Having used both for over a year I feel I'm in a good position to make comparisons.
1. Mechanically (steppers, rails, bearings, z rod, etc) the Makerbot is fantastic. I've never had any problems with banding. Extrusion is super consistent and neat.
2. The standard extruder for both printers needs replacing. The makerbot one jams easily and is impossible to clean without pulling apart. Works great with a replacement, however.
3. Makerbot heated bed is much faster to reach temp. About halfway between the standard Solidoodle pad and my super quick custom pcb.
4. Makerbot software is the big limitation. Makerware presents itself as user friendly, but limits what you can fiddle with. For the average user this is fine, but as soon as models aren't perfect, it spews out crap g-code. The trouble is that there is no g-code preview or errors, so you won't realise until the prints looks terrible half way through. Sometimes known good models don't slice properly. R-H/Slic3r is harder to learn but ultimately offers much more control.
In summary and dealing with your question, there is nothing physically that the Makerbot can do that the Solidoodle can't, although between the two the Makerbot will be much neater unless the Solidoodle is modded and dialed in.
The person you describe probably printed on a Makerbot so can confirm it will slice and print ok. I doubt they are implying only a Makerbot can print the file.
