Do some electrical goods with same models have different specs?

Question

for example. there is a HP laptop same model etc, but when i tried to compare the prices from two different companys, for example one company would have that laptop with a webcam, whereas another company would sell the same model, without a webcame etc. or a different feature?

and the same prices from both companies.

is it common to find same model products with different specification?

Answer 1

it is very common.  however, the model numbers usually differ somewhat in their "full" version, or the serial number series will indicate changes.  both laptops might be called hp-512 when really one is the hp-512ac14wx and one is the hp512-ac23xw (i'm making this up but you get the idea).  Usually, the difference is due to internal revisions, but sometimes you will see changes to modular features (hard drive, amount of ram, etc).  If you look at the model without the webcam, the outer casing will probably have some inidcator or a "punch-out" or spacing where the webcam could go.  they may be the same price because the webcam feature is added (which costs money) but the motherboard is revised to use a cheaper heat sink (which saves money) so the features sometimes balance out, cost-wise.  

toshiba is espescially heinous about using a base model number for laptops, with longer "true" model numbers denoting specific features.    

another example of this is xbox 360 consoles, which use dvd drives from three or four manufacturers; there's no way to tell if the unit in the box has a toshiba drive or a samsung drive by looking at the box, and some are more prone to failure than others.  however, microsoft must use multiple suppliers to meet demand.

hope this helps!

Answer 2

Perhaps there was a mistake on the part of one of the companies.  Alternatively, it could be that one company was selling an older version of the same model that didn't have a webcam.  They often introduce new revisions to the same model of things.  They do that all the time with motherboards.  It [the laptop] should be noted somewhere on it that it is, for example rev. 2 of that model of laptop.