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macuser154

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jan 17, 2009
372
0
UK
The Dell Adamo is now the worlds thinnest notebook. Doesn't Apple have to take down the thing on their website that says "The world's thinnest notebook". Isn't it now technically illegal for Apple to be marketing their Air as the thinnest notebook?
 

macuser154

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jan 17, 2009
372
0
UK
"Our cleanser is the world's best!"

No, it isn't illegal.

When you put it like that it does sound silly. But Apple is advertising their notebook as something that it isn't, surely they have to stop that, even if it isn't illegal.
 

GoCubsGo

macrumors Nehalem
Feb 19, 2005
35,742
155
Pretty sure that so long as it once was ... it can still be advertised that way. And yes, it is still the thinnest at one end.
 

DarrenT

macrumors newbie
Mar 10, 2009
17
0
Croydon, London
in the states i think they can say pretty much what they like. they may have more of an issue over here in blighty.

They could probably get away with "mostly the worlds thinnest notebook" because of the taper. If anyone complains about a Mac ad then the ASA will investigate and unless Apple can prove that theirs is the thinnest then they will have to change it.
 

macuser154

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jan 17, 2009
372
0
UK
in the states i think they can say pretty much what they like. they may have more of an issue over here in blighty.

They could probably get away with "mostly the worlds thinnest notebook" because of the taper. If anyone complains about a Mac ad then the ASA will investigate and unless Apple can prove that theirs is the thinnest then they will have to change it.

Ahh, Ok.

Cheers
 

aussie.damo

macrumors regular
Nov 20, 2006
187
0
Melbourne
"Our cleanser is the world's best!"

No, it isn't illegal.

"Our cleanser is the world's best!" is a subjective claim that cannot be measured. That type of statement is not illegal. A consumer would not reasonably expect that to be true.

World's thinnest is an objective claim because it can be measured. A consumer could reasonably expect that they are in fact buying the world's thinnest laptop. In some jurisdictions, it would be illegal and actionable.
 

glitch44

macrumors 65816
Feb 28, 2006
1,121
157
Can't it? If a cleaner cleans better than the one labelled "world's best", I'd say that's pretty objective.

and how do you measure "better cleaning"? speed? efficiency? the least amount of scrubbing? the most bubbles?

if it can't be measured then it's not objective.
 

allmIne

macrumors 6502a
Sep 17, 2008
771
0
United Kingdom
"Our cleanser is the world's best!" is a subjective claim that cannot be measured. That type of statement is not illegal. A consumer would not reasonably expect that to be true.

World's thinnest is an objective claim because it can be measured. A consumer could reasonably expect that they are in fact buying the world's thinnest laptop. In some jurisdictions, it would be illegal and actionable.

+ 1 - Informative

;)
 

Scottsdale

Suspended
Sep 19, 2008
4,473
283
U.S.A.
Put it this way, which would fit through a smaller opening? Honestly, Adamo does.

However, the MacBook Air definitely is thinner in most areas. It's just at its very thickest points, it is thicker than Adamo. HERE LIES the PROBLEM. I really hope Apple feels MBA is smaller. I do NOT want a thinning war on the rev C MBA. I love the size and form factor just the way they are.

And, the overall size is BIGGER when looking at Adamo. It is wider and wastes more space. It is heavier.

Apple's MBA wins the war. Please Apple, keep the MBA in its same form, just boost the RAM to 4 GB, and give us a 256 GB SSD. Don't fight Dell on winning the thin debate. I just really have a bad feeling that Jobs will want the clear or outright title to "thinnest," but I sure hope not.

You guys think Apple will do something crazy like give up some power to make the MBA thinner?
 

tubbymac

macrumors 65816
Nov 6, 2008
1,074
1
You guys think Apple will do something crazy like give up some power to make the MBA thinner?

I honestly think so, yes. Thin is in these days and just looking at the trends from other Apple products (case in point: the latest Shuffle which is the thinnest yet I think) if Jobs can get it thinner he will do so just to one up the competition.
 

Scottsdale

Suspended
Sep 19, 2008
4,473
283
U.S.A.
I honestly think so, yes. Thin is in these days and just looking at the trends from other Apple products (case in point: the latest Shuffle which is the thinnest yet I think) if Jobs can get it thinner he will do so just to one up the competition.

I just don't want to give up power. If they can do it without problems like the original MBA with overheating, and they can make it fast like my rev B, then I guess it's ok.

What I fear is giving up performance so it can claim the title of thing. It is already so thin. It fits in an envelope for Heaven sakes!

Please Apple, improve the components and use a glass trackpad, you already won the thin war. Don't let this technicality make you change the MBA in the wrong direction.
 

duncanapple

macrumors 6502
Jun 12, 2008
472
12
Can't it? If a cleaner cleans better than the one labelled "world's best", I'd say that's pretty objective.

Such claims are referred to as "puffery" in the advertising industry and are very legal as the "reasonable person" can recognize this as marketing vs a literal claim. Its not that is objective or subjective, its the ability to discern between a marketing message to draw attention vs an actual claim.

In the case of the MBA, one could argue its the thinnest at the tapered edge. This probably doesn't fall into the puffery category as it can be easily measured. Pretty fine line in this case but as mentioned above, it depends on where you measure.
 

NoSmokingBandit

macrumors 68000
Apr 13, 2008
1,579
3
"Our cleanser is the world's best!"

No, it isn't illegal.

"best" is not a quantitative value like thickness (best at cleaning what?), therefore one company must be incorrect and is essentially advertising something false.
The issue here is how they measure their notebooks. Dell could just have easily added a slight taper somewhere that makes its thinnest point thinner than the Air's thinnest point, but in the end that doesnt help the consumer at all. The thinnest point is not what matters on a notebook, its the thickest point. I could sell you an egyptian pyramid and tell you it is 1cm thick at its thinnest point, but that doesnt mean you want to lug it around in your bag all day.
 

DarrenT

macrumors newbie
Mar 10, 2009
17
0
Croydon, London
"Our cleanser is the world's best!" is a subjective claim that cannot be measured. That type of statement is not illegal. A consumer would not reasonably expect that to be true.

in the UK that claim cannot be made unlessit can be proven. Many years ago Carlsberg ran Ads for their Lager with the tag line "the best beer in the world". Since the competition didnt like it, they complained, the ASA investigated and decreed that unless you can prove it, you cant say it in the UK adverts. Subsequently the ads were re-edited to add "... probably"

Thats why Carlsberg ads are now "probably the best beer in the world".

As for the Air, they would be able to get away with it as it is probably the thinnest on average over its whole size while the Adamo looks the same thickness across the board. Or they could maybe go with the thinnest looking notebook in the world.
 

John Jacob

macrumors 6502a
Feb 11, 2003
548
9
Columbia, MD
well at its thinnest point the air is still thinner

If you measure the AVERAGE thickness of the Macbook Air, I'm pretty sure it will still be thinner than the Adamo.

A good approximation of the average could be achieved by measuring the height of the air at points one centimeter apart, and then taking the average of all the measurements.
 

aussie.damo

macrumors regular
Nov 20, 2006
187
0
Melbourne
in the UK that claim cannot be made unlessit can be proven. Many years ago Carlsberg ran Ads for their Lager with the tag line "the best beer in the world". Since the competition didnt like it, they complained, the ASA investigated and decreed that unless you can prove it, you cant say it in the UK adverts. Subsequently the ads were re-edited to add "... probably"

Thats why Carlsberg ads are now "probably the best beer in the world".

As for the Air, they would be able to get away with it as it is probably the thinnest on average over its whole size while the Adamo looks the same thickness across the board. Or they could maybe go with the thinnest looking notebook in the world.

Well Beer is something different again. Typically, best, when referring to beer, would mean taste. Most everyone, or a reasonable person, would think that. Best cleanser means different things to different people. Fastest, deepest, least work required etc. In this circumstance, the interpretation is relevant.

I disagree with your assessment of the Air - a reasonable person would not expect the thinness to be an average value. Thin is something that is easily measured, i.e. objective.
 
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