Surely this isn't the only laptop in that Fry's ad. If your ads are anything like mine (SJ Mercury News), there are several machines offered and it's always the brand first (Sony, Fujitsu, ...) and then right below it the processor and speed.

What's a bit odd here (and I have to admit it threw me off when I first saw this ad last week) is that this particular processor name isn't as instantly recognized as, say, a Core 2 Duo ...

On the model number in the "fine print", again, that's standard procedure for Fry's ads. You will see the same for Sony and other laptops. A bit unfortunate, but other vendors often do the same or don't include the model number at all.

"when did the processor become necessary to be the next most important thing on the ad?"

When Intel is forking out Coop $$ to pay for the ad :-)

Oliver, it only looks like a laptop. It's a 5 1/2 inch UMPC convertible.

SBT -- sure, I know. I have played with one.