Visiting the mall, I ran across a funny contrast: an Apple store on one floor, a Sony store on the floor just above.
Apple store: lots of space, a few clean rows of incredibly cool, distinctive computers. A theater set up in the back, to showcase sound systems and other technology. Bright lighting. Hip, laid-back employees who walked around answering people's questions.
Sony store: crowded, with bland computers sitting on top of almost random pedestals. The room was dark with little spotlights trying desperately to be cool. Carpet and shiny, riveted metal ran around crazy paths on the floor, with tile and other textures jumping out from every other surface. The Vaio laptops were black, ugly things -- and where Apple focuses on style but still lists all the detailed specs, Sony had decided to post prices and weights ("this laptop weighs only 8 ounces! See a sales rep for a detailed spec sheet") instead.
The kicker: the Vaio's cost twice as much.
When I'm ready to buy a new machine: quite likely a Mac. Definitely not a Vaio.