What do you think of Apple, functional?

If you are an Apple fan, what do you think of it, is it more form than functional? Here's the essential choice: A Dell with a pedestrian design but all the fixin's or a gorgeous Apple MacBook that doesn't offer quite as much? (Whether the prospective buyer needs a maxed-out laptop is a pertinent question too.)
I own both a MacBook (an Air) and a Windows machine (HP)--like many people do: a dualism of sorts: one pleases the eye (mind), the other is more utilitarian (matter). This characterization of the two platforms is greatly oversimplified (dare I mention the dueling OSes: OS X Leopard versus XP/Vista), but this is the kind of thinking that drives many purchases.
A quick glance at the features shows that the Dell beats the Apple. That said, the Dell isn't an aluminum unibody design, doesn't wow like the MacBook, and doesn't carry the cachet of the Apple brand. The latter two intangibles are important for a lot of buyers. Perceived performance is also an intangible. The question of which of two comparable systems is faster is often based on one's individual definition of performance.
I know most consumers won't think to ask a lot of these questions and I'm just starting to touch on the questions that should be asked. When making comparisons between two laptops, especially when considering price, if you don't ask every single question possible then you could end up buying junk instead of quality.
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