The battle between fans of Macbooks and Windows-based PCs continues unabated, particularly in the US where Microsoft has been running a Laptop Hunters series of ads knocking Apple for the high price of its laptops and the features you get for the money.

From the Microsoft US ad campaign, Laptop Hunter Sheila finds fault with the 15-inch MacBook Pro. (Credit: Microsoft)

Our laptop editors regularly give high marks to Apple's wares, and the company's 13-inch MacBook and Apple MacBook Pro have both recently won Editors' Choice nods. In short, we're pretty happy with what Apple has to offer. But as good as its laptops are, Windows-based PCs do have a few leading-edge features not found in MacBooks.

Here's the list we came up with:

• Blu-ray: whether you think it's a worthwhile feature or not, no Macs currently offer a Blu-ray drive. Last year, Steve Jobs referred to Blu-ray and its licensing process as a "bag of hurt", but recent rumours suggest that Apple may make a Blu-ray announcement at its World Wide Developers Conference next month. We'll have to wait and see whether it applies to notebooks.
• Memory card slots: in our book, being able to toss a memory card from your digital camera or camcorder into your notebook is a big convenience. We're seeing this on more Windows machines and it should be a standard feature across all laptops.
• HDMI out: Apple has gone with a Mini DisplayPort, which doesn't carry sound, instead of standard HDMI. (A Mini DisplayPort-to-HDMI adapter is available for about US$20, but that's just another thing you have to carry around). Premium notebooks should feature an HDMI port so you can easily connect to an HDTV sans adapter.
• Biometric security: this is better known as fingerprint recognition. Many ThinkPads and Lenovos have built-in biometric security. No Macs offer this feature.
• WWAN mobile broadband support: a small but sure-to-be growing number of Windows machines offer built-in connectivity to mobile data networks (naturally, there's a fee involved for service).
• More USB ports: this one is definitely at the bottom of the list, but it's worth mentioning that many Windows notebooks now come with three USB ports. The MacBook and MacBook Pro only have two, and the Macbook Air only has one. This can become an issue if you opt to use one of the USB ports for a mobile data accessory (no new Macs have a PC card slot, though MacBook Pros do offer the newer and arguably superior ExpressCard slot).

Are these omissions a big deal or just minor quibbles? Let us know and feel free to add below anything you think we missed.