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DarkMagus
Joined: 21 Mar 2006
Posts: 30
Location: Manchester, NH
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 Posted: Thu May 11, 2006 10:11 pm Post subject: Mac (laptop) users in Japan ...? |
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Along the theme of the dell laptop thread...
I'm about to buy a MacBook Pro... is it still advisable to buy one before moving to Japan?
Are there Apple Stores in Japan?
Any issues when using it in Japan? |
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markle
Joined: 17 Jan 2003
Posts: 1316
Location: Out of Japan
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| Posted: Thu May 11, 2006 11:38 pm Post subject: |
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There are Apple stores in Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya. The one in Nagoya even has a couple foreign staff to help you. Apples are pretty common in all the major electrical retailers.
There are even less issues than with a PC. |
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earthmonkey
Joined: 18 Feb 2005
Posts: 188
Location: Meguro-Ku Tokyo
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| Posted: Thu May 11, 2006 11:44 pm Post subject: |
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Great computer!! I want one too! I have a powerbook G4 and love it. No, there should be no issues about using it in Japan. Yes, there are apple stores here, at least in Tokyo. Macs are about the same price in Japan as they are in the U.S. The only difference is the keyboard. Japanese keyboards are slightly different. I'd check with Apple to make sure that the warranty is good overseas. If it is, I'd buy it in the U.S.
Leaving for 10 days in the U.S. in 2 hours. It's been 2 1/2 years. Happy! |
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markle
Joined: 17 Jan 2003
Posts: 1316
Location: Out of Japan
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| Posted: Fri May 12, 2006 12:01 am Post subject: |
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| earthmonkey wrote: |
| Japanese keyboards are slightly different. I'd check with Apple to make sure that the warranty is good overseas. If it is, I'd buy it in the U.S. |
Unless you want to be able to type in Japanese you won't need a J keyboard and all the stores stock English keyboards.
The Apple warranty is good worldwide. |
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wintersweet
Joined: 18 Jan 2005
Posts: 345
Location: San Francisco Bay Area
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| Posted: Fri May 12, 2006 12:57 am Post subject: |
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Just to clarify--you don't need a Japanese keyboard to enter Japanese on a Mac. To type directly in Japanese, you would, but I'm pretty happy with the Japanese input interface, even if it has some functions I haven't deciphered yet. On my system, open apple/command + space bar toggles between the two most recently used languages, which is nice, too (except when I forget I've entered Chinese as well as Japanese lately, and I think I've toggled back to English but am actually typing the world's worst Pinyin by accident *G*).
A friernd with a Mac laptop in Japan sent it in to be repaired under AppleCare with no problems. |
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callmesim
Joined: 27 Oct 2005
Posts: 279
Location: London, UK
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| Posted: Fri May 12, 2006 1:05 am Post subject: |
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I did exactly the same thing but have a Powerbook G4. Personally, I'd advise buying it before you leave just because on the off chance something isn't right with it, it will be much less stressful to rectify any problems in your native tongue than it would be in Japan (unless you speak Japanese well).
And as others have said, Apple's warranties with portable devices are world-wide. |
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JimDunlop2
Joined: 31 Jan 2003
Posts: 2286
Location: Japan
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| Posted: Fri May 12, 2006 3:29 am Post subject: |
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| callmesim wrote: |
| on the off chance something isn't right with it, it will be much less stressful to rectify any problems in your native tongue than it would be in Japan (unless you speak Japanese well). |
Not quite true.... Fortunately, Apple Japan's telephone support is available in English! Brilliant service, really. From first-hand experience, I was having trouble with my iPod Shuffle, so I called them, spoke to a fluent English-speaking rep, and had a brand new replacement iPod THE NEXT DAY!!! They couriered it to me free-of-charge and all I had to do was courier them back the old one.
I know it's hard to establish a standard based on a few case studies, but even back in Canada where I was frequently on the phone with AppleCare, the service was always prompt, helpful, and in general, all I could ever expect from a company's tech support service... And this was when I worked for a VERY demanding professional company and my boss was always screaming to have things done yesterday... Apple's tech support was even good enough for him. Other companies who weren't so cooperative suffered his wrath...
ME: Sorry Doug, but the company says they can't have it fixed until next Monday.
BOSS: We got a business to run here. You want me to go irate on them?
ME: Your call.
Then universes would start colliding and the Apocalypse would commence.
I think Apple was about the only company that avoided his fiery wrath from my recollection. |
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