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iPad EU News (Abandon all hope, ye who enter here..) ("Are you nuts?!" - Steve)

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I'm considering purchasing an iPad in the USA when I go over on May 3rd. Regardless of UK release. If there's a fair chunk of Money to be saved, I'll be doing it.

I've read the two warranty agreements and I seem to be misunderstanding them, as you all seem to be taking it as you're not covered out of the USA?

1. iPad warranty: That clearly says you can get a warranty service as long as you have proof of purchase. This is the same as the rest of their hardware.

2. Applecare. That's the specific Applecare policy. Surely you'd buy the Applecare policy relevant to your country. So even if it was a USA iPad, you'd be fine as long as you bought the applecare in the right country. eg UK.
 
xgfx said:
I'm considering purchasing an iPad in the USA when I go over on May 3rd. Regardless of UK release. If there's a fair chunk of Money to be saved, I'll be doing it.

I've read the two warranty agreements and I seem to be misunderstanding them, as you all seem to be taking it as you're not covered out of the USA?

1. iPad warranty: That clearly says you can get a warranty service as long as you have proof of purchase. This is the same as the rest of their hardware.

2. Applecare. That's the specific Applecare policy. Surely you'd buy the Applecare policy relevant to your country. So even if it was a USA iPad, you'd be fine as long as you bought the applecare in the right country. eg UK.
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I've made this evident in my post about AppleCare and warranty, I have however, contacted Apple regarding this, and am awaiting response from them to clear it up.
 
Apparently the Milton Keynes Genius Bar has a sign that says they don't deal with imports or jailbroken iPhones. Now, I don't know if this is specific to iPhones only, or if the imports relates to iPads, or what. But it does suggest a precedent for Apple UK not handling certain US Apple products.

I don't understand why anyone would purchase a product this portable and likely to be dropped that they can't get service on in the country they're going to be using it. In thelong run saving a $100 or so will cost you more in the event of any problem <i>whatsoever</i> with it.
 
cyberheater said:
I'm betting that £549 is only going to be another 50 quid more then the official uk price anyway. At least you'd get it 2-3 weeks before anyone else would. Is that worth £50 to you? I know if I was after a 32Gb model, I'd be sorely tempted myself.
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In the last 18n months I've had to take my iPhone in to Apple four times and had it replaced every time. If there's even a chance that Apple won't do that with a US iPad, I would so much rather have a UK iPad and just have to wait a couple of piddling weeks!

But it pains me nonetheless. And that guy's sold out of his 32giggers anyway.
 
By the way what do people mean when they say things like "saw a 16GB bin" or "been watching the BIN"?
 
Buy It Now. It's eBay terminology for taking a listing off the market immediately without having to bid against other people.
 
Okay, in an effort to get a solid handle I'm on hold to an Apple UK Support Technician who's finding out the answer for me.

And the answer is: US iPADS CAN BE SERVICED IN THE UK, AND VICE VERSA.

I asked, and asked again, and triple asked. I made it clear I had to be sure before buying a US model that if I had a problem with it I would NOT need to have it sent back the US. She said she understood my fears but she assured me that it has an international service policy. "Are you absolutely positively sure?" Yes, sir, you don't need to worry.

So there you go. That was me calling the UK number for Apple Customer Service.
 
owen-b said:
In the last 18n months I've had to take my iPhone in to Apple four times and had it replaced every time. If there's even a chance that Apple won't do that with a US iPad, I would so much rather have a UK iPad and just have to wait a couple of piddling weeks!

But it pains me nonetheless. And that guy's sold out of his 32giggers anyway.
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I fully understand but I'm sure all of Apples portable computing platforms have full international warranty. I really can't see how a iPad would be any different.

Here is a snippet from the US warranty document which is available online here:-

http://images.apple.com/legal/warranty/docs/NA_iPad_Warranty_v20.pdf

You may be responsible for shipping and handling charges if the product cannot be serviced in the country in which service is requested. If you seek service in a country that is not the country of original purchase, you will comply with all applicable import and export laws and regulations and be responsible for all custom duties, V.A.T. and other associated taxes and charges. Where international service is available, Apple may repair or exchange defective products and parts with comparable products and parts that comply with local standards. In accordance with applicable law, Apple may require that you furnish proof of purchase details and/or comply with registration requirements before receiving warranty service. Resources with more details on this and other matters on obtaining warranty service are described below.
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So. Is international service available in the UK?
 
Yes it is. Just asked, and been confirmed, see above post :)

And of course that guy has sold out so I'm miffed. :(
 
cyberheater said:
So. Is international service available in the UK?
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My concern is that if you check the Legal jargon here:
http://www.apple.com/legal/warranty/

The iPad and iPhone both state Apple may restrict service to the country where Apple or its authorized distributors originally sold the hardware product,.

The regular hardware and iPod warranty info doesn't state this.

When I had issues with an imported iPhone 3G, my Apple store told me they would service it but if it had to be replaced (which they seem more inclined to do in many instances) this would have to be handled in the country of origin.

I complained (emailed the old Steve Jobs email address) and got a phone call from one of his reps that confirmed this was the case. They actually said it would get no service at all.
 
nomad01 said:
My concern is that if you check the Legal jargon here:
http://www.apple.com/legal/warranty/

The iPad and iPhone both state Apple may restrict service to the country where Apple or its authorized distributors originally sold the hardware product,.

The regular hardware and iPod warranty info doesn't state this.

When I had issues with an imported iPhone 3G, my Apple store told me they would service it but if it had to be replaced (which they seem more inclined to do in many instances) this would have to be handled in the country of origin.

I complained (emailed the old Steve Jobs email address) and got a phone call from one of his reps that confirmed this was the case. They actually said it would get no service at all.
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Yeah but I think phones are a different catagory as they are heavily subsidised by the carriers etc... I think ipods, itouch, ipads etc... should be okay.
 
Well it's back to being a grey area then. The Apple UK Service person told me 3 times (count 'em!) in one call that a US iPad *would* be serviced in the UK, but then if an actual UK Genius turned round to me with my broken US iPad and said, "Nah" I've not got a lot to go on except a phone call I made to Apple months ago (well, today) that won't exactly be on file anywhere.
 
cyberheater said:
Just seen a 32Gb in London pop up for £559 bin a £10 postage. Not bad.

Hopefully will see a 16Gb sometime soon.
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Yeah found that - he's got an eBay rating of '3' and none of those are visible they're so old. Plus he says he's sending them out next Monday. Dodgy.
 
owen-b said:
Yeah found that - he's got an eBay rating of '3' and none of those are visible they're so old. Plus he says he's sending them out next Monday. Dodgy.
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Definitely dodgy. Especially as he's been a ebay member for years.

Having been scammed a few times myself. I'm not buying from anyone unless they seem 100% legit.

On the other hand. Saw a 64Gb ipad in London go for 700 quid in minutes of the listing. The guy has a photo of him holding onto it. Someones going to happy tonight.
 
After more than a year of lurking I had to de-lurk and register to join the UK-based iPad fun.

I cracked. The frenzy has got to me and I've snapped up one of the 32GB wifi iPads on eBay. This was before all the checking people have just done re. the warranty etc. (for which I am grateful, and as reassured as I probably can be).

As somebody else remarked, £500-£550 for a 32GB iPad is probably only a bit more than they'll end up being sold for here when the great day finally arrives.

Once I'd worked this out I sat there at my keyboard for, oooh, must have been a whole 5 minutes, considering it. If a genie popped out of nowhere and offered me the chance to have an iPad right now for £50 or so, and then pay the eventual UK cost, would I take it? You bet I would. Sold.

So it's on its way. No indication yet of delivery. I'm still just receiving those slightly grungy and oddly unsettling confirmation emails from the seller. If it's not in my hands by Monday/Tuesday of next week I'll be frantic.

I don't blame anybody here who doesn't want to take the eBay plunge. It is a comparative rip-off, yes. There are unsettling questions hanging over the warranty. You have to mess about with the power supply. (But I will be able to charge via USB from my iMac without any converters, right? Right?)

I'll still be following the (non-)news and this thread, and when the release finally happens I'll be after a 16GB 3G model.

If the Apple UK announcement comes tomorrow and the release is the 24th, will I regret the eBay plunge? As long as my iPad gets to me next week and there are no problems with it, no, I definitely won't.

Sorry guys. From reading this thread I know how hard some of you are holding on. Every one of us in the UK who drifts over to eBay represents a kind of defeat, in a weird way.
 
owen-b said:
Well it's back to being a grey area then. The Apple UK Service person told me 3 times (count 'em!) in one call that a US iPad *would* be serviced in the UK, but then if an actual UK Genius turned round to me with my broken US iPad and said, "Nah" I've not got a lot to go on except a phone call I made to Apple months ago (well, today) that won't exactly be on file anywhere.
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Well common sense tells me that the iPad should be covered but the iPhone experience concerns me and it concerns me that they've adopted the same wording for the iPad.

If anyone wants to get in touch with the person that contacted me at Apple it's Maria [removed] (xxx@xxx.xxxxxx.com) but I didn't give you that address!!
 
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owen-b said:
Well it's back to being a grey area then. The Apple UK Service person told me 3 times (count 'em!) in one call that a US iPad *would* be serviced in the UK, but then if an actual UK Genius turned round to me with my broken US iPad and said, "Nah" I've not got a lot to go on except a phone call I made to Apple months ago (well, today) that won't exactly be on file anywhere.
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did you take the CS bods name by any chance?
 
nomad01 said:
Well common sense tells me that the iPad should be covered but the iPhone experience concerns me and it concerns me that they've adopted the same wording for the iPad.
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she sounds very defensive!!!! :D

EDIT: what did you ask her and what did she say?
 
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McMack said:
As somebody else remarked, £500-£550 for a 32GB iPad is probably only a bit more than they'll end up being sold for here when the great day finally arrives.

Once I'd worked this out I sat there at my keyboard for, oooh, must have been a whole 5 minutes, considering it. If a genie popped out of nowhere and offered me the chance to have an iPad right now for £50 or so, and then pay the eventual UK cost, would I take it? You bet I would. Sold.
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I really don't blame you. £50 over the odds is pretty good. But I guess you'll still get stung with a bit of import tax and handling fees which I've managed to in the past, fool my brain into thinking that it's not part of the original ebay purchase so doesn't really count ;)
 
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