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Ordering an Air with norwegian keyboard in the US

jsolares said:
look closer, the pictures in the norwegian site are the same as the us site. atleast i couldn't find the norwegian keyboard at all on the site :S
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The european keyboards seem to have the same shape as the spanish one. My girlfriend has a US macbook air and I have a swedish version, our return keys have different shapes. Hers got a "horisontal" one, mine got a larger inverted L sized one.

Swedish (almost norwegian ;) ) macbook air keyboard:
Oppen-med-hand-150x150.png
 
plumosa: Yes, you are of course right, I forgot about the state tax...

Even if I am able to get a norwegian keyboard I'm starting to really consider if it's worth it... Some also say that I have to get Apple Care if I buy in US, but can drop it if I buy here in Norway (because of our strong consumer rights, i.e. the 5 year "warranty" on all goods purchased). If so it boils down to ~$2.014 (US) vs. $2.312 (Norway). Might not be worth it after all.
 
trondhb said:
plumosa: Yes, you are of course right, I forgot about the state tax...

Even if I am able to get a norwegian keyboard I'm starting to really consider if it's worth it... Some also say that I have to get Apple Care if I buy in US, but can drop it if I buy here in Norway (because of our strong consumer rights, i.e. the 5 year "warranty" on all goods purchased). If so it boils down to ~$2.014 (US) vs. $2.312 (Norway). Might not be worth it after all.
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I would say it wasn't worth it. We have similar consumer rights in sweden and thx to them I got a new screen, new top case and a new harddrive for free to a 2,5 year old macbook.
 
I'd say it's worth it to buy it in Norway. You will get it today (or very quick), don't have to spend precious time from your trip to get it set up, and will probably be a lot easier to handle if something breaks and needs to be fixed. If anyone you know runs a computer company, ask them to purchase one for you - I have done this to get computer tax-free before, it's a win-win for both (though perhaps not entirely legal :eek: )

That being said - can't you just get a computer with similar keyboard layout (guessing Spanish one), change to a norwegian keyboard layout, and swap the keys that differs? The keys on Mac's are easy to pop off and replace, and getting those few bits of plastic will probably cost you about $1.. :) No need to replace the entire keyboard, or even the top case.
 
Stingray454 said:
I'd say it's worth it to buy it in Norway. You will get it today (or very quick)...
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Good point. I actually need as new computer ASAP also, since my current ThinkPad has had a major crash recently and is of no use at the moment...
 
trondhb said:
plumosa: Yes, you are of course right, I forgot about the state tax...

Even if I am able to get a norwegian keyboard I'm starting to really consider if it's worth it... Some also say that I have to get Apple Care if I buy in US, but can drop it if I buy here in Norway (because of our strong consumer rights, i.e. the 5 year "warranty" on all goods purchased). If so it boils down to ~$2.014 (US) vs. $2.312 (Norway). Might not be worth it after all.
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I've seen AppleCare for as low as $183 from online retailers (Provantage comes to mind). That said, it just extends the warranty from 1 year to 3 years. Since my credit card already doubles the warranty I'm not sure it's worth it for me (you might also look into that to see if your credit card offers similar protection).

At $1699, the 13" i7 works out to $1850 with NYC tax, so if you ordered AppleCare through a discount retailers (you have a year to do so), you could get the whole package for $2,033. You wouldn't need a whole new power adapter. You could simply purchase the world plug adapters from Apple to change the plug, or just get a cheap plug adapter anywhere else. While the 5-year "warranty" in Norway is nice, it's obvious that it's built into the price.

It's too bad there aren't more retailers in New Jersey where the tax is lower (7%). There's a Best Buy in Jersey City, but they don't stock the i7 models. Alternatively, you might try an online authorized reseller like PowerMax and see if they'll ship it to your hotel. They are based in Oregon where there is no sales tax.
 
I am actually looking for an i5, so that is not a problem. However, I guess it will probably be a problem to get a norwegian keyboard like it may seem like an Apple Store can offer. I don't consider it as worth it If I don't.

Getting the Apple Care somewhere else could be an idea. If I am able to get it online from Norway which I guess should not be a problem?
 
trondhb said:
I am actually looking for an i5, so that is not a problem. However, I guess it will probably be a problem to get a norwegian keyboard like it may seem like an Apple Store can offer. I don't consider it as worth it If I don't.

Getting the Apple Care somewhere else could be an idea. If I am able to get it online from Norway which I guess should not be a problem?
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See if the Apple Store Genius bar would change your keyboard if you buy it somewhere else. Is there are charge for it if you buy it from the Apple Store?

Anyway, if you are getting an i5, Best Buy is definitely an option. The Best Buy in Jersey City claims sales tax is 3.5% there. That's half the normal rate in NJ, so perhaps it's some kind of tax break for that area (parts of Jersey City are blighted). It's about half a mile from the PATH train station at Hoboken that takes you back to New York ($4 round trip for about an $85 sales tax savings on a 13" i5/256 model if the sales tax information is correct).

http://stores.bestbuy.com/1535/announcement/3-5-sales-tax-here-at-best-buy-jersey-city/
 
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According to post #19 in this thread it is apparently no extra cost:

My friend is in town from Norway right now and she bought an 11" mba today at the Apple store and asked about getting a Norwegian keyboard. They said that they could order the keyboard and swap it out at no extra charge; just need to make a Genius appointment 2 weeks in advance to give them extra time to ship the part to the store.
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But the problem is, on the web page it is not possible to make a Genius appointment any later than September 16th, and I don't arrive until September 28th... I will need to get in contact with them as soon as possible to have it sorted out in time for my trip in less than 3 weeks.

Best Buy in NJ sounds like a good idea :)
 
trondhb said:
According to post #19 in this thread it is apparently no extra cost:

But the problem is, on the web page it is not possible to make a Genius appointment any later than September 16th, and I don't arrive until September 28th... I will need to get in contact with them as soon as possible to have it sorted out in time for my trip in less than 3 weeks.

Best Buy in NJ sounds like a good idea :)
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Try calling the store to order the part now, and then make the formal appointment later.
 
I tried to call a store earlier, and according to the person I talked to then it wasn't possible at all. But probably a good idea to ask for the Genius bar first, will try that.
 
trondhb said:
I tried to call a store earlier, and according to the person I talked to then it wasn't possible at all. But probably a good idea to ask for the Genius bar first, will try that.
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If you have no luck at 5th Avenue, try calling the Upper West Side or SoHo stores. They are slightly less busy.
 
I once again tried to call Apple Store Fifth Avenue, but it seems difficult. Either they don't understand the issue and/or they are not aware of what it possible and/or they doesn't want/like to do it.

Btw, the currency rate USD/NOK is up the last few days so the savings are getting even smaller. Including 8,75% state tax the price for a 13" Air i5 128 is now $1.413 in New York and $1.812 here in Norway. I would say getting a norwegian keyboard is a requirement for it being worth it at all, and given the better customer rights and less hassle I'm leaning towards buying it here.
 
I have a friend living in USA who made a call to applestore for me. They said that norwegian keyboard wasn't a option. They recommended to have it changed in Norway as an repair, or use stickers..:(
I will check it up, but assumes that the cost will be huge.... :eek: Will also check if its easy to buy the keys that differs?

My saving without care protection is 671$, and with the care protection (just because its bought in USA, no need to in norway due to customer right) the saving will be $420.

Since I'm in the same dilemma as you are, I'm curious about what you decided to do? Did you find an alternative?
 
trondhb said:
I once again tried to call Apple Store Fifth Avenue, but it seems difficult. Either they don't understand the issue and/or they are not aware of what it possible and/or they doesn't want/like to do it.

Btw, the currency rate USD/NOK is up the last few days so the savings are getting even smaller. Including 8,75% state tax the price for a 13" Air i5 128 is now $1.413 in New York and $1.812 here in Norway. I would say getting a norwegian keyboard is a requirement for it being worth it at all, and given the better customer rights and less hassle I'm leaning towards buying it here.
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SO what did you end up doing? I actually think the sales tax in NYC is 10.xx% so the stronger dollar, sales tax, and lack of a norwegian keyboard, etc., you may have bought in Norway itself. I am curious as to what you ended up doing though.
 
I ended up buying it in Norway (online from apple.no, NOK 10.290 (~$1715) for the base 13"). As it turned out not to be possible to get one with a norwegian keyboard there (I talked to Apple Store Fifth Avenue twice and also Apple Store SoHo on the phone prior to my trip) I just concluded that it wasn't worth it. Especially not with Apple Care, which I would have got if I bought it in the US but probably won't now that I bought it in Norway (because of strong customer rights here). And I'm sure that replacing the keyboard later would be incredibly expensive...
 
trondhb said:
I ended up buying it in Norway (online from apple.no, NOK 10.290 (~$1715) for the base 13"). As it turned out not to be possible to get one with a norwegian keyboard there (I talked to Apple Store Fifth Avenue twice and also Apple Store SoHo on the phone prior to my trip) I just concluded that it wasn't worth it. Especially not with Apple Care, which I would have got if I bought it in the US but probably won't now that I bought it in Norway (because of strong customer rights here). And I'm sure that replacing the keyboard later would be incredibly expensive...
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I made a call to applestore in Trondheim. The price for changing the keyboard was approximatly $824 :eek: It wasn't just the keyboard they needed to change, but also the aluminiumtop since the layout in Norwegian and US keyboard are different......
I also made a call to applestore in Orlando to check out the Genius Bar. The guy there explained to me that they didn't physically chance the keyboard, but the setting in the mac to Norwegian (and hence the keyboard settings).:confused:

It seems that the most easy thing is to buy it in Norway after all, or get used to a US layout an d learn the right combinations....

Second question, are you pleased with the machine??
 
It is now possible in the US Apple store to configure MacBook's with different keyboard language options :)
 
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