o2 experience

spidermonkey

will be getting a new macbook or pro (not sure yet) in the next week or two,
im a student and currently have a g5 imac which i have to sell due to it not being suitable (portability wise) for my final year.

anyway i'll want to get the macbook asap once i sell my g5, so where is the best option, straight from apple or the o2 experience store?

...are the o2 experience store prices the same as the apple education store prices? theres something in the back of my head about them being the same??

thanks in advance

440Hz

Id go direct to Apple tbh, just that extra sense of security cutting out the middle man. I doubt the O2 stores would give the same price as the educational discount, I could be wrong but I would doubt it.

spidermonkey

ya i was thinking that & would prefer, but 2 weeks without a computer!!:eek:

my next decision is between macbook & mb pro,
i think i might get the base line mb pro rather than a stuffed macbook.
at least i have the option to upgrade then in the future.
soo much money....

440Hz

That decision largely depends on what the intended use of the machine is? What course are you doing? What kinda user stress are you going to put the machine under? An MBP could be more than you need, or equally, you might need the higher spec.

spidermonkey

well im doing graphic design, but play around with media & want to learn a 3d app, what i dont want is to realise down the line that i bought something which my needs exceed

and even when i had my g5, i play with pretty big files, 1gb image was the biggest ever, too 20mins to save!!
but that was a once off massive 3 1/2meter panoramic,
i might print it sometime...

Ham'nd'egger

I was looking to purchase a MB from the O2 shops recently, here is my experience of same (Pun intended) and why you should NOT buy from them.

July: Popped in, expressed interest in a MB, told they only sell 1Gig RAM in same but they would fit it in for about €200. Also, they won't put RAM onto credit terms, which I would prefer to buy under (Interest free cots less than a bank loan). Took my number to arrange same, never heard from them.

August: Back in after upgraded lines came out, again expressed interest in a MB. Was told additional RAM was over €300 to be fitted, took a week and my guarentee was to be lost upon fitting. Rang in again to see how much it was, was told €250.

Went back in, this time deciding to buy external RAM. Was then told that a MBP was €1,699 as the shops had a discount on laptops. Based on my budget, I felt I could justify a MBP, none in stock with no delivery date. Took my number, no call back received.
Called them myself and told they could get a MBP from another shop ASAP, called in Monday, saw the unit and applied for credit but was declined.

Went to my own bank and got a loan approved in 30 minutes the next day. Rang back to O2 when bank loan was credited to account and available to spend, no MBP's in stock, no idea of when any were to arrive in stock or any shop that had them in stock in Dublin; price had gone up and no idea of how much for additional RAM or delivery date of same.

I gave up with them and booked a MB via Apple with the 2Gig RAM factory fitted (Just was sick of BS and hassle so wanted it done from the word go.

While the staff were by no means rude to me (And one chap was extra helpful), they just clowned their way around a sale that was begging to buy from them with bluff information and lack of basic knowledge. Not to say you will be sold down the river but I'm not expecting much from them; asking them for a student discount will be fun if you like staff with blank stares. :mad:

spidermonkey

ya there a bunch of eejits in there all right,

you have to know what your looking for and know when you want it.
fyi, get a baseline in future and get your ram from crucial.com
you'll save 100ish

440Hz

Glad you posted Ham... I was thinking about your experience when I posted about going with Apple direct but thought better to let you share it yourself.

spiderm, if you are going to be doing any (relatively) intensive graphics work i would consider either pimping a Macbook out with more RAM or forking out for a Pro. Design apps tend to hog your system, as I'm sure you have figured out. Guess comes down to your budget, but if you can afford to, may as well go titanium yumyum!

heggie

for what its worth i got my mb pro from o2, at the time it was 200 cheaper than apples online store for the exact same spec, and it wasnt a while until they upgraded either. Go in knowing what you want and you shouldnt have any trouble, they get their stock from apple, so its going to be the same machine no matter where u buy it

NullZer0

spidermonkey wrote:

will be getting a new macbook or pro (not sure yet) in the next week or two,
im a student and currently have a g5 imac which i have to sell due to it not being suitable (portability wise) for my final year.

anyway i'll want to get the macbook asap once i sell my g5, so where is the best option, straight from apple or the o2 experience store?

...are the o2 experience store prices the same as the apple education store prices? theres something in the back of my head about them being the same??

thanks in advance

Yeah go to Apple. I bought an iMac from O2 experience and tried to register it with Apple. Turned out O2 had registered it 3months earlier... meaning thats 3months less support

whiterebel

iRock wrote:

Yeah go to Apple. I bought an iMac from O2 experience and tried to register it with Apple. Turned out O2 had registered it 3months earlier... meaning thats 3months less support

O2 would have had it back where the sun doesn't shine. Cheeky Barstewards. At that rate the machine wasn't new

NullZer0

No, it was new.... they register them when they get them. I don't think they have any "agreement" with Apple. Hence, the registration etc.

Apple said its common for many retailers to do it & I can have it changed if I fax in the receipt.

whiterebel

iRock wrote:

No, it was new.... they register them when they get them. I don't think they have any "agreement" with Apple. Hence, the registration etc.

Apple said its common for many retailers to do it & I can have it changed if I fax in the receipt.

It was rare in my day. Usually only the simpletons in PC World did it. Mind you they did it for demo and then tried to sell it as brand new......:eek:

NullZer0

.... yeah I know what you mean.

Its a17" and I got it for 815.......
Thats more about 200euro cheaper than Apple.

Seemd new to me. Sealed and all... never thought twice about it.

I don't mind anyway.

whiterebel

iRock wrote:

.... yeah I know what you mean.

Its a17" and I got it for 815.......
Thats more about 200euro cheaper than Apple.

Seemd new to me. Sealed and all... never thought twice about it.

I don't mind anyway.

Good enough, especially the price. Thats better than the Apple refurb price.
Fax in your receipt anyway, you shouldn't lose out on the 3 months.