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US Macbook Pro into the UK

A

Aloush

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 9, 2009
46
0
United Kingdom
Hey guys!
I am a 17 year old currently in sixth form at school and i just have a few questions to ask.
So i have been saving up for a while to get a MacBook Pro as i want to switch to Mac so much I still don't have enough cash only like £100-£150 off.
Now i will be going back to my home land Lebanon on July 21st, My cousin who is currently in university in America will also be going on June 26th so I am going to try and sell some of my stuff to get the extra money to afford a Mac, Now i am thinking if i send him some money he could get me a Mac from the states as it will work out cheaper apart from the power adaptor will i notice any differences?
I am thinking about the keyboard as the " and @ are swapped on the US keyboard is there anywhere which sells keys so i could swap them around, I know you dont need to i would just prefer it.
I also dont quite Understand what applecare is or how it works...

Thanks for any replies guys,
And i cant wait to turn mac :)
 
I think the @ is in the American position on every Mac keyboard (or at least on my British 15" MBP) and mine also has all €,£ and $ symbols on the keyboard so I am assuming this is the same in the States?
 
JSAYER said:
I think the @ is in the American position on every Mac keyboard (or at least on my British 15" MBP) and mine also has all €,£ and $ symbols on the keyboard so I am assuming this is the same in the States?
Click to expand...

There are a few differences between the UK and US keyboards;

  • The US version has everything such as 'command' and 'delete' written out in full, rather than just the symbol
  • There is no £ or € symbol on the US keyboard
  • The ~ is at the top left, rather than the bottom left
  • The | and \ key is one space above where it is on the UK keyboard
  • The return/enter key is a different shape
I believe those are the only differences between the keyboard, and the @ key is shift+2 on all Apple keyboards, regardless of regional version, unlike Windows, where @ is at the bottom right. :)

Applecare is an extended warranty that applies internationally on Macs. It does not cover accidental damage or theft etc, it merely extends the warranty from 1 year to 3 years, so it can be serviced by an Apple Authorised Repair centre.

The power adapter and keyboard are the only different things between the UK and US versions.

Generally, there are no real downsides to importing from the US to the UK, but beware of VAT and Customs duties if your cousin is caught with it. That alone will add around 20% to the cost. Also, bear in mind that you'll need to pay sales tax in the US, which varies from state to state and from county to county. Take that into consideration. If you're not caught out with VAT in the UK, it will work out considerably cheaper to get it from the US.
 
If you don't mind the keyboard differences you can just remap the keys to the British layout in the International preferences. I have a Swiss French keyboard remapped to the standard US QWERTY; it's only annoying when I forget where a certain key is and look down to locate it.
 
Aloush said:
Hey guys!
I am a 17 year old currently in sixth form at school and i just have a few questions to ask.
So i have been saving up for a while to get a MacBook Pro as i want to switch to Mac so much I still don't have enough cash only like £100-£150 off.
Now i will be going back to my home land Lebanon on July 21st, My cousin who is currently in university in America will also be going on June 26th so I am going to try and sell some of my stuff to get the extra money to afford a Mac, Now i am thinking if i send him some money he could get me a Mac from the states as it will work out cheaper apart from the power adaptor will i notice any differences?
I am thinking about the keyboard as the " and @ are swapped on the US keyboard is there anywhere which sells keys so i could swap them around, I know you dont need to i would just prefer it.
I also dont quite Understand what applecare is or how it works...

Thanks for any replies guys,
And i cant wait to turn mac :)
Click to expand...

Just to make sure - you have checked the education store haven't you? A lot of people don't know about it. You should be able to get a MacBook Pro for £938 (or maybe less if you log on whilst in the lab at school), along with an 8 gig iPod Touch for £29 via a coupon code. Here's the link.
 
Thanks for the reply guys.
I know about the UK education store but it still works out cheaper getting it from the states.
I don't know why but I can see the keyboard really bugging me?
Would i be able to buy a UK keyboard and fit it in?
If not then i suppose getting it cheaper is more important than the keyboard layout.
 
Ah yeah suppose.
Well reason i am still getting it in the states is if i use student discount and the free iPod in the Uk and states its still cheaper in the states and also i will be selling the iPod.
Overall meaning
UK price- £850 ish
US price - £700 ish

This means i will be able to afford to put an SSD in the macbook pro aswell :)

Thanks so much guys!
 
I believe those are the only differences between the keyboard, and the @ key is shift+2 on all Apple keyboards, regardless of regional version, unlike Windows, where @ is at the bottom right. :)
Click to expand...
Not true. The @ is different depending on regional layout standards. As for my Japanese keyboard it is next to the "P".

The power adapter and keyboard are the only different things between the UK and US versions.
Click to expand...
All AC adapters are 110~240V. That means you can use them in any country. Just need to replace the plug which is ingeniously swappable (other plugs can be purchased as the World Traveller kit from Apple or just get the specific one at a local Apple reseller) or extendable via a common power cord - your local shaver cord might even fit.
 
If you live anywhere near an Argos Clearance Store you can probably pick up an Apple Firewire iPod charger for 99p. These contain adapters for the US, UK and Europe that you can use on your Macbook Pro charger. Much cheaper than the rip-off price Apple charges for its World Adapter kit.

The branch in Walsall has tons of these.
 
Thanks for the advice everybody.
I am going to be sending my money to my cousin today to buy me the MacBook Pro.
As for that iPod charger idea i don't live near an argos clearance however if it was allowed by forum rules could we arrange you buying me one and posting it to me?
Ofcourse I will pay you :)

Thanks again guys.
 
the only difference i noticed was the physical shape of the enter and shift button on the right hand side
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but if you're going to uni, you could get edu discount?
 
I'm using a US MBP in NZ and I ran into a Wi-Fi issue. Apparently US models don't support all the same frequencies that the international models do, and I was unable to access my AirPort base with it set to channel 13 (US model only goes up to 11). It was easy enough to change the base channel, but it's just worth keeping in mind.

I didn't have the keyboard issue since we use the US layout over here, but I don't think anyone's mentioned that £ is still available on a US keyboard by pressing Opt-3.
 
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