I prefer Macs, but this Pavilion is without a doubt a solid laptop allround. Like Gdog said, it really comes down to personal preference and application. The HP sports many more ports and has a nicer graphics card (that tips the scale for me) and the MacBook is... well, another Mac: solid OS, great usability, especialy for your everyday user, if slighty overpriced. Both great deals, but to each his own.

[rbz275]

Vista, Leopard => macbook?

CNET, I think this site usually produces good news.

But as others have stated, that is extremely subjective.

Just becuase it has OSX doesnt make it better, I personally would rather have Windows Vista, and I am an advanced power-user with a computer-related job.

[petrusa001]

WHY nobody has ever put a cellphone, a VOICE, into a laptop, or netbook ?!?

Is it because I claim a patent royality rights to this potentially hugely lucrative idea?
Just, "call my laptop" ! ..and thats it. WHY do we need a separate cellphone?
thanks.
Petr Buben
www.Petr.nexo.com

[Wolfie2k5]

Actually.... They already do... Sort of... Many laptops these days come with built in cellular modems. The catch - you don't get to make voice calls - unless you use Skype or some other VOIP solution. It's a data only solution.

The downside to this - you're stuck with carrier X. It's not like you can easily swap the device out. If the laptop came linked to Sprint, you might possibly get it connected to Verizon, but that's pretty much as far as you can go. You'd need an Expresscard/PC Card or USB device if you aren't happy with a given carrier.

[atomicbomb156]

This is definitely subjective and also depends upon the users needs. But neither laptop is really meant to handle any one particular job because both of them fall under the mainstream/thin and light categories. Ultimately being multimedia computers. If you are a normal user then why spend more for a Mac? You can get the same usability for half the price.
I have an HP pavilion dv2000
3GB ram
250GB hard drive
1.83GHZ intel processor
14.1" screen
roughly 2 hour battery life
runs Vista AND Ubuntu.
I paid about $600 for this. Can Apple offer me this? A comparable product for specs requires spending twice as much. And most people aren't capable of really pushing a Macbook to its full capacity as a editing computer. And it isn't as good as the Macbook Pro in terms of editing power. But that is for people who can actually use if effectively. If you are a normal user don't buy a Mac. Get an HP, Dell, or a Lenovo laptop. Easier on the wallet.

[mattyfromma]

both laptops are good, but i would go with the HP because overall price is what i go for and i am sure same with many other people since the economy is in the tank and HP are decent machines as well