Anyone bought a laptop in the US ?

[stewie]

Dont know if this has been asked before but I'm going to the states later in the year and was wondering if there are any advantages to buying out there as opposed to here ?
Thanks :D
Stew

[Spank86]

Price usually.

[stewie]

yeah had a quick look and i5 machines are going for the same sort of price as UK i3 ones

[Spank86]

Used to be about half the price, our currency devaluation wasn't all good.

[SoulKiss]

Keyboard will be US layout, Warranty may be a problem if it goes wrong, you will probably still be covered but may have to pay shipping to and from the US.

Not really worth it in my opinion

[Spank86]

Also power lead will need an adaptor and wifi may not accept routers using the higher channels (12 and 13)

[stewie]

So maybe not such a good idea then ?

[jonny.boyd]

As far as I know if your buying Apple then items bought in the USA can still be fixed under warranty in the UK. It seems to be an international warranty - probably best to dig a bit deeper into this / ask apple just to be sure.

I know at the moment you buy an iPad 2 in the US and save around £100 on the UK RRP... pretty good saving if you've already got a trip planned!

[DJFridge]

Keyboard will be US layout, Warranty may be a problem if it goes wrong, you will probably still be covered but may have to pay shipping to and from the US.

Not really worth it in my opinion

This. It was worth it when it was 2 dollars to the pound and buying an Powerbook paid for your air tickets. These days, as SK says, the downsides pretty much outweigh the pros

[SoulKiss]

Keyboard will be US layout, Warranty may be a problem if it goes wrong, you will probably still be covered but may have to pay shipping to and from the US.

Not really worth it in my opinion

This. It was worth it when it was 2 dollars to the pound and buying an Powerbook paid for your air tickets. These days, as SK says, the downsides pretty much outweigh the pros

A bit of a fuller explanation - was on my phone waiting for Takeaway food to be prepared.

You may buy the same model, or at least it looks the same, says the same on the box but whats inside may be different. As mentioned, Wi-Fi standards vary world wide for one.

Hence why warranties might not be able to be serviced over here.

Then when you want to write an email and have to hit shift-2 to get @ instead of " and have nowhere to easily get a £

The power thing is actually one place that you WONT have an issue that £5 or so wouldnt fix - most power bricks have a Figure 8 (like a radio) or a Cloverleaf (Figure 8 with an extra pin) which has a lead that connects to the wall socket - that is easily fixed.

[timwilky]

Add you may be hit with duty as you scurry through customs with you new shiny device.

[stewie]

Thanks guys, think I'll have a look around here then :)

[flymo]

I've had a few from the US. I've also bought iPads over there, much cheaper than UK.

Generally speaking I've always found it worthwhile to carry the item without packaging to avoid customs worries. I've had my US based colleagues carry the packing or even mail it separately if necessary.

For a full laptop though the inconvenience of keyboard differences is the main point.

[Richie]

Mate of mine bought a iPad and another one bought a Sony Tablet thing in Canada last year. Both got hit with duty and found out their warranty was now invalid as it only applies to the country you buy the goods in.

[L3nny]

Also the prices advertised are unlikely to include local taxes so they aren't as cheap as they first look.