I’m finally getting myself off this island and temporarily going back to The States. I’m wanting to purchase an Apple notebook, and wondering if I should consider buying it here before I go. But really, the only good reason I can think of is because I’ll have those cool looking Chinese characters on my keyboard. However, since my Chinese still sucks after four years, and I don’t see myself using those, it’s really just a show-off thing. Any other reasons, or should I just wait and buy it in Apple’s home country?
Also, what’s the current situation with Mac/PC and PC/Mac transfer? I haven’t used an Apple in some years. I’ve got a lot of docs and whatnot in PC format. How difficult is that going to make my life?
You’re much better off purchasing in the US, Apples are far cheaper there EVEN with tax. In some cases, you can even get AppleCare and still come in under the TW price. There is absolutely no reason to buy a Mac in Taiwan if you have the opportunity to get one in the States unless you really want to pay the extra hundreds of dollars for those Chinese characters.
Get it wherever is more convenient. The configuration you want might not always be available in either location. If it’s much cheaper in the US, go for it.
Yep…usually the ‘what else’ is nice…but in the States you get bundled other stuff with your US purchased computer. And if you buy at a particular Apple Shop, you would probably get better service if you had any problems.
Wherever you get your Apple from, you’d get the same service. Go to an Apple Store in the US and they don’t mind where you got it from. You’d get less support while you’re in Taiwan but does it matter.
If you would pay tax in the US, the difference isn’t too great. For the ~8% in my area, the difference was little. For some products like 17" MacBook Pro, it would even slightly cheaper in Taiwan.
Whatever the difference, if having it early is going to be worth the 50 or 100 dollars, why not.