best time to buy a macbook pro?

hey guys,

im looking at getting a macbook pro sometime soon before i start medical school in the fall. when would be the best time to buy one? i'd buy it now but i'm not sure if apple is going to update any of the parts (like they do all the time) or have any special deals (like free printer or ipod nano).

so should i wait til june/july or just get it now? thanks!

 

I dont think there are any major processor bumps due for a while. The next would be the mobile Nehalem processors which would be very late this year or early next year. Right now, Apple is offering $200 off in the education store. Or you could buy a macbook pro off of ebay and save a ton of money (also use live cashback).

 

Generally, the best time to buy Macs is before school starts in June/July/August.

 

i am not really sure, but wouldn't a tablet be better for school since some courses will have chart/graphs to be drawn?

or equations?

 

Well I'm sure the OP has thought out his choice of notebook, based on his needs, so I'm pretty sure he's set on a MBP. A tablet would be fine, but it depends on what your preference and needs are.

 

Defintiely wait until after June. Even though WWDC might be all about the iphone and OS X, we might see some small macbook pro updates and at the very least you will get snow leopard instead of leopoard if you wait until after June.

 

I'd wait for their back to school special. Typically you get a free iPod and printer (after rebate) on top of the educational discount.

 

But if he buys it right now he gets a $200 discount in the education store, for people who want to get a apple product as a graduation gift.

 

getting 200 bucks off isn't that big of a deal for me since i'm having my friend who works at the apple store buy it for me. with the employee 25% off a mbp will be 1500. i just want to get the most out of my purchase (and to be honest don't need a new laptop at this moment).

as for charts and stuff i'll have excel...i've played with tablets but they don't work that great for me. plus i'd rather run osx than windows (though windows 7 is pretty bomb and i plan on dual booting that).

 

For your time table of buying it in June/July the only thing new would be Snow Leopard. The only thing that might change would be that they might bump of the lower end processor speed, like the 2.4 to 2.53. Something minor like that. Nothing in terms of a new platform.

 

Best time? Probably just before model replacement if you want stuff to be as free of defects as is possible in Apple-land.

With a new release, you're beta-testing for Apple again. It depends on the level of buy-in that you have into the cult of Jobs of course - for some, they love finding new problems because it allows them to visit their local temple, I mean Store.

 

haha, im starting med school this fall also.

congrats lol.

i think im going to buy a macbook air

i have my self built desktop for gaming if there is any time...

 

lol the macbook air doesn't have a user removable battery...plus i like the 15'' screen.

where you goin to med school at?

 

september is the best time with back to college promotion

 

^yes,but the new gen is coming out too...

 

Yes, it would come out around that time and perhaps just after the promotion.

 

~november,since it is the time when intel will introduce nehalhem notebook CPU

 

I think apple will wait until Feb or Jan next year like they did with the unibody MBP.

 

Yes, apple gets its hardware updated a little late as compared to other manufacturers.

 

this time they were wait bc nvidia 9400 platform was delayed,not because they wanted that.