I am going to an Apple store today, and I plan to buy a mac book pro 15.4 laptop?

Question

What exactly should i get when I am in there, besides the laptop of course? I just want to know , because I know that they will try to sell me other things that I might not need. Do I need to sign up for any sort of insurance on the computer?

I basically want to make this quick and easy.

Answer 1

get apple care.

Answer 2

you might want to get apple care which extends your warranty for another 2 years. you can also get that when your one year warranty is near end just be safe.

Answer 3

nothing is needed, but applecare can come in useful if your clumsy! most other stuff is unecisary, unless you want software.

Just say, i just want the laptop

Answer 4

Depends on what you are ready to do with your new Mac. I agree that the Apple store experience can be a lot like the proverbial candy shop, you've got to go slow, be patient and walk in knowing what you need. If you forget something it's always available online too.

I hope nobody talks you into stuff you don't need. Most of the Apple store floor sales people are nice, smart and friendly and fair people. Sure, they're on commission, and under scrutiny, but it's not at all like some nameless electronics stores you might go to. If fact everyone at Apple Stores are strongly committed to avoiding complaints. Trust me, I've never worked there, but I know.

First, before you go to the store, I ask you to consider two things: Is there going to be an update to the Mac Book Pro line soon? (Turns out, at the moment, there is: see source macrumors.com (excellent site, btw)) Understand when you buy a toy, a newer, shinier one is always going to show up eventually. But why buy at the end of a product cycle? Especially when it is a matter of a month or two. When you see your model move $400 or so down in price to make room for the latest and greatest, you'll know what I mean.

If you're still feeling the urgent need to buy right away, then the next thing to consider is looking at Apple's prices in their online store. Specifically, I send people to the "Macintosh Refurbished" page. There are some excellent deals on machines that are just as good as what is shipped brand new to the Apple Store. All refurbs are returns to Apple, whether it was broke, or returned for any reason. All the refurbs are handled by Apple techies in the US and simply go through extra testing, in fact more testing than new computers. You can save good money, or just spend the leftovers on more RAM (like I do.)

So if you're STILL convinced you're headed to the Apple Store, or even if you're looking online, the next thing I want to suggest is making sure you get the right MBP model. Do you have a purpose in mind for this computer? Are you doing design/graphics, movie or music editing? Get the best processor and don't be disappointed. If you're going to run Office and internet, code sites or other lightweight tasks, I'd consider the mid or low end models. Get enough computer to cover your needs. Whichever model, I would recommend maxing out the RAM. But for myself, I wouldn't buy that at the store, as it very easy to buy online for less and install yourself.

Since the computer comes with a built in camera, there's one accessory you won't need. The speakers are fair but if you're going to be using your laptop more like a desktop, especially if you're connecting to another monitor, I would highly suggest decent speakers, and those are definitely available at the store.

Other than that I wouldn't recommend anything more than a decent carrying bag. The ones at the store will fit your widescreen perfectly, and I had difficulty finding a bag for my 15" Mac at other stores. Most PC 15" laptop bags are were small.

Applecare? That totally depends. I've never bought it for any of my five Macs and I've no regrets. But I'm not everyone, and most of my machines are desktops, so they're not so inclined to get bumped and bruised as a MBP might. If you're new to Mac I would recommend it, especially in a laptop purchase. Your repairs are free for however many years you buy, and there's free telephone & Genius Bar support. Understand when they mean repairs, it's when the hardware problem is their fault. If you drop your MBP out a three story window, you're going to get some funny looks at the Genius Bar as they ask for a credit card number. As far as I know, Applecare is available for Refurbs too.