MBP prices

Just thought I'd comment on the price issue for MBP's that I've seen in a few threads in this forum.

I was going to buy a Dell XPS 15" laptop, until I read through the issues listed by owners on this forum - there seem to be consistent issues with the build quality, yet Dell continue to ship with dodgy components. Then I thought about getting an HP DV5 until I found we can't get the models with the higher spec processor and screens in the UK. The Dell Studio XPS 16" was a possibility until I read about the saturated screen, waiting list and tempertaure issues users have faced with that one. Plus it looks fairly hideous. I then considered a DV6 until I saw the prices here and read the HP users forum. I also checked out other brands and didn't find anything to match my spec and budget, or anything that tempted me to buy one.

So, I looked at the Macbook Pro 15".

It's got up to date components, unlike the Dell XPS 15", and from what I've read has less hardware issues than the XPS Studio 16", which is almost as expensive as a MBP anyway. Apart from a higher specced DV5 which I can't get here, it seems to beat every other laptop I've looked at for quality, and ultimately value for money.

It's more expensive than the other options I looked at, but you get better components, build quality, and support. So what if Apple make more profit on this than Dell do on their laptops. Maybe Apple are just more efficient, or maybe Apple save money because they don't have to keep sending out replacements.

I haven't owned a Mac for 10 years. I'm about to take the plunge back into Appleworld, and I'm really excited about it. The thought of having to deal with Dell support again (I've been using a Dell desktop for the last few years) filled me with dread. I bought a 3 year warranty with my desktop and the support from Dell was so bad I had to threaten them with legal action twice to get them to respond to the issues I had with the machine. I've read about HP support on here too, and I can't say it sounded much better.

After several months of research the MBP looks like a very good deal to me. In this case it seems you really do get what you pay for.

 

I can't speak on the part of Customer Support for Apple as I have owned many of there products but never actually had to call support for assistance. (2 MBP's, 1 MBA, 1 MB).

But since you are referring to Dell I can add that I did have a XPS Gens 2 notebook for over 3 years and while I may have had the "return to depot" warranty I have to say turnaround time was excellent. I had my screen replaced, keyboard, fan, harddrive and each time it was really efficient and had no problems doing so.

The only thing I would add is that I do find Mac machines more durable but it's really the OS that makes it shine. Still banking on Windows 7 shining through though!

 

Maybe the support is better in the US, but I had a whole range of problems. It started when I ordered my 3 year additional support, which mysteriously shrank to 2 years, the copy of Vista that never materialised, a whole range of hardware issues that support never responded to, and eventually a problem when my 3 year McAffee subscription stopped working after a year and a half and they steadfastly refused to help.

Over the past two years I have had to make two threats of legal action, and four reports to local trading standards to get them to do anything.

On one occasion a senior member of their 'customer care' department phoned me to discuss the problems I was having, and she actually shouted at me. After politely asking her to refrain from shouting three times I eventually put the phone down.

Awful.

I was dreading having to use their services again, but at first glance the XPS looked like a great machine. With all the horror stories concerning graphics cards, dodgy screens and poor build quality though I quickly changed my mind.

I'm probably going to order my MBP tomorrow. If it works and no-one shouts at me I'll be a happy bunny.

 

I had good experiences with Dell support, and bad. They replaced a defective CD/DVD drive for me without much more than one email, but then they jacked me on a failed graphics chip (7900GS Go, an early victim of the thing that caused the big bruhaha with nVidia laptop chips) forcing me to buy a replacement and fix it myself, voiding my warranty entirely in the process. I did get the Vista upgrade DVD they offered, but I would have preferred a full install 64-bit disc. I never even opened it.

I only dealt with Apple tech support once for my MBP, and while the entire point of my call was to get OEM Leopard discs, they gave me considerable grief for not being the original owner (bought off eBay from a local) and then instead of helping me get Leopard discs they insisted I needed to get AppleCare. They sold me that, and never got me the Leopard discs. I ended up buying one retail, which I was trying to avoid doing.

So my Dell call and Apple calls ended up costing me about the same money, but the Dell call resulted in a hardware upgrade, learning experience with upgrading laptop hardware, and some frustration, while the Apple call just led to a warranty I'm unlikely to ever use and some frustration. Hmph.