Hey they guys, I'm currently a student looking to drop my PC and get a Macbook pro and was wonding you you think it woud be a good idea to buy a macbook pro 13 inch at christmas time or wait until the back to school promotion? Would there be a new model Macbook by June/July anyway?? My current laptop has been very slow but is still useable. Just wondering what you guys think...
MacBook Pro
Short answer is a very short question:
Do you NEED the Mac NOW? I am not calling your reasons into question, just asking if your reasons rise to the level of "need" in your opinion. If your reasons rise to that level, buy it.
If Mac is just an idea you are playing with as an "intellectual exercise" instead of a real venture? Then wait.
If what you have now is "very slow" then I would be "very fast" to replace it, with a Mac or a PC, but replace it fast. Everyone here prefers a Mac, I sure do. Your quality of life will actually get even better that it already is now.
As far as new models are concerned: Its impossible to predict when one will come out, don't worry about it. One consideration: adding memory after the fact costs a lot more than buying it up front with the new machine. You might consider a memory upgrade AND a service policy up front when you get something.
As far as discounts, price reductions, special promotions etc. are concerned: Yes, Mac usually does offer something worth $100 in rebates (not price reductions) that have to be applied to additional purchases such as a printer or a iPod etc. Its not a pure price break they do.
If you deal with one of their own stores, I think they allow small discounts for students or faculty with an ID. Figure about $50. I think. Those discounts are available all year, any time, all the time. So, once again, not much reason to wait. The online Mac store has a separates so-called: "Educational Store" and you can see what the price breaks are from there.
Finally, there is transferring the data and files from your PC based laptop to a new mac. The Mac company stores do that for free. An everyday retail store wants a much s $80 to do that.
Finally, finally, do you have a backup strategy? Naturally, you won't need one. (That is until you are about to turn in a very large project and there are only a few hours left to go and you have been pulling some all-nighters).
Good luck, hope it goes well for you.
This site gives info about the last release date of each Macintosh model & their recommendation as to whether to buy now or wait:
Buy a macbook pro at Christmas or wait?
