iBook - Pre-purchasing questions

[Andy]

I’m currently in line for buying an iBook – at least I’d like to – when I’m in Florida. I’m curious, however, to the following things before I fork out ~£1000 for it.

1. I’d want a RAM and Hard Drive upgraded straight away, and the Bluetooth module added. Can they do this in store, and will the price be the same as the website calculation?

2. On the gaming front, how hard will I be able to push 32MB? Its not a terribly big deal, as I have a PC that I’d be able to game on if the urge ever took me.

3. Will buying it in the USA have any ‘negative’ attributes – I know I’ll have to use a voltage thinger, but will there be anything else?

Any other advice you may have for a first-time-mac-buyer would be fantastic. Thanks.

 

[SPeedY_B]

£1000? You'll be hard pushed to spend that on one. The following config:

• 256MB DDR266 SDRAM (built-in)
• 80GB Ultra ATA drive
• Combo drive (DVD-ROM/CD-RW)
• AirPort Extreme Card
• Bluetooth Module
• Keyboard & Mac OS X - U.S. English
• 12-inch TFT XGA display
• 1.2GHz PowerPC G4
• ATI Mobility Radeon 9200 w/ 32MB DDR video memory

Comes to $1,199.00, which is about £650, add £90 for a 512mb memory chip from crucial when you get back to the UK (Or buy from Crucial while your over there..) and voilla, no where near £1k.

1. Buy the hdd with it, they're an arse to fit, and of course, void your warranty, same goes for the Bluetooth. DO NOT buy the memory with it, Apple charge way too much for this, like I say, give crucial a look.

2. I actually don't know, I've only played UT, Quake3 and Original Quake on mine, have no need to play newer games on the move, and I have my desktop for that anyway

3. You won't have to use a converter, the power brick supplied with the iBook utilises 110v and 220v, you just need a 2pin->3pin adapter (no conversions, literally a straight adapter)

 

[Henyman]

he may have to pay the evil import tax?

 

[SPeedY_B]

Don't bring it back in the box.

Mine was purchased in the US, it was bought back along with along with a brand new intel notebook. So 2 new notebooks, warranty's in suitcase, notebooks in hand-luggage.. lovely

If you really can't live without the packaging, post it back to yourself mark the package as a gift (important), shouldn't really cost too much with it being relatively light, not having the goods inside and the gift tagging will again get it out of import taxes.

Good luck

 

[X-Istence]

uhm, cut out the UPC and walk through customs and tell them it is second hands if needed. They should not charge tax over something second hand.

BTW, iBook is cool.

1. I am pretty sure they can do it instore, the techs there are awesome

2. Tony Hawk Pro Skater works on it like a charm. All i know. It handles everything else perfectly, so i doubt it really is gonna limit you. Just use PC for gaming when needed

3. Voltage is the same, get the travellers plug set, and your brick will fit in the UK system, or just get a converter if you want to use the long cable from the brick to the power.

It works on both 110 and 220 volts, so you are good .

Negative attributes? None, really, the iBook is awesome.

 

[Andy]

I'm going for the newer iBook -

1.33GHz PowerPC G4
512K L2 cache @ 1.33GHz
14-inch TFT Display
1024x768 resolution
256MB DDR266 SDRAM
60GB Ultra ATA drive
SuperDrive
ATI Mobility Radeon 9200
32MB DDR video memory
AirPort Extreme built-in

Then upgrading to 80GB, 512 RAM (which can wait til I get back) and installing the Bluetooth. On Apple.com (ex-RAM) comes to $1,624.00 (£896) pre-tax. I'm also not sure on how the whole tax thing works if anyone can fill me in on that.

If I choose those upgrades though, will my iBook come without a hard drive and i'll have to install it myself, or will I get them out of the box like that? Or will they install it in store and charge me more.

Dave already informed me as to avoiding the tax by bringing it on as hand luggage. Will I be able to use it on the plane, though?

Thanks guys - this is really helpful!

 

[SPeedY_B]

If you charge it before you set off, you can use it on the plane

Tax is state dependant, I think mine was 8% when purchased in NY.

You can't buy an iBook without a HDD, you have to either buy the one you want with the machine, or put your own in. But like I said, it voids your warranty and is a pain in the arse, they're not meant to be replaced.

 

[X-Istence]

Ask in store, they should be able to do it for you. State tax is anywhere from 0% to 20%. NJ charges %6.

 

[X-Istence]

As for using it on the plane. Yes sure, just charge it and take it with you. There should be no problems at all using it. I used mine to watch two DVD's and then the battery died.

 

[Xie]

Tax is state dependant, I think mine was 8% when purchased in NY.

I think it depends on the part of NY now SPeedY ... I think we (central new york) are now 8.25%.

 

[SPeedY_B]

Ah, I have no idea what part it was. A friend was visiting family over there and was kind enough to pick it up for me

 

[Andy]

I'll be in Florida - I believe theres a store near the place where we are Week 1.

Thanks for everything guys, I'll let ya'll know how it goes when I get back.

 

[X-Istence]

get online using the earthlink free crap for the month, or pick up a free AOL Cd some place.

Do reformat your laptop after using that though

 

[Andy]

I might use while I'm there, yeah - something else I'll have to look into!

 

[X-Istence]

stop by NJ, and ill give you a stack of AOL Cd's, you can surf your entire lifetime free of charge . BTW most hotels nowadays do have Cat 5 in room wiring, or a business center, where you can for a nominal fee go online.

 

[Andy]

online at villa. bought iBook. so awesome.

thanks for the advice. gotta dash.

 

[SPeedY_B]

Heh, glad to see you've made the purchase

 

[X-Istence]

He has made the purchase, PARTY!!!

 

[NetRyder]

Congrats Andy!

 

[Kush]

our schools g4 laptop is having problems recently, the firewire400 decided to die on us, and its having other problems somtimes