UK new PB Combi buyers: US/UK price difference is amazing...

[jxyama]

as Pseudonym said, the AC adapter is universal. all you need is the plug converter. you won't need the voltage converter, which is much more expensive.

if you wanted to be 100% legal, you will need to declare your laptop at the customs upon return to U.K. and pay import duty on it. it may or may not be higher than the local VAT.

applecare is international, afaik, but better make sure anyway.

another consideration: your credit card company will give you an exchange rate that will be pretty close to the wholesale market rate, but not quite. that may add somewhat to the overall price.

 

[johnnyjibbs]

Originally posted by jxyama
another consideration: your credit card company will give you an exchange rate that will be pretty close to the wholesale market rate, but not quite. that may add somewhat to the overall price.

Good point. Credit card is unlikely to give you $1=54p! Could pay cash

 

[Vanilla]

As a final point, concerning purchasing AppleCare in the States and then returning to the UK, two paragraphs in the warranty agreement could be of interest:
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OBTAINING WARRANTY SERVICE
If you purchased the product in the U.S. and Canada, deliver the product, at your expense, to any Apple Authorized Service Provider located in U.S. and Canada. If you purchased the product in Latin America or the Caribbean, deliver the product to any Apple Authorized Service Provider in the country where you purchased the product.

If the product is portable, meaning that it can operate independently without a power cord, you may obtain warranty service worldwide. Be aware, however, that not all countries have Apple Authorized Service Providers and not all Authorized Service Providers outside the country of purchase have all parts or replacement units for the product. If the product cannot be repaired or replaced in the country it is in, it may need to be sent to a different country or returned to the country of purchase at your expense for repair or replacement.

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Although the first paragraph is scary, the first sentence of the second paragraph does state that you CAN get warranty coverage while in the UK, BUT ONLY FOR PORTABLES. If you decide to get a PowerMac and it goes wrong it appears you've got serious shipping costs to incur.

Additionally the last sentence of the second paragraph is I think implying that if for example you had a problem with the US layout keyboard on your US purchased portable you may be liable for costs for them to ship it back to the States as this would possibly not be parts readily available in the UK.

Again, food for thought.
Vanilla