Is it worth buying the macbook

[red dragon]

I am planning to buy a laptop.Requirements are basic like web browsing,photoshop,ms office,some music and movies but no gaming.The most important thing is stability. I will be travelling a lot specially to remote villages in eastern and north eastern states and there wont be any service stations available.
I posted this in TE forum and everyone was suggesting Vostros,but Dell wont provide any on site warranty in most of those remote places.Thinkpad was another option,but the most basic T seies will cost above 60k.So thinking about the basic macbook,is there other alternatives available?My budget is 60k max. (so lattitude is out of question).Will buy it by Monday.

 

[ravi_9793]

I am planning to buy a laptop.Requirements are basic like web browsing,photoshop,ms office,some music and movies but no gaming.The most important thing is stability.

For basic requirement I don't think you should invest much and get Macbook.

I will be travelling a lot specially to remote villages in eastern and north eastern states and there wont be any service stations available.
I posted this in TE forum and everyone was suggesting Vostros,but Dell wont provide any on site warranty in most of those remote places.

Apple will not provide any on site service even in metro city. They have very limited service centers in India.

Thinkpad was another option,but the most basic T seies will cost above 60k.So thinking about the basic macbook,is there other alternatives available?My budget is 60k max. (so lattitude is out of question).Will buy it by Monday.

with budget of 60K you can get very good configuration of Dell, Acer, HP, Lenovo, Sony, Samsung etc.

Look at Sony Vio E series. Look stylish, good configuration at good price but Dell laptops are also great choice.


Another good thing about these brands is that, you can easily get its parts in local computer market.

 

[red dragon]

No HP or vaio for me.HP got the worst customer care service,failure rate of vaios are very high after first year.I would rather stay away from acers too,everything is pathetic about them.Dell seems ok,but not the studios or inspirons but the new vostros 3300 or 3400.As my needs are basic I probably do not need an i5 procy or a high end graphics,BUT do need a very stable machine winth no or minimum down time and that is where a macbook or probably the vostros fit.

 

[Liverpool_fan]

I am planning to buy a laptop.Requirements are basic like web browsing,photoshop,ms office,some music and movies but no gaming.The most important thing is stability.

Certainly Macbook is for you. Since you don't do gaming you don't need windows and since you use Photoshop, so I guess Linux will be ruled out, so taking these into consideration Mac OS X is your best bet and you should consider Macbook. You do have to pay the premium to Apple though to use their products.

 

[desiibond]

No HP or vaio for me.HP got the worst customer care service,failure rate of vaios are very high after first year.I would rather stay away from acers too,everything is pathetic about them.Dell seems ok,but not the studios or inspirons but the new vostros 3300 or 3400.As my needs are basic I probably do not need an i5 procy or a high end graphics,BUT do need a very stable machine winth no or minimum down time and that is where a macbook or probably the vostros fit.

you probably omitted every brand in this post. so, there is only one option left. but please don't get that shitty looking macbook. atleast get pro.

 

[red dragon]

^^Yes the white one is ugly,but the alu body gets dents easily and is costs 10k more.2gigs of ram is sufficient for me.Lenovo thinkpad t410 fits the bill nicely but it is above 60k.

 

[pauldmps]

If Customer service is your priority, look no further than Dell. I don't know why you rejected the Inspirion or Studio series but they are excellent VFM.

Macbook will be stable, but the status of customer service in India is not good especially in remote areas.

I cannot comment on the ruggedness of these laptops.

 

[red dragon]

The built quality of studios are not that great,inspirons are even worse.They are perfect for home use though.

 

[ravi_9793]

From your replies. it looks like you have already made mind for Apple... I don't think there was any need for this thread.

Regarding support of Dell, HP etc.. they have better support than Apple in India.

Another point hardware availability in market...example, .If you keyboard got defected, you can purchase their keyboard from local market, but you cannot get Mac keyboard in local market. You have to visit their service center (which is very limited in India).

My just 2 cent.. best of luck with your purchase

 

[red dragon]

No,I have not made up my mind.I have never used os x and kind of apprehensive.Service centres do not really matters as the places I will be going do not have service centres of any brand.Apple sevice is not that bad now.I have one very cose to my home.I am cosidering thinkpad t series also.
Do not even talk about HP support.Their support is as bad as their products.

 

[ravi_9793]

Do not even talk about HP support.Their support is as bad as their products.

I had a compaq laptop, and I visited service center few times. Their support was good. May be you or any of your known had bad experience with HP support. Also they have largest number of service center in India than any laptop brand.

 

[pauldmps]

I had a compaq laptop, and I visited service center few times. Their support was good. May be you or any of your known had bad experience with HP support. Also they have largest number of service center in India than any laptop brand.

HP indeed had good service few years ago & was the no. 1 brand in India for laptops. However, the quality of the products as well as service has deteriorated past couple of years pushing Dell to no. 1 place in India.

 

[ravi_9793]

HP indeed had good service few years ago & was the no. 1 brand in India for laptops. However, the quality of the products as well as service has deteriorated past couple of years pushing Dell to no. 1 place in India.

you may be right, last time I visited HP center was about 5 years ago.
Yes, no doubt Dell is number one current choice.

 

[iinfi]

Dell still has a very good service in India. IMO it has onsite warranty in most metros. but i cannot comment abt remote areas. stability and stuff, yes Dell laptops are stable.
HP service in India is not good at all. my friends in Mumbai are having a tough time .... it has a pathetic service.

 

[skeletor]

It is worth buying any Mac if you want to use Mac OS X.

 

[gagan007]

Do not worry about Mac OS X being new. I have used one of my friend's Macbook Air...its a delight to work on, you will soon get used to it. He has been using that machine for over a year now and faced no issues. Its just that u'll have to pay a premium to Apple as Liverpool_fan said above...


in my personal opinion hardware/software do not guarantee that they will not fail before one year or two years for that matter. It just depends on how do you handle your machine. You will not believe but I have a Dell Latitude for past 6 years. I never have to take it to any service center. Its just that its battery has died (gives only 20 min backup) but otherwise it is still working for me.