02-22-2010, 08:17 AM

I am going to the USA soon for a few days and I would like to buy my fist Mac, a Macbook Pro. I know what I want as a specification and wanted to contact the store to see if they would have one in stock. Has anyone had any experience buying from an Apple Retail Store?

It is a shame that I cannot contact them by mail. On the Apple website it only gives their telephone number. I wonder why that is?

02-22-2010, 08:32 AM

Originally Posted by Balders

I am going to the USA soon for a few days and I would like to buy my fist Mac, a Macbook Pro. I know what I want as a specification and wanted to contact the store to see if they would have one in stock. Has anyone had any experience buying from an Apple Retail Store?

It is a shame that I cannot contact them by mail. On the Apple website it only gives their telephone number. I wonder why that is?

Erm, well which country are you from? Are there any Apple Stores or Authorized Resellers in your own country? If there are then there isn't a point buying your Mac there, now is there? You could just drop by one of your own local stores to get one or to buy it online and have it shipped to your home, right?

I wouldn't recommend you to buy a Macbook Pro overseas, though. Through my own experiences, I brought my Macbook to the States for my studies last year, and the difference in voltage really killed my battery. Macbook Pros manufactured for this country has batteries specifically built for the voltage of that country. At least that is what I found out from a Genius when I visited a store once. He told me that it isn't recommended for me to buy a battery from the States if I bought my Macbook from my country.

So, there you go.

02-22-2010, 08:37 AM

Originally Posted by Balders

Has anyone had any experience buying from an Apple Retail Store?

Well, yes, but I don't buy new Macs that often. We've purchased two from an Apple Store, one from Best Buy, and one from a mail order catalog. I haven't known the Apple Store to be out of stock on anything, but I suspect it happens once in awhile.

02-22-2010, 08:45 AM

Originally Posted by PsYkOoOoO

Erm, well which country are you from? Are there any Apple Stores or Authorized Resellers in your own country? If there are then there isn't a point buying your Mac there, now is there? You could just drop by one of your own local stores to get one or to buy it online and have it shipped to your home, right?

I live in France but want a UK/US keyboard (that they can do) but want the OS in English as well as iWork. This is the reason for buying outside of France.

02-22-2010, 09:10 AM

Originally Posted by Balders

I live in France but want a UK/US keyboard (that they can do) but want the OS in English as well as iWork. This is the reason for buying outside of France.

I'm not sure how the keyboard in France differs from the one in US. However, it is possible to change the language of your operating system. I believe when you first start up your Mac, there will be an option for you to choose which language you want. The default is in English for the most part, so I haven't actually changed it at all.

02-22-2010, 11:17 AM

Originally Posted by PsYkOoOoO

I wouldn't recommend you to buy a Macbook Pro overseas, though. Through my own experiences, I brought my Macbook to the States for my studies last year, and the difference in voltage really killed my battery. Macbook Pros manufactured for this country has batteries specifically built for the voltage of that country. At least that is what I found out from a Genius when I visited a store once. He told me that it isn't recommended for me to buy a battery from the States if I bought my Macbook from my country.

I am a little confused as to what you say here. Laptops are used a lot for travelling. Power supplies are mostly 110v/240v compatible so to say that voltage difference affects the life of a battery can only show up a weakness in the Macbook hardware. I have a Asus laptop for the moment that has travelled a bit and the battery hasn't been affected as yet.

02-22-2010, 11:52 AM

Originally Posted by Balders

I live in France but want a UK/US keyboard (that they can do) but want the OS in English as well as iWork. This is the reason for buying outside of France.

I just went to the Apple Store (France)...is this the keyboard you're looking for:

Clavier Apple avec pavé numérique - Anglais (USA) - Apple Store (France)

- Nick

02-22-2010, 11:58 AM

Originally Posted by PsYkOoOoO

I'm not sure how the keyboard in France differs from the one in US. However, it is possible to change the language of your operating system. I believe when you first start up your Mac, there will be an option for you to choose which language you want. The default is in English for the most part, so I haven't actually changed it at all.

There's a definite difference between the US & French keyboards. As you can see (links below)...the French keyboard has characters not found on the USA keyboard...and the French keyboard isn't "QWERTY".

French:

http://a248.e.akamai.net/7/248/8352/...d=0&layer=comp

English:

http://a248.e.akamai.net/7/248/2041/...d=0&layer=comp

- Nick

02-22-2010, 12:31 PM

Originally Posted by Balders

I am a little confused as to what you say here. Laptops are used a lot for travelling. Power supplies are mostly 110v/240v compatible so to say that voltage difference affects the life of a battery can only show up a weakness in the Macbook hardware. I have a Asus laptop for the moment that has travelled a bit and the battery hasn't been affected as yet.

Well, it is what I have observed and, like I said, what the Genius told me when I tried to buy an extra battery for my Macbook. I am using the white Macbook from 2007, and that was what he told me anyway. When I left for the States, my battery health was at about 80%. Over about half a year while I was there, it dropped rapidly to about 30%, only to come back to about 70% again when I returned. I'm not sure if that is any cause for concern but, I'd much rather buy my batteries in the country where I got my Macbook, really.

02-22-2010, 12:32 PM

Originally Posted by pigoo3

There's a definite difference between the US & French keyboards. As you can see (links below)...the French keyboard has characters not found on the USA keyboard...and the French keyboard isn't "QWERTY".

French:

http://a248.e.akamai.net/7/248/8352/...d=0&layer=comp

English:

http://a248.e.akamai.net/7/248/2041/...d=0&layer=comp

- Nick

What a funky looking Enter button.

02-22-2010, 01:09 PM

The French keyboards are AZERTY. I am used to both now but prefer the UK keyboard for laptops. If you are doing a lot of figure work you have to go to upper case which can be a real pain.