I plan on buying an MBP for college-buy today?

[nickgh]

Hi all,

I'm currently a senior in high school, and I plan on purchasing an MBP for college come fall (just got admitted to Rutgers University). I was planning on holding off until July or so to pick up a computer, but I understand that deals today are pretty good for Apple. So, my questions are:

1. I know Apple has "back to school" deals-are they better than these Black Friday deals?
2. I plan on majoring in a social science/humanity; that is to say, I don't need an especially powerful computer. That being said, I know Apple often does upgrades. Is it likely that the update will be significant enough to a casual user that it would make sense to wait?

Thanks, and I hope you all enjoyed your Thanksgiving.

 

[TheJing]

If you need it for college and you are curious to see what the upgrade (probably sometime before summer) brings, I think you should wait.

If you want it/need it now, then get it today.

 

[GTANJ]

I goto Rutgers University! New Brunswick campus . What you should do is buy your Mac from Amazon. The two Macs that I have bought have both been from Amazon. They will be cheaper than using the student discount on Apple, because Apple will still charge tax while Amazon won't. You should purchase one today, as Amazon has great Black Friday deals (the 13" MBP especially).

 

[Liquinn]

I goto Rutgers University! New Brunswick campus . What you should do is buy your Mac from Amazon. The two Macs that I have bought have both been from Amazon. They will be cheaper than using the student discount on Apple, because Apple will still charge tax while Amazon won't. You should purchase one today, as Amazon has great Black Friday deals (the 13" MBP especially).

What if he needs the anti glare display on his MBP?

 

[GTANJ]

What if he needs the anti glare display on his MBP?

Nobody NEEDS an anti-glare display. I don't really feel it warrants the price, but that's just me. The 13" MBP is the perfect combination of price, portability, and power for use on the Rutgers campus.

 

[sweetbrat]

If you don't need it now, I'd recommend waiting. You can often get good deals on a MBP from Microcenter and Amazon, and it's hard to tell what the Apple back to school promo will be for next year. There's very likely going to be a refresh of the MBP line before you head off to college, so I'd wait and see what happens with that.

 

[thundersteele]

in your position, I would wait. Apple's education discount is always available, and is equal or better than the current black friday offers. The back to school deals usually give you an iPod or something comparable for free if you buy an apple laptop - on top of the education discount of course.

Some major updates are expected in the first half of 2012. June/July will be a great time to buy.

 

[psykick5]

Wait. Back to school deals are better and by then the Ivy Bridge MBP should be out.

 

[Spencer Reynen]

Definitely wait. The Ivy Bridge MBP redesigns are coming next year, probably before you go to college, and you could use your student discount. Yeah, don't buy today.

 

[GTANJ]

The student discount from Apple still won't equal the price you will be able to get from Amazon because of tax. Don't know why people are telling you to do it that way because you will be able to spend about $50 less. Also, today you can get a 13" for about $1,000 from Amazon which, in my opinion, is worth jumping on.

 

[Nick McEnjoy]

Apple's education discount is always available, and is equal or better than the current black friday offers.

Amazons' deal ($1049) now is better than Apple's educational deal ($1099).

Some major updates are expected in the first half of 2012. June/July will be a great time to buy.

Agree. New MBP's will have new Ivy Bridge chip, should have some significant improvements (USB 3.0), and probable have new design. They might be cheaper since the optical drive could be out.

 

[GTANJ]

Amazons' deal ($1049) now is better than Apple's educational deal ($1099).



Agree. New MBP's will have new Ivy Bridge chip, should have some significant improvements (USB 3.0), and probable have new design. They might be cheaper since the optical drive could be out.

Highly doubt apple is going to adopt USB 3.0. They are adopting Thunderbolt, which is a direct USB 3.0 competitor.

 

[IllIllIll]

Apple educational discounts are better than Black Friday deals. Wait.

 

[Nielsenius]

Highly doubt apple is going to adopt USB 3.0. They are adopting Thunderbolt, which is a direct USB 3.0 competitor.

Why do you assume that Apple won't adopt USB 3.0 because of Thunderbolt? One of Apple's previous reasons for not using USB 3.0 was because Intel had not put support for it in its chips. There are already USB ports on Macs. Apple would only have to upgrade the components, not change any designs. I'm just curious.

 

[GTANJ]

Why do you assume that Apple won't adopt USB 3.0 because of Thunderbolt? One of Apple's previous reasons for not using USB 3.0 was because Intel had not put support for it in its chips. There are already USB ports on Macs. Apple would only have to upgrade the components, not change any designs. I'm just curious.

There are USB 2.0 ports on the Mac because USB 2.0 was the victor of the data transfer format war before this one. Now though, Apple is going with Thunderbolt which is a direct competitor to the likes of USB 3.0, which is still not commonplace and widely adopted. Apple won't adopt USB 3.0 because it would make their focus on Thunderbolt a loss by the company. They are hoping that Thunderbolt will win out against USB 3.0, which is why it makes no sense to put USB 3.0 on their machines.