Thinking about making the switch - a question of timing
*edit* Shoddy thread naming wins - sorry about that. "Thinking"
Hi everyone,
I've always respected Apple's coveted laptops, and with my current laptop (a Dell that has brought me almost 4 years of joy and not a single hardware problem) finally wanting to retire, I'm now looking at a Macbook Pro.
Obviously, at the heart of the issue is price. And I'm not going to throw people into some sort of value proposition war. But there are two things coming up that are affecting my decision to buy now or later and I was hoping if readers could provide some perspective for me:
1) There's been a fair amount of rumors and talk circulating about Apple launching the next major revision of OS X this coming June - August. My perception of Apple has been that these major OS revisions have to be purchased - looking at Amazon.com right now, I see Leopard currently sitting at $110, retailing for $130. In Canada that's probably $130 and $150 respectively. Thus, if I bought a laptop now, then in 3 months I'd have to buy the operating system upgrade. But if I bought the laptop after the OS was released, I'd get that upgrade "for free". Is that perception wrong?
2) I'm able to take advantage of Apple's "back-to-school" incentives, which usually commences in mid-to-late summer. This usually takes the form of chopping maybe $100 off the laptop AND they throw in some sort of gift. For 2008, it was an 16gb iPod Touch. Now, I already have an iPod touch so this would probably be resold, further subsidizing the total cost of the laptop.
Looking at those two factors, the value of waiting about 4-5 months appears to be in the arena of $400-$500, which for a laptop that starts at over $2k, is fairly substantial. Any thoughts or insights on whether to go-go-go or hold for now?
Thanks in advance.
Hi everyone,
I've always respected Apple's coveted laptops, and with my current laptop (a Dell that has brought me almost 4 years of joy and not a single hardware problem) finally wanting to retire, I'm now looking at a Macbook Pro.
Obviously, at the heart of the issue is price. And I'm not going to throw people into some sort of value proposition war. But there are two things coming up that are affecting my decision to buy now or later and I was hoping if readers could provide some perspective for me:
1) There's been a fair amount of rumors and talk circulating about Apple launching the next major revision of OS X this coming June - August. My perception of Apple has been that these major OS revisions have to be purchased - looking at Amazon.com right now, I see Leopard currently sitting at $110, retailing for $130. In Canada that's probably $130 and $150 respectively. Thus, if I bought a laptop now, then in 3 months I'd have to buy the operating system upgrade. But if I bought the laptop after the OS was released, I'd get that upgrade "for free". Is that perception wrong?
2) I'm able to take advantage of Apple's "back-to-school" incentives, which usually commences in mid-to-late summer. This usually takes the form of chopping maybe $100 off the laptop AND they throw in some sort of gift. For 2008, it was an 16gb iPod Touch. Now, I already have an iPod touch so this would probably be resold, further subsidizing the total cost of the laptop.
Looking at those two factors, the value of waiting about 4-5 months appears to be in the arena of $400-$500, which for a laptop that starts at over $2k, is fairly substantial. Any thoughts or insights on whether to go-go-go or hold for now?
Thanks in advance.
Comments
*edit* Shoddy thread naming wins - sorry about that. "Thinking"
Hi everyone,
I've always respected Apple's coveted laptops, and with my current laptop (a Dell that has brought me almost 4 years of joy and not a single hardware problem) finally wanting to retire, I'm now looking at a Macbook Pro.
Obviously, at the heart of the issue is price. And I'm not going to throw people into some sort of value proposition war. But there are two things coming up that are affecting my decision to buy now or later and I was hoping if readers could provide some perspective for me:
1) There's been a fair amount of rumors and talk circulating about Apple launching the next major revision of OS X this coming June - August. My perception of Apple has been that these major OS revisions have to be purchased - looking at Amazon.com right now, I see Leopard currently sitting at $110, retailing for $130. In Canada that's probably $130 and $150 respectively. Thus, if I bought a laptop now, then in 3 months I'd have to buy the operating system upgrade. But if I bought the laptop after the OS was released, I'd get that upgrade "for free". Is that perception wrong?
2) I'm able to take advantage of Apple's "back-to-school" incentives, which usually commences in mid-to-late summer. This usually takes the form of chopping maybe $100 off the laptop AND they throw in some sort of gift. For 2008, it was an 16gb iPod Touch. Now, I already have an iPod touch so this would probably be resold, further subsidizing the total cost of the laptop.
Looking at those two factors, the value of waiting about 4-5 months appears to be in the arena of $400-$500, which for a laptop that starts at over $2k, is fairly substantial. Any thoughts or insights on whether to go-go-go or hold for now?
Thanks in advance.
If you don't mind waiting you're pretty much right or likely to be right on both counts.
Snow Leopard is likely to cost money to upgrade to although this isn't written in stone. While there is no guarantee that Apple will have a back to school promo this fall they often do.
Another alternative if ypu want to get one now is to buy a refurbished MBP. The entry level unibody MBP can be bought as a refurb for $1699 at this time. See here.
I just bought a macbook. I have an iMac too, so I don't exactly need a desktop replacement. I have a corporate issue Dell Latitude as well .... it's a world of difference. Every element of the macbook is thought out so thoroughly. The Dell is perfectly usable, but it's not the same.