Tips on buying a Mac
Are you thinking of buying a Mac? Before getting my first Mac, I’ve done a great deal of research on it. With this blog post, I wish to share some of my experience.
Which Mac to buy?
Apple has a great product lineup of Macs ranging from desktops to laptops. Deciding on which Mac to get depends very much on your needs and budget. If you are totally new to Mac and would just like to try it out, I would recommend getting a MacBook, which is also the best selling Mac ever.
When to buy a Mac?
As Apple refresh their product lineup from time to time, knowing when to buy a Mac will help you a great deal in ensuring you getting the latest and greatest Mac. Nothing feels worse than buying a Mac today and a newer and better version is released tomorrow.
1. Macrumors buyers guide:
Macrumors is a website providing daily updates on latest rumors on Apple products. They also have a fantastic Buyer’s Guide where they provide buying recommendations on each product based on the rumors collected.
As of the time of writing of this post, iMac is given a recommendation of “Don’t Buy - Updates soon”. It has been 238 days since the iMac product lineup was refreshed. There have also been rumors about the next iMac adopting the soon to be released Intel quad core processor. Based on these factors, it has been given a “Don’t Buy” recommendation. While all these rumors might not be 100% true, it can be served as a guide in purchasing a Mac.
2. Apple Store Back to School Promotion:
Every June to September, Apple will run a promotion on their online education store, where you can get an iPod for free for every purchase of a Mac. This year’s promotion was the biggest ever with Apple offering an 8Gb iPod Touch for free. This promotion is only eligible to Faculty and staff of higher education institutions and students attending or accepted into a higher education institution.
Where to buy a Mac?
Listed below are some places where you can get a Mac. While occasionally resellers will run some promotions and throw in some free gifts, price of a Mac is controlled by Apple thus do not vary that much.
1. Apple online store
The official online store from Apple, shipping will be free for every Mac purchased. If you are a student, you can make full use of the education store and get discount on all Apple products. Apple refurbished Mac which comes with 1-year warranty are also sold in the online store. Refurbished Mac do not come in original packaging but are fully tested and certified by Apple, giving you the best bang for the buck if you are low on budget as they are generally 10-20% cheaper.
2. Apple resellers
Apple do not operate any Apple retail stores in Singapore or Malaysia, instead most of the stores selling Apple products are Apple Premium Resellers or Apple Authorised Resellers. These places are great to see how the Mac looks, feels, and operates, as they will normally have Macs displayed. Occasionally, free gifts will be bundled together with the purchase of a Mac.
This site will help you search for Apple resellers in the region (http://www.apple.com/asia/buy/locator/)
Hope all these information helps! Have fun getting your Mac.
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