MBP 2.8 buying at Apple Store?

[diegovega]

Hi,

I want to buy a new MBP 2.8 (maybe even with the faster 7200 RPM 320 GB hard drive). The thing is I live in South America, but am travelling to Miami soon for a couple of days.

Will I find the new MBP 2.8 model by walking into one of the 2 Apple Stores in Miami? Or can I ONLY buy the 2.8 online at apple.com? Can they customize your laptop configuration at the physical Apple Stores?

Another thing is does the online Apple store accept international credit cards or only US billing addresses? Would it be possible to tell them to ship the customized laptop to one of their own Apple Stores in Miami so I could go and pick it up there (since I'm going to a hotel I think it would be better)?

Thanks for your help!

-Diego

 

[FetalSage]

I believe that in order to upgrade the MacBook, either to 2.8ghz or to the 7200rpm drive, you'll need to do that online. Only the RAM can be upgraded in-store.

 

[diegovega]

Thanks.

 

[Kane.Elson]

Yep online only. I doubt they will ship to a store but you can get them to deliver to a hotel lobby ... I guess it depends how classy the hotel is on how much you trust them with your new baby....

I think apple really underestimated the popularity of the 2.8 model....

Also if you are only going to be there for a couple of days then it may not be long enough.. some of the delivery times have been pretty long as they are shipping from shanghai...

 

[diegovega]

Ouch! Bad news but thanks for the info. I guess I'll have to go with the 2.5

How long is the average actual shipping taking for the 2.8?

On Apple's site it says ships 3-5 business days with the 2.8 option, but when I select the 320 GB 7200 RPM HD it goes up to 7-10 business days...

 

[McGiord]

They also have them:
http://www.macmall.com/macmall/families/macbookpro/

But the wait time is longer and you can save on the taxes depending on where you are.

 

[jhamerphoto]

One thing you need to ask yourself is "is the processor upgrade worth the hassle?" It's only available online, takes longer to ship, and costs an extra ~$300. Is saving a couple seconds or minutes really worth that much? To me it wasn't so I opted for the stock 2.53, and it runs perfectly fine. As for the HDD, that is easily user-replaceable, so you could just buy an affordable one and install it yourself. It's even easier than upgrading the RAM now, which you won't need to do with 4gb standard on the 2.53 model anyway

Enjoy whichever you choose!

 

[alphaod]

They may have the 2.8GHz model at the store, but if they do, it will only be the model that comes with the 320GB 7200RPM drive and whatever upgrades Apple decides they want to stock as their top-of-the-line MBP.