New MBP in Australia

[Nydator]

I have been lurking on this forum for months learning heaps while waiting to buy my first Mac - waiting first for Leopard, then SR, then LED. I have to admit that I was waiting for vista until I read the review of the MB on CNet and have since learned the error of my ways. I ordered the base model MPB within minutes of the launch. Very exciting to hit the refresh button and get the picture of the new MBP instead of the sticky! I went with no BTO options, thinking that would be the quickest way to get hold of the machine, but it is still a two week wait for delivery here in Australia. Thanks very much for all of the advice and tips I have picked up on the forum - all of my questions have been answered many times over (matte vs glossy; MB vs MPB etc, etc)! I have gone in for accessories in a big way (based mostly on tips from the forums) - they are all waiting here for the computer to arrive:
- Logitech V270 BT mouse
- Apple wireless keyboard
- Griffin elevator
- Airport extreme
- Altec Lansing XT1 speakers
- Elgato Eye TV
and also Toast 8 waiting in its box.

No bag yet, but I am thinking the STM Evolution sounds good.

I am delighted with the update. I was a bit surprised about the 120g HD on the base model, but I guess that is what they had to do to bring it in at the right price. I figure I can hook my 300g external HD up to the Airport extreme, so I don't need a huge HD in the MBP. Incidentally, because of exchange rate improvements we had a nice AU$300 price drop here - makes the new model look like an absolute steal.

Anyone else waiting for one in Oz? I don't know how I am going to survive until the expected delivery date of 22 June.

 

[pdra05]

I have been lurking on this forum for months learning heaps while waiting to buy my first Mac - waiting first for Leopard, then SR, then LED. I have to admit that I was waiting for vista until I read the review of the MB on CNet and have since learned the error of my ways. I ordered the base model MPB within minutes of the launch. Very exciting to hit the refresh button and get the picture of the new MBP instead of the sticky! I went with no BTO options, thinking that would be the quickest way to get hold of the machine, but it is still a two week wait for delivery here in Australia. Thanks very much for all of the advice and tips I have picked up on the forum - all of my questions have been answered many times over (matte vs glossy; MB vs MPB etc, etc)! I have gone in for accessories in a big way (based mostly on tips from the forums) - they are all waiting here for the computer to arrive:
- Logitech V270 BT mouse
- Apple wireless keyboard
- Griffin elevator
- Airport extreme
- Altec Lansing XT1 speakers
- Elgato Eye TV
and also Toast 8 waiting in its box.

No bag yet, but I am thinking the STM Evolution sounds good.

I am delighted with the update. I was a bit surprised about the 120g HD on the base model, but I guess that is what they had to do to bring it in at the right price. I figure I can hook my 300g external HD up to the Airport extreme, so I don't need a huge HD in the MBP. Incidentally, because of exchange rate improvements we had a nice AU$300 price drop here - makes the new model look like an absolute steal.

Anyone else waiting for one in Oz? I don't know how I am going to survive until the expected delivery date of 22 June.

I have been itching for a new MBP for a few months now and I'll be getting one sometime end of the month! It would be great if iLife'07 is announced next week

And the $300 price drop makes it better! I'll most probably get a case from STMbags as well. It's nice to have a new notebook to start semester 2 of uni with!

 

[4np]

- Elgato Eye TV

What channels can you receive with the Eye-TV in Oz? And do you need a subscription for it or are those free to watch?

 

[cynix]

Incidentally, because of exchange rate improvements we had a nice AU$300 price drop here - makes the new model look like an absolute steal.

Still a fair bit more than what they cost in the US. But hey, what's not?

Anyone else waiting for one in Oz? I don't know how I am going to survive until the expected delivery date of 22 June.

Expected delivery 12-14 June. Wonder why yours takes so long.

 

[elithrar]

Ordered mine as soon as the store came back up; high-end 15" MBP w/ the 256MB 8600. Standard 160GB 5400rpm HDD & 2GB RAM [will upgrade this myself]. Order status has it shipping on the 20th, to arrive on the 22nd.

Also got an Incase Sleeve for it, a wireless mighty mouse & an 8GB red nano. Unfortunately our 'back to school' offer has been over for a few months, but my 6GB second-gen Mini needed replacing; lots of battery issues with it, which is fair enough, since it's roughly four years old. I could still milk 8+ hours out of it though, and I got a lot more during flights over xmas, which was surprising. In regards to the sleeve, I already have a fairly nice bag I use for my uni books, and wanted a sleeve to keep the MBP scratch-free and separate, should I just want to take it around by itself.

Just need to find a decent *FireWire* external HDD/caddy; the big fault with MBP's is the lack of USB ports. I don't want to have to buy a hub and litter my workspace with more cables and things to plug in/unplug. newegg is decent but shipping to Aus is always costly. nintek here in Perth isn't half-bad but their order time are horrible.

 

[elithrar]

Expected delivery 12-14 June. Wonder why yours takes so long.

Here's something: on the site, check the shipping dates without the educational discount. Fairly reasonable for a brand-new product, right? Now go into the Educational store, and watch it jump to 1-2 weeks. I phone Apple this morning, Perth time, and was told it is generally 1-2 weeks across the board, but she wasn't too sure. I'll probably call again tomorrow morning and see if I can follow it up further, she didn't sound too confident about it. Exams will be over by Thursday next week for me, but I'd still like it sooner rather than later: I have someone interested in buying my 17" Intel iMac though Uni, so the outright cost of the MBP isn't too bad when it comes down to it.

Here; top one is the left pricing/shipping, right is the edu pricing/shipping [obviously]:

 

[4np]

Just need to find a decent *FireWire* external HDD/caddy; the big fault with MBP's is the lack of USB ports. I don't want to have to buy a hub and litter my workspace with more cables and things to plug in/unplug.

I use a 250GB LaCie d2 which has USB 2.0, FW400 and FW800 connections. I bought it especially for the FW800 so I could use it for video editting. I think it can also act as a hub as well.

 

[jonnos]

yeah ive been waiting for this update for a while now im just waiting for leopard but im thinking that i need this new computer asap coz there are alot of people that use this current computer at home. if i dont get it before uni sem 2 itll be after leopard comes out.
i plan on also getting with it:
upgrading hdd to 160gb 7200rpm (BTO)
upgrade ram to 4gb sometime in the future when i get some cash.
grif elevator
apple wired kb
logitech v170
wacom intuos3 6x8
ive already purchased a stm meduim loft for it
got logitech z4's ready also
and later purchase a wd mybook pro waiting for the 500gb to come out here in aus. i want the fw800.

 

[cynix]

Here's something: on the site, check the shipping dates without the educational discount. Fairly reasonable for a brand-new product, right? Now go into the Educational store, and watch it jump to 1-2 weeks. I phone Apple this morning, Perth time, and was told it is generally 1-2 weeks across the board, but she wasn't too sure. I'll probably call again tomorrow morning and see if I can follow it up further, she didn't sound too confident about it. Exams will be over by Thursday next week for me, but I'd still like it sooner rather than later: I have someone interested in buying my 17" Intel iMac though Uni, so the outright cost of the MBP isn't too bad when it comes down to it.

Here; top one is the left pricing/shipping, right is the edu pricing/shipping [obviously]:

Ahh, educational pricing. Too bad (or maybe not?) I'm not in uni anymore.

I do hope they ship mine on time, because I'm going overseas in 2 weeks and might have to cancel it if they don't ship it before I leave.

 

[Nydator]

Edu orders now shipping

Here's something: on the site, check the shipping dates without the educational discount. Fairly reasonable for a brand-new product, right? Now go into the Educational store, and watch it jump to 1-2 weeks. I phone Apple this morning, Perth time, and was told it is generally 1-2 weeks across the board, but she wasn't too sure. I'll probably call again tomorrow morning and see if I can follow it up further, she didn't sound too confident about it. Exams will be over by Thursday next week for me, but I'd still like it sooner rather than later: I have someone interested in buying my 17" Intel iMac though Uni, so the outright cost of the MBP isn't too bad when it comes down to it.

Here; top one is the left pricing/shipping, right is the edu pricing/shipping [obviously]:

I rang Apple this morning and was told that they had some supply limitations and were therefore delaying orders from the Edu store by 1-2 weeks, but the problems have since been overcome and Edu orders are now shipping.

 

[Nydator]

Eye-TV in Oz

What channels can you receive with the Eye-TV in Oz? And do you need a subscription for it or are those free to watch?

I don't have a Mac yet, so I haven't yet tried it out, but I have seen it in operation at a friend's house. In Oz we have 5 main free to air channels broadcasting in digital, some of them offering multiple channels, so there is quite a lot of TV available free.

 

[aussie.damo]

Ordered mine as soon as the store came back up; high-end 15" MBP w/ the 256MB 8600. Standard 160GB 5400rpm HDD & 2GB RAM [will upgrade this myself]. Order status has it shipping on the 20th, to arrive on the 22nd.

Also got an Incase Sleeve for it, a wireless mighty mouse & an 8GB red nano. Unfortunately our 'back to school' offer has been over for a few months, but my 6GB second-gen Mini needed replacing; lots of battery issues with it, which is fair enough, since it's roughly four years old. I could still milk 8+ hours out of it though, and I got a lot more during flights over xmas, which was surprising. In regards to the sleeve, I already have a fairly nice bag I use for my uni books, and wanted a sleeve to keep the MBP scratch-free and separate, should I just want to take it around by itself.

Just need to find a decent *FireWire* external HDD/caddy; the big fault with MBP's is the lack of USB ports. I don't want to have to buy a hub and litter my workspace with more cables and things to plug in/unplug. newegg is decent but shipping to Aus is always costly. nintek here in Perth isn't half-bad but their order time are horrible.

I recently picked up the WD MyBook Pro 500GB which has FW800, FW400 and USB2. It not only runs like a champ, it looks awesome next to my MacBookPro (C2D, not SR). I highly recommend it.

Good luck with your new MBP, i'm well jealous!

 

[holamiamigos]

congrats and enjoy

 

[elithrar]

I rang Apple this morning and was told that they had some supply limitations and were therefore delaying orders from the Edu store by 1-2 weeks, but the problems have since been overcome and Edu orders are now shipping.

Called them myself again; spoke to a guy called Paul who definitely seemed to know what he was on about. Essentially confirmed my theory that educational customers, because they receive a discount, were pushed to the back of the queue behind full-paying customers. Saying that though, he said that the lead times aren't always correct as my MBP is currently being processed for shipment and this should be reflected on the website soon. Which means I could receive it on Friday, since TNT flew my box o' accessories [ipod, sleeve, mouse] over last night from Sydney, and it's stated as being set for delivery today on the TNT site.

Now, to organise someone to be home on Friday, damnable Uni exams!

 

[Nydator]

Called them myself again; spoke to a guy called Paul who definitely seemed to know what he was on about. Essentially confirmed my theory that educational customers, because they receive a discount, were pushed to the back of the queue behind full-paying customers. Saying that though, he said that the lead times aren't always correct as my MBP is currently being processed for shipment and this should be reflected on the website soon. Which means I could receive it on Friday, since TNT flew my box o' accessories [ipod, sleeve, mouse] over last night from Sydney, and it's stated as being set for delivery today on the TNT site.

Now, to organise someone to be home on Friday, damnable Uni exams!

I spoke to Paul this morning, too. He said mine was 'picked' (presumably meaning picked up by TNT) this morning (so it was too late to upgrade to a 160GB HDD), but it is still showing online as 'Not yet shipped'. Have to watch the shipping tracking closely - it would be a disaster to miss a delivery on the Friday before a long weekend (Queen's Birthday in the eastern states).

 

[mapple.pro]

like a lot of other people, i have been waiting for this event for a number of months, i too am i first time mac buyer.

before i join the dark side, could someone advise:

- whats a good quality secondary monitor. i actually like the DELL 2007WFP but its a bit pricey.
- what are these beasts like running windows apps, actually mainly autocad.

 

[elithrar]

I spoke to Paul this morning, too. He said mine was 'picked' (presumably meaning picked up by TNT) this morning (so it was too late to upgrade to a 160GB HDD), but it is still showing online as 'Not yet shipped'. Have to watch the shipping tracking closely - it would be a disaster to miss a delivery on the Friday before a long weekend (Queen's Birthday in the eastern states).

Yeah, that's exactly the word he used with me. I'm assuming he's right, and that the database will probably be refreshed in the next few hours or so. Not like it stops me from checking every half-hour, mind you. Luckily we had the long weekend last weekend here, but I'm still in the same boat: I don't want to have to wait over the weekend if I miss the courier.

- whats a good quality secondary monitor. i actually like the DELL 2007WFP but its a bit pricey.

Dell's & Samsungs are generally quite good; the recent widescreen Dell models are actually regarded as being pretty nice displays. The Apple Cinema Displays are also quite solid, but a little long in the tooth; the panels are a few models behind. They're still almost on-par with the Dell's though, and if you want the looks of the ACD, then go for that. I think the 20" starts at AUD$899 or something, and about $1100 for the 23".

- what are these beasts like running windows apps, actually mainly autocad.

You should be pretty good in that department; from memory, AutoCAD uses OpenGL? The nVidia cards in general have always been better in OpenGL apps than the ATI cards [which were in the last rev. of the MBP]. Just buy two sticks of 2GB DDR2 SO-DIMMS from techbuy.com.au or similar though.

 

[mapple.pro]

elithrar. thats a damn fast reply.

thanks. yes from memory AutoCAD is OpenGL. i was going to look at boosting the RAM to 4gig anyways. just a matter of reading through the forums and finding the best advice.

another question.

i have my beloved EPSON PHOTO 1290 SILVER that i dont want to let go of, but i just got off the phone to EPSON and they told me there was no driver. only the one that comes on the mac os x cd. i have also been informed that the print quality will not be as good as that coming from my pc. anyone know of a third party driver that could resolve this issue? (free of course!)

i dont really have the cash lying around to buy a compatible printer, and i still love my epson like my own pet.

 

[cynix]

I spoke to Paul this morning, too. He said mine was 'picked' (presumably meaning picked up by TNT) this morning (so it was too late to upgrade to a 160GB HDD), but it is still showing online as 'Not yet shipped'. Have to watch the shipping tracking closely - it would be a disaster to miss a delivery on the Friday before a long weekend (Queen's Birthday in the eastern states).

Is Paul the only customer service agent there? I spoke to him too when I called this afternoon. And I'm not so lucky as you two, mine definitely won't arrive until next week for some reason. Did you guys customise anything?

 

[88kin]

Hello there!

Glad to hear from more Mac guys from Australia! I'm waiting for delivery of my 17" MBP. I've configured it to the 7200rpm HDD and 1920x1200 High Res display. I'm expecting delivery about 3-4 weeks!!!

I'm buying it from the resellers though. Got the price slightly lower than the Apple online store.

Have fun with the new MBP!!

Cheers!
88kin

 

[Nydator]

Is Paul the only customer service agent there? I spoke to him too when I called this afternoon. And I'm not so lucky as you two, mine definitely won't arrive until next week for some reason. Did you guys customise anything?

He sounded pretty relaxed when I spoke to him, even though he was taking all of the calls! I didn't customise because I wanted to get the machine ASAP. May have been a mistake not to get the 160gb HDD ...

 

[cynix]

May have been a mistake not to get the 160gb HDD ...

Funny, I'm now thinking I made a mistake to go for the 160GB, because it might've delayed its shipping...

Does anyone know if the expected delivery date is generally accurate?