Should I hold off until Lion arrives?

[biggerhalf]

Hi all,

First post! We currently have a desktop PC and a windows laptop - both of which are coming to the end of their time on this earth. The switch to Mac is on! We both have iPhones and are proper Apple converts already, it's just a case of deciding which computer to go for! We're swithering between an iMac, MBA and MBP (and one day an iPad I hope!), but my question just now is around the imminent release of Lion.

Is it foolish to buy a new Mac just now knowing there is an OS upgrade a few months away? Is there some sort of deal where if you buy a Mac X amount of months before the release you get a free upgrade? Will hardware be updated at the same time as the OS?

Basically any information you can share on this would be appreciated!

Thanks in advance.

 

[wordoflife]

More than likely, the MacBook Airs and Pro will not be updated (hardware wise). In order to qualify for the free update, I believe you have to buy your Mac within 2 weeks of Lion releasing.

I would go ahead and buy the Macs now provided that it will be $29 to upgrade. If you plan on buying more than one Mac, then you have to pay $29 for each computer unless you get the family pack. We don't really know what the price of Lion will be though. I'm just telling you what Snow Leopard was when it released.

I'm pretty sure Mac OS X has an option to keep the files and just to update the OS so I wouldn't really worry about having to wipe the computer clean and putting everything back on (but I would just do a backup as well to be safe).

Lion requires a minimum of a Core 2 Duo, which means the current lineup of Macs can run Lion.

 

[emptyCup]

I would go ahead and buy the Macs now provided that it will be $29 to upgrade.

Considering all the changes that have already been leaked about Lion, including the addition of the formerly $499 Server, my guess is that the price will return to $129.