New MBP...Questions

Hey guys I'm going to be getting a new SR 15" 2.4 Macbook Pro either today or tomorrow at my local Apple store. I am planning on opening it up and looking at it first before I purchase it. So my question is, what should I be looking for? I've heard of the LCD flicker, uneven keyboard, dead pixels, and kernal panics (which I won't be able to reproduce in the store). Is there anything else I should look for when buying it or anything else I should do? Thanks!

 

Do they let you do that? I mean demo the machine before you buy? I think it's covered under the 14 day policy, defects, unsatisfied etc, maybe with a restock fee possible. If you really want a chance to look stuff over you should schedule a "talk mac" session. Otherwise you'll just be another joe shmoe crowding the store.

 

They generally can't do that (let you open up a box and examine it before purchasing it).

Most any of the problems you described, if you encountered them, Apple would consider defects and let you return or exchange without a restocking fee. So you would need to buy it, but if you encountered those problems you could return it to the store without any difficulty within 14 days (and AppleCare would cover any mechanical defects, etc. that came up later).

Dead or stuck pixels would be an exception though; officially at least, one or two dead or stuck pixels would not be enough to get them to let you exchange it without a restocking fee. I think Apple's official policy is like 6 or 7.

Having said that, I've heard plenty of anecdotal reports at least that people have been able to convince the Apple Store to exchange a laptop with only 1 or 2 dead or stuck pixels (sometimes it requires standing firm, saying you won't be satisfied, etc.), so you probably wouldn't run into a problem. I've also heard of some people who couldn't get their local Apple Store to do it, but were able to call Apple up and the people on the phone were more easily able to do it.

 

Ok, thanks for the replies. Yeah I wasn't sure if they would let you open it or not, but I'll still look for those things after I get it.

 

Well I picked up my 2.4 MBP today and I really like it. I have the yellowing when viewed from the sides, but thats all (not on bottom 1/3 of the screen). There is also no flicker on my screen either. I do have one dead pixel, but it is on the very edge of the left side of the screen, so it really doesn't bother me at all. Is there anything else I should keep my eye on or look out for?