Buying a Mac in the US ?

fishfoodie

I'm thinking of buying a Macbook Pro in June/July in the US. Are there any gottchas I need to watch out for ?

Things like the Power supply voltage / connections & how the warranty is effected are the things I'm thinking of at the moment.

Anyone have any experiences they can pass along ?

Cheers !

preilly79

i've just bought my second macbook from america and have had no problems on either occasion. the power supply comes with a two pin US style plus but this slides off to allow you to either fit a Euro style plug (there's a world travel pack for about $25) or you could just use a standard two wire power cord (the kind used on DVD players). the power adapter is multi voltage so will work from 110v up to 240v.

warranty wont be an issue. i need to send one of my macs in for repair and the one year warranty will cover repairs worldwide. typetec is the closest for me and they dont have any problems with non-irish equipment.

good luck!

Cabaal

Get the travel pack thats it, also for the money its worth getting applecare as the warrenty is worldwide and its cheaper then buying applecare in Ireland, I'm buying myself a macbook pro in May in the states

fishfoodie

Thanks Folks,

I'll add the travel pack to the Video adaptor cable I was going to get when I buy. I'm waiting till after WWDC as it looks like the MBPs might be getting an upgrade around then, so I figure I'll have more choices then.

selekta

The US keyboard layout is 'US English', different from 'UK/Ireland' one, also with Enter key being '–' shaped rather than inverted 'L'. I've got one, suits me better because that's the layout specific for my country. You might not like it though.

WizZard

selekta wrote:

The US keyboard layout is 'US English', different from 'UK/Ireland' one, also with Enter key being '–' shaped rather than inverted 'L'. I've got one, suits me better because that's the layout specific for my country. You might not like it though.

What are the major differences with this?
Is it just the omission of the €(euro) key, or more?

unclebill98

Hi,

I bought my mac in the States a while back. So did my mate about 2 weeks ago. Its much cheaper. Mine is missing the euro key but i dont miss it. THe diff between the Irish one and the Us one is tiny. He bought the entry level macpro with applecare and a swiss army bag(Very high quality) for 2k, thats over 600 euro cheaper than here.

My 'y' key fell off after 2 months and I simply called them up and they picked it up got it fixed and delivered it back to my brand spanking new. My one was even a refurb model. At the time I saved over 1100 euros on the price here. I waited a year and then bought the apple care.

If i had the chance of buying one over there I would try and get everything you think you'd need and more. IE: mighty mouse, travel plugs, bag, usb keys, etc etc etc....they will discount you the more you get and its far cheaper.

Things to note is, the software now comes all installed, so you dont have to worry about it. Just dump the box and put all the cds and books in you suitcase.

Downside's....

Just note the sales tax in the area you going too...
You can't bring the box back......thats about it.

Brightside....

Cheaper than Ireland,
100% world wide warranty,
Best Laptop around...

Good luck...

Jonny.

selekta

WizZard wrote:

What are the major differences with this?
Is it just the omission of the €(euro) key, or more?

most annoying is that @ and " are swapped. Also, # is positioned at 3. There might be some other differences, but the most striking one is the flat Enter.
German or French layouts are much more different

selekta

I bought off Amazon and had it delivered to my family in California, avoiding state sales tax. I also got a $100 mail-in rebate. It is harder to buy refurb from apple.com, because you need an US-issued credit card.

Next time I will either buy again in the US or from Apple Ireland refurb store.. bu then with the UK/Ireland keyboard..

Maccattack

I dont suppose you could get away with buying a desktop Mac in the US? Probably to hard to get it back in I guess...

Still if you save 600 euro on a Macbook you would be getting it for about the same price as the desktop equivelant. which is pretty cool.

unclebill98

well my refurb was bought by sending over a USD Bank Draft.

If you have someone in the states thats even better. Cause you would get a great exchange rate for the USD Draft. It would be better than any CC company would give you.

I simple ordered it and sent the draft it got delivered and pick up and brought back. The sales team in Apple where fab, even called to say they got the draft and that the mac had been shipped.

As for a MacPro......it would be great to bring one of those back. I'd rekon you'd get a mac mini...no problems there with the diff keyboard layout.

The Irish refurb store is good, but no where near as much of a selection than the US one, for obvious reasons.

I have a 12" and 2*15" powerbooks and i have to say i never even noticed the diff keyboard layout, apart from the return key.

The new MacPro is far better than the ones I have, faster in all app.

WizZard

I don't suppose the new Macbook Pro keyboards are as easy to swap out as the old iBook G3's?

Urban Weigl

WizZard wrote:

I don't suppose the new Macbook Pro keyboards are as easy to swap out as the old iBook G3's?

Afraid not. Takes about 20 minutes.

Cabaal

selekta wrote:

most annoying is that @ and " are swapped. Also, # is positioned at 3. There might be some other differences, but the most striking one is the flat Enter.
German or French layouts are much more different

This is the only thing that annoys me about buying a macbook pro from the states, that and knowing my luck they'll update the bloody thing in June :rolleyes:

fishfoodie

Another quick question:

Can someone who has a Macbook Pro confirm what model DVD they have. In their Model ?

I've been reading reports & it seems like Apple has a fixation on DVDs that don't allow have rpc1 firmware available, so your unable to play DVDs from multiple regions, which is a steaming pile of cr@p !

Gauge

What's the story with buying applecare abroad? For my MacBook it's €184 in the US compared to €319 here. My parents are going to New York in September, can they just walk in and buy it for me or will there be hassle because the laptop was bought here?

big_moe

i bought an apple macbook from apple.ie and it was delivered from somewhere in the UK. but it has the " and @ keys in the "Wrong" place compared to my windows keyboard. it has the € key also as the alt-click for the number 2.

i also have the bluetooth wireless keyboard which i bought in o2 experience on grafton street and that has the same keyboard layout..

so i dont think the US versions will be any different... like, the americans still use the € symbol as well. if that was the case then why do the european versions comes with the $ symbol??

moe

WizZard

big_moe wrote:

i bought an apple macbook from apple.ie and it was delivered from somewhere in the UK. but it has the " and @ keys in the "Wrong" place compared to my windows keyboard. it has the € key also as the alt-click for the number 2.

My (wired) Apple keyboard has the same layout...
That's why I was wondering what the difference was in layouts, since this layout is different to what I would be used to anyway

monkeyfudge

Apple keyboards have always been like that.

I tend to swear a lot when I'm typing in email addresses on a PC because of it.

big_moe

yeah thats what i thought, all the keyboard layouts are the same around the world.

only bad thing i can anticipate from getting a mac in the us is that it will have a 2 pin plug. and what a hassle it is to rectify that


......joke.

Simon201

Gauge wrote:

What's the story with buying applecare abroad? For my MacBook it's €184 in the US compared to €319 here.

Looking to get a Macbook in June and I've been tracking Applecare for it on eBay lately - seen two for around €110 but they'll only post to US or on some of them you can pay just an extra $5 and the seller will email you the registration no, which as I've read would appear to work worldwide.

Would be great if all this works compared to that €319!

Solair

There have always been slight differences in the Windows and Apple approach to keyboards.

" and @ being in opposite positions. I prefer " down there by \ and : as I use it more often and I find it awkward on a PC keyboard to have to keep stretching up to 2.

I have no particular odds with the euro symbol positioning it works fine.
and I'm definitely a big fan of the L shaped enter key it's easier to find

Urban Weigl

I prefer the International English keyboard we get here in Ireland, however I find the US keyboard fine too. It's a matter of what you're used to. I used a US keyboard for a few weeks at one point, and after the first week, I was completely used to it. After a few weeks, I actually found it hard going back, mainly because my finger was now looking for the flat enter key instead of the L-shaped enter key.

Only took a few hours to re-learn.

Cabaal

big_moe wrote:

yeah thats what i thought, all the keyboard layouts are the same around the world.

only bad thing i can anticipate from getting a mac in the us is that it will have a 2 pin plug. and what a hassle it is to rectify that

......joke.

while you are joking this was something I was worried about as at first I thought I'd have to buy a whole new power adapter over here but then I learned you could just buy a travel kit and it would cost less and do the job...shame its still $40

dubmick

I just bought an adaptor plug, cost me €5

big_moe

Cabaal wrote:

while you are joking this was something I was worried about as at first I thought I'd have to buy a whole new power adapter over here but then I learned you could just buy a travel kit and it would cost less and do the job...shame its still $40

if u buy the adaptor kit then it just means that it will be flush and all white an appley. but if u take off the 2 pin plug, it has the standard socket "figure or eight" thats everything uses.. so just buy a new ac cable and you'll be sorted


moe

Breezer

I don't know if anything can be done about the shape of the enter key (doesn't seem like it'd be that annoying but then again I've never tried using a US keyboard).

But if you're looking to change the position of the € symbol etc. you can try out a free app called Ukelele. I use it for when I plug my Macbook into my external monitor and use a Windows keyboard with it.

Maccattack

what about buying from singapore or honkers airport en route to Oz?

enda1

I much prefer the US style layout. Plus i cut the us plug off the the cable and put a uk/irish one on. Works a charm.

- shaped return key aint a problem as you'll probably end up using the small one beside the command key anyways. It easier to use i think.

Good luck with it anyway, should run the new cs3 suite lovely!!!

brianjohn

i have a mate going to the states soon who is considering getting himself a macbook. i want one too but he is wary of customs bringing two computers back so im looking for alternatives.
im assuming the crafty buggers have some way of preventing me buying from the u.s. website...can anyone fill me in on this?
is postage an option? price?
is there any truth to the rumour that customs are clamping down on these sorts of shenanigans?

Cabaal

US site needs US billing method and will only ship to a US address, customs are clamping down but in fairness, buy a laptop bag and stick the laptop in it and your sorted....just make sure to not have the receipts on you!

One is perfectly do-able but two is abit much...he might make it but he might not, is he going on his own?

eefy

I bought my powerbook in new york a few years ago,
I've never used the long extension cable that comes with the charger,
I was too afraid it would go on fire or something,
the cable only has 110v printed on it.
So I thought best to err on the side of caution with my prized posession!

Has anyone just cut the US plug off?

brianjohn

Cabaal wrote:

US site needs US billing method and will only ship to a US address, customs are clamping down but in fairness, buy a laptop bag and stick the laptop in it and your sorted....just make sure to not have the receipts on you!

One is perfectly do-able but two is abit much...he might make it but he might not, is he going on his own?

good idea but he is going as a kind of work thing with intel where he will have his own work laptop aswell and im sure everyone with him will too. i'm sure someone i dont know won't be willing to risk anything on my behalf.

Thephantomsmask

So if someone who was resident in America and was coming over to visit family for a few weeks was to buy one, chuck the box and stick it in hand luggage, customs would more than likely assume it was theirs? Someone l know is coming over and they're going to buy one for me in a bricks and mortar store but I'm still worried about customs

brianjohn

nobody's up for a bit of postage so? any ideas on price for that sort of carry on?

Doodee

I got mine in the states at the end of a holiday.
I already had my old laptop with me, so i brought the 2 of them back.
Just put it into my Luggage and covered it with clothes.
Another member of our party had just bought a new laptop too.
All you do is say one is for work and the other pleasure!

Customs dont check everyone thats leaving, never had a problem with customs before and i've bought quite a few electronics on my travels.

Cabaal

Thephantomsmask wrote:

So if someone who was resident in America and was coming over to visit family for a few weeks was to buy one, chuck the box and stick it in hand luggage, customs would more than likely assume it was theirs? Someone l know is coming over and they're going to buy one for me in a bricks and mortar store but I'm still worried about customs

get them to buy a laptop bag at the same time, customs won't bother them

Cabaal

Doodee wrote:

Customs dont check everyone thats leaving, never had a problem with customs before and i've bought quite a few electronics on my travels.

Happened to a uncle of mine though, he bought some really expensive camera lens, customs asked him did he have them already and he said yes, they searched him and found the receipts and then charged him the tax etc....so basically don't have packaging or receipts with you

selekta

metro wrote a few weeks ago that only a few people paid vat on imported electronics brought from the US last year on them via an airplane - all of them only because they had declared it. metro alarmed the revenue was being robbed, it was on the first page. ****.

selekta

big_moe wrote:

if u buy the adaptor kit then it just means that it will be flush and all white an appley. but if u take off the 2 pin plug, it has the standard socket "figure or eight" thats everything uses.. so just buy a new ac cable and you'll be sorted


moe

I use the plug that came with the iPod charger. Some people go for that one

big_moe

yup. only thing is the new iPods dont come with chargers.

moe

Cabaal

selekta wrote:

metro wrote a few weeks ago that only a few people paid vat on imported electronics brought from the US last year on them via an airplane - all of them only because they had declared it. metro alarmed the revenue was being robbed, it was on the first page. ****.

Who the hell is stupid enough to declare that they've bought 4k worth of electronics and now they want to pay tax on it?

seriously!

Thephantomsmask

Probably a dumb question, but are receipts needed for registering a macbook? I've never bought a computer before so my apologies for being annoying!

Cabaal

Thephantomsmask wrote:

Probably a dumb question, but are receipts needed for registering a macbook? I've never bought a computer before so my apologies for being annoying!

what do you mean by registering?
In relation to applecare you must register it to a USaddress, other then that its a world wide warrenty

Thephantomsmask

Yes, sorry l was posting on the bus from opera mini earlier and couldn't remember the proper name for applecare. Thanks Cabaal

StephenC_IRL

keyboard layout
the little adapter tip on the power supply
and not being able to get wifi channels 12-14 are the only problems bringing back a us macbook. I brought mine from the US and it works absoloutly perfectly, you save money and all, bring some fake college id or a real one if you have it with you and claim education discount (further 10% off) it works like a charm

ohh in july/august apple run summer promotions for students too, if you take my advice from above youll get something free perhaps, I got a free iPod nano when i bough my macbook, they asked for an address to send the rebate check and I said my hotel address, the hotel posted it to me back here a week after I got back, hello free ipod and cheap macbook