Science

HP chairman photographed using MacBook Air

Picture shows Ray Lane using a MacBook Air at home--an odd depiction of someone supposedly leading the charge against Apple.

Brooke Crothers Former CNET contributor

Brooke Crothers writes about mobile computer systems, including laptops, tablets, smartphones: how they define the computing experience and the hardware that makes them tick. He has served as an editor at large at CNET News and a contributing reporter to The New York Times' Bits and Technology sections. His interest in things small began when living in Tokyo in a very small apartment for a very long time.

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Brooke Crothers

Nov. 21, 2011 7:50 p.m. PT

Hewlett-Packard Executive Chairman Ray Lane uses a MacBook Air at home. At the very least an indication that when given a choice, he opts for a rival's product.

The photo seen here is a bit curious as Lane was originally a proponent of spinning off HP's PC business--despite its status as the largest PC/laptop maker in the world (and a profitable one at that).

So, this raises the question, if HP's chairman openly opts for Apple hardware, how favorably disposed would he have been to holding on to HP's PC division in the first place?

That said, HP is finally offering a response to the Air in the form of the Folio 13, which, in keeping with HP's design philosophy, edges out the Air in practicality.

That is, it's about $400 cheaper than the least expensive 13-inch MacBook Air but offers RJ-45 (Ethernet), HDMI, and USB 3.0 ports, all widely supported connectors that are not offered on the Air (which has USB 2.0 and Thunderbolt/DisplayPort ports). Not to mention throwing in a 128GB solid-state drive at a $900 price point.

Would Lane buy a Folio for his personal use? Or is that meant more for Fortune 500 foot soldiers--and too pedestrian for Lane's tastes?