Chances of iPod Promo (iPod Touch) with purchase of MBP?

[Ryuukumori]

As a future college student (beginning autumn quarter 2009), what are the chances if I waited for buying a MBP for college that I could get a free iPod Touch for the promo? Is this possible, since one could choose between a Touch and a Nano last summer?

And for any college students out there, is a MBP a good idea, or is it too much? Did you use a scholarship? And when did you buy it?

 

[dubhe]

This only happens in the 'back to school' promotion, which is over now for another year...

 

[Ryuukumori]

This only happens in the 'back to school' promotion, which is over now for another year...

Yeah, that is what I am saying. I'm asking what are the chances of a featured Touch in the back to school promo for summer of 2009, BEFORE I go into college in autumn.

 

[Schtumple]

Highly likely... they did it this year, year before, and the year before that, chances are they're pretty much definite to do it next year...

 

[Ryuukumori]

Highly likely... they did it this year, year before, and the year before that, chances are they're pretty much definite to do it next year...

Likewise, they ONLY offered the Touch just last summer. I would like to know if it's likely for ANOTHER touch featured summer of 2009.

 

[mhnajjar]

Are you going to base your purchase on whether you are going to get a free iPod touch or not six months from now

Remember, by the time you get that free iPod, Macs would be due for upgrade so you are paying for that so called "FREE" iPod

 

[jfull15]

Likewise, they ONLY offered the Touch just last summer. I would like to know if it's likely for ANOTHER touch featured summer of 2009.

no they did not ONLY offer the touch. They offered a nano as well, and if you wanted neither - you could apply the price of a touch as a discount on another iPod. The discount procedure has worked the past two years. You could get any iPod you wanted with a discount, its just that the 8GB Touch was the price that apple was discounting and the advertised product.

And as someone else mentioned, the macs would be due for a refresh. The iPods would also be due for a refresh. The summer deal is usually in order to clear out old iPods so that Apple can start selling their new models.

 

[Ryuukumori]

Are you going to base your purchase on whether you are going to get a free iPod touch or not six months from now

Remember, by the time you get that free iPod, Macs would be due for upgrade so you are paying for that so called "FREE" iPod

Well, really, I'm only doing this because I would have wanted to get a Touch for Christmas, but I would be better off getting a Touch around college time WITH a Mac, and getting an electric guitar instead.

But, I see what you mean. I really would like either way, to get a Mac with this deal because lots of other college students tend to purchase around graduation day (?)

no they did not ONLY offer the touch. They offered a nano as well, and if you wanted neither - you could apply the price of a touch as a discount on another iPod. The discount procedure has worked the past two years. You could get any iPod you wanted with a discount, its just that the 8GB Touch was the price that apple was discounting and the advertised product.

And as someone else mentioned, the macs would be due for a refresh. The iPods would also be due for a refresh. The summer deal is usually in order to clear out old iPods so that Apple can start selling their new models.

I meant that Apple only STARTED offering Touches along with Nanos just last summer. Thanks for the clarification. I see how your belief works in this system.

Likewise, is it a good idea if I wait until then to buy a Mac for college, and get the iPod (keep it or sell)?

 

[masse]

there was no ipod touch for the 2007 back to school promotion, hence they did not offer it until last year.

But...the ipod touch is a really cool toy and I'd try to get one for christmas.

But...as a guitarist myself I'd say get a guitar (but an acoustic of course )


I know this post wasn't helpful but hey, the choice is yours.

 

[fleshman03]

Get the Guitar. The odds of Apple offering an iPod Touch + Mac for this coming back to school is quite high. They won't go back and offer just a Nano. At least I highly doubt it.

 

[mAc-warrior]

As a future college student (beginning autumn quarter 2009), what are the chances if I waited for buying a MBP for college that I could get a free iPod Touch for the promo? Is this possible, since one could choose between a Touch and a Nano last summer?

And for any college students out there, is a MBP a good idea, or is it too much? Did you use a scholarship? And when did you buy it?

Hey, I'm a college student and I took advantage of this promo last summer to pick up an iMac for my family and a free iPod touch for myself. The promo been running for a fairly substantial number of years... I'm going to go out on a limb and say at least 4-5. They've offered Minis, Nanos, and Touches, to my knowledge, and I don't think they've ever downgraded from the previous years' offering.

So, to respond to your question, the chances are extremely good that the current iPod touch will be offered free with the purchase of a Mac, starting in the first few days of June, 2009. The 2008 promo began on June 3 and ended on September 15.

The MBP is an excellent computer for my needs as a college student. I chose my Unibody MBP over the MB primarily for the larger screen and graphics capabilities, but also because it will be more futureproof than the MB; hopefully Snow Leopard will be able to take advantage of both graphics chips when plugged in at least. You'll have the benefit of knowing for sure by the time you're looking to buy one though!

I did have an entrance scholarship, but I didn't use it to purchase the computer. Tuition is much more anyways.

Good luck, if you have any questions about the promo fire away! Here's the page on Apple's site with the relevant info: http://www.apple.com/promo/past.html

--mAc

 

[Ryuukumori]

Hey, I'm a college student and I took advantage of this promo last summer to pick up an iMac for my family and a free iPod touch for myself. The promo been running for a fairly substantial number of years... I'm going to go out on a limb and say at least 4-5. They've offered Minis, Nanos, and Touches, to my knowledge, and I don't think they've ever downgraded from the previous years' offering.

So, to respond to your question, the chances are extremely good that the current iPod touch will be offered free with the purchase of a Mac, starting in the first few days of June, 2009. The 2008 promo began on June 3 and ended on September 15.

The MBP is an excellent computer for my needs as a college student. I chose my Unibody MBP over the MB primarily for the larger screen and graphics capabilities, but also because it will be more futureproof than the MB; hopefully Snow Leopard will be able to take advantage of both graphics chips when plugged in at least. You'll have the benefit of knowing for sure by the time you're looking to buy one though!

I did have an entrance scholarship, but I didn't use it to purchase the computer. Tuition is much more anyways.

Good luck, if you have any questions about the promo fire away! Here's the page on Apple's site with the relevant info: http://www.apple.com/promo/past.html

--mAc

Thanks! (And for all the others who gave me insight).

I had recently battled over my thoughts of a potential iPod touch for Christmas, but have decided to hold that thought and take advantage of a new perspective. Instead, as a musically inclined student, I am eager to work with music. In this sense, as a piano and alto sax player, I would be willing to spread my experience to the guitar. Soon, I would like a machine to eventually record and edit my music for college (I'm going to a university in a strong musical field). Alongside, I am studying Japanese, so a Mac would be awesome for that too.

I would really like to know though, if truly, the MacBook Pro is simply overboard in this situation, as a musician and potentially an overseas study abroad exchange student in Japan. I know well enough of the differences between the original MacBook and the MacBook Pro. I would like to feel confident in making a purchase that isn't too limiting or just plain overkill. Any experiences?

And even though a Mac is expensive, I am interested because of possible scholarships to help cover the cost. That means, for college students alike, how likely is it to get a good scholarship to pay for most (if not all) the computer with a 3.93 GPA and a musical background? I know this idea varies among places in the U.S, but not hesitant to ask.

Once again, thank you all.

 

[gumbyx84]

Thanks! (And for all the others who gave me insight).
......

I would really like to know though, if truly, the MacBook Pro is simply overboard in this situation, as a musician and potentially an overseas study abroad exchange student in Japan. I know well enough of the differences between the original MacBook and the MacBook Pro. I would like to feel confident in making a purchase that isn't too limiting or just plain overkill. Any experiences?

......
Once again, thank you all.

Sadly I can't help you out with scholarships and the like, but I can say that a MBP will not be overkill for what you need. My girlfriend is a musician and had a PowerBook while in college (Berklee School of Music in Boston, MA). She still has it and uses it for music editing. Her problem is that the PB can't handle the workload anymore. Its lags whenever she has her recording and editing software running to the point that she has to hard-reset the system. When I got my MBP (I am a programmer still in school) I decided to talk to her about the new MacBooks and how they would be a good investment for her. After looking them over, she decided that if she was going to upgrade, she would go to the MBP. She said it would be better for her. I assume its due to the larger screen and extra "horsepower" it has. While the MB might be powerful enough to do your music stuff on now (like her PB was when she was still in school), its better to buy for the future.

As someone said before, with Snow Leopard right around the corner, the extra power of the MBP will become even greater then it is now. Being able to push computations to the GPU will greatly help with your music editing and make your system run much smoother when you multi-task while editing. Basically, from personal experience, I think the MBP is a better buy for you. Even with the upgrades it has gotten, I think the MB is still a system for normal to mid-range users. With everything you will be doing on it, it just won't be able to keep up


PS If I am wrong with my assumptions, please don't chew me out. Just correct me. Thanks.

PSS I forgot to mention how I got my MBP. I am a poor college student myself (what college student isn't?) and didn't have the money to buy the MBP outright. What I ended up doing is taking out a few thousand extra is student loans and used that money to get the MBP. Most student loans allow this as the MBP will be used for school. You will eventually have to pay back the money (w/ interest) once you graduate, but its the best way to get a new computer while in college (IMO).

 

[Ryuukumori]

My ultimate goal is to get through college with THE LEAST amount of student loans as possible, mainly, to save my butt from paying after.

Any other insight on a soon-to-be college student in the Mac field?

 

[mAc-warrior]

My ultimate goal is to get through college with THE LEAST amount of student loans as possible, mainly, to save my butt from paying after.

Any other insight on a soon-to-be college student in the Mac field?

Yeah, you're right about the student loans. I haven't needed any yet either, and if you can avoid them at all do it. The scholarship that I had was simply an entrance scholarship (X dollars given based on my high school averages) and it was applied directly to tuition; I didn't have a choice. With some different scholarships you might get cut a check instead, it depends on your college and the awards they present.

Personally, if I needed to put my computer on a loan I wouldn't have sprung for the MBP. That's just me though, and I like to be more conservative with my finances. Just get a solid job in your field of study during the summer (and during evenings during school if you can handle it, I personally cannot with my workload in the natural sciences) and you'll be good to go.

I agree with the previous poster who said that you would probably be better served with the MBP in regards to audio input and editing. I'm not going to pretend I know much about audio because I don't, but I do know that its fairly taxing on the computer depending on how many tracks you need to play in real-time, whether you want to record multiple instruments at once, etc. The more computer you buy now the longer it will last. If your campus has a computer store, head in there and check it out sometime. I bet they'll probably have the software you'd be using installed. Play around with the apps and take some time to compare the two models. Either would serve your needs right now, my feeling is just that the MBP would serve your needs for a longer period of time.

--mAc