[Drov]

Hello,

Considering Apple Ibook 14" 1.42GHz but only used to shopping for deals across the internet for regular PC stuff, custom builds etc. Fed up with Microsoft etc etc.

The price across the board seems to be $1299.00. Apple direct charges tax, B&H photo in NY (Im in Jersey) charges same price, no tax, free shipping and they give you an operating system learning dvd free ($49.00 value??)

Not sure if I should trust a mail order over a walk in store (hour drive from home) and pay the tax but shoot for extra software to make up the tax ( $78 )

Bottom line question: How do I bargain and what is the smart move? Are the walk in shops the best bet for a new guy making the Apple switch since they offer "how to" classes and better support for unknown issues ( dead pixels, defective battery etc) Or is learning the new system a snap and there is little worry about returns for defects from some reputable online suppliers.'

Thanks for any help and I look forward to my first Ibook. Getting it for the wife really!

[volcano]

If I were you, I would either make your purchase at the Online Apple Store or in-person at an Apple retail store.

Plus, if you buy your iBook before September 26 (from Apple), you get a $100 rebate coupon towards the purchase of select printers.

In my mind, the operating system learning DVD doesn't justify the cost. Tiger (and Mac OS X in general), does have a little bit of a learning curve - especially if you're switching from Windows, but the operating system is quite intuitive in nature and most processes can be figured out easily. You also have a veritable corncopia of resources available online and great tech support provided by Apple.

[Drov]

volcano: Thanks for reply. Yes I am leaning towards the walk in store about an hour drive even though I have been reading threads on this forum about Amazon $150 rebate etc. My concern is the chance of a return (hassle/cost) should Amazon or any other place not agree such as dead pixels in display or weak battery etc. I've read on other forums how returns vary greatly for display defects and others. So far, I am adding it all up with tax, rebates etc and If I go to the walk in store, I would like to try to make up about $230. The abolute lowest price I've seen is the Amazon deal with $150 mail in rebate, no tax, free shipping. They even have the credit card thing which can save another $30 on first purchases. But again, UPS could drop-kick it to my door. So perhaps the walk in stores will throw in a bit more memory, quality software or something else to soak up the price difference. I think I will take a ride and treat it like a car dealership..be ready to walk and hope we find a salesperson who has authority to throw in a few things. Believe it or not, it worked at 6th ave electronics when my Yamaha receiver had a stuck price of $750. Yamaha would not back up (warranty) any online retailer who was not authorized. It gave me about 4 stores locally and they were fixed on price. Got a sales guy at 6th ave electronics who matched an ONLINE store's price. 6th ave was an authorized yamaha dealer so my warranty was 100% in Yamaha's eyes. So I am hoping for a similar thing at an Apple store. Thanks again for the input.

[budster101]

It's before September 24th.

Printer $100 mail in rebate. (I'm pretty sure it's any printer)
iPod mini $179 mail in rebate. (4gb iPod mini) You can get any iPod (except Shuffle) and $179MIR
Microsoft Office $50 mail in rebate. (Student Teacher Edition)

[volcano]

Actually, I just checked the rebate form - it's September 26th for the printer rebate and September 24th for the iPod rebate.

[budster101]

Ah. Corrected. Noted. Filed.

[amazing]

Personally, I'd go for the amazon.com link. You have to wait 8 weeks for the rebate to trickle in, but it's very nice when it does arrive. You'll have to deal with Applecare if anything minor pops up, but you'd be doing that regardless, even if you bought it in an Apple Store.

I have to say that the 12" iBook is the sweet spot--the display on the 14" doesn't provide any more screen real estate, everything is just bigger. Have you physically seen type on the 14" LCD to compare it to the 12"? Because the LCD resolution in both models is the same, the pixels are further apart, and everything appears slightly fuzzy. When I had to deal with configuring my son's 14" for hours, eye fatigue set in very soon. Depends on your eyes, but it's noticeable. There is an endless and unresolvable debate between the 2 sizes, which you'll find if you do a search in this forum. IMHO the LCD is the biggest difference, but please read the threads and you'll see all the various fine points.

The speed gain between the 12" and 14" is minimal, and I use an external 16X DVD burner with my 12" 1.33 PB.

[Drov]

Amazing: Good points you made regarding display size and pixels. Unfortunately the only local store selling Ibooks (CompUSA) didn't have the 14" so no comparison. But I definately know what you're talking about.

I research a lot regardless what I purchase and I just have to see about my concern with dead pixel returns being covered since each retailer has their own version of what's considered defective or warrants a return based on the number of pixels etc. I was looking into Sager laptops awhile ago and they were getting nice review from heavy gamers (I'm not, but gamers seem to really get into specifics when reviewing components, displays, graphics cards etc.) Sager has from what I can remember, an excellent return policy on dead pixels while other manufacturers demand that there are a good number dead before they will exhange a unit. From what I've read, each laptop is not a carbon copy and you can get the oddball with a bum screen. I love amazon since I've used them a lot for PC builds etc but I just have to get around to seeing what their dead pixel policy is.

Thanks for the info...I'm going up to closest Apple store (1 hour) to see the side-by side and see if a sales person can bring it down to Amazon prices with quality software or component upgrades that are worth it to me. If it's a dead end...I will just fine tune my facts and get a handle on what I would like to have in a package and most likely Amazon it since my wife is already in love with the Ibook from the spec sheet and the older model she saw at CompUSA.

[Steve]

Drov, hope you don't mind the thread-steal...

Originally Posted by amazing

The speed gain between the 12" and 14" is minimal, and I use an external 16X DVD burner with my 12" 1.33 PB.

What external DVD burner/enclosure do you use? Is it as reliable as the internal "SuperDrives" that Apple uses?

[Drov]

Steve: just curious..since you're a moderator and I'm new to the Ibooks, what do you know about displays and dead pixels regarding the 12 and 14" ibooks? Thanks

Also curious about the external drive you questioned.

[amazing]

Originally Posted by Steve

What external DVD burner/enclosure do you use? Is it as reliable as the internal "SuperDrives" that Apple uses?

Actually, the question's not too far off-track, since I'd also recommend using an external firewire burner for most people who are shopping for a laptop: I think the main strategy for laptop shopping right now is to get the best deal on a laptop that will last you until the 2nd gen of the MacIntel laptops. That means getting the Combo drive for economy sake.

Anyway, I've used a Macally firewire-400 and USB 2.0 case (5.25") and a Pioneer DVR108 both on my PB and on a Dell. Both were from newegg.com for around $110 total including shipping. The Pioneer is what Apple puts in the G5 (probably using the 109 at this point?) and it's rated at 16X for DVD-R and will do dual-layer.

Depending on the media (TDK 8X DVD-R) it will burn at 12X, but even at 8X the speed is way better than the laptop superdrive speed...you'll find all sorts of threads in the forums about disappointing laptop superdrive burning speeds.

[Steve]

amazing: thanks for the information. I was trying to do some searching on the forums but everything I was finding was out of date!

Drov: I haven't heard about a large percentage of people with noticeable dead pixels on the iBooks. I think Apple's policy is something like 6 (not sure, but it's more than say, Dell, who let you return the monitor for most any reason).

[mad_nasty_nizzle]

I have a late 2001 dual USB iBook, it only has one dead pixel (a green one in the lower left area of the screen). I don't really care much about dead pixels, they don't do much when it comes to everyday work and play.

[Eriamjh]

PowerbookCentral.com has a good price tracker. The best deal just expired yesterday, with Amazon being the second best right now.

[Drov]

Thanks to the responses on this forum I made a decent choice.

Amazing: Your reply regarding the 12" screen and pixels got me to go to the Apple store so my wife could see a side by side between the 12 and 14". She picked the 12" as being crisper and she was happy with the overall dimensions of the 12".

Went with Amazon for the $100 rebate. Signed up for their credit card saved $30 and three days of using their search engine A9 got me another 1.57% off. Free shipping no tax.

Called Amazon about the dead pixel thing and they said any reason whatsoever within 30 days and they'd replace the unit.

Picked up the extreme base modem and an Olympus DS-2 digital voice recorder for my book about New Jersey I'm writing. (tired of writing by hand in the car)

By the way, if anyone is interested in knowing: I called Olympus to ask about compatibility regarding Tiger operating system and their voice recorders and the guy told me that so far only their model DS-2 is working without any glitches (software compatibility etc).

Thanks for a great forum and all the help. I am going to post a different question on this forum regarding Ilisten software regarding headsets, so if anyone is using the Ilisten with the new operating system please see if you have any suggestions.

[deermatt]

i got my 14in 1.42ghz brand new , for 900.00 , no tax

[amanmann]

I too just ordered 12" ibook at amazon. The free super shipping seems to take ages to deliver and their is no way i can expedite my shipping. And only that amazon doesn't let one customize the book.

Druv how did you manage to get through to amazon on the phone. I couldn't find their no. anywhere.

[Drov]

Druv how did you manage to get through to amazon on the phone. I couldn't find their no. anywhere.[/QUOTE]


They don't make it easy to find but if you ask a question by email they respond quickly and usually say if they didnt answer the question and you feel it would be better understood in person then call them at:

1-800-201-7575

So far so good with order and level of confidence should there be a problem, however, I was a little bummed that my items said they would ship usually within 24 hrs and when I checked for an update online it looks like they are saying I will get my laptop around Sept. 14th. We'll see.