Sony Vaio Or Apple Macbook

[viciouskitty74]

Hi, am thinking of which laptop to buy and bring to Thailand.

Papa prefers the Sony because he had good experiences with the service staffs repairing a water logged laptop in record time and with good servicing & low cost with the Sony Centres in Thailand.

I prefer the Macbook because I am not feeling very secure with the Vistas.

And I wont be buying them lappies in Thailand. I will either buy them from USA or Singapore before heading towards Thailand.

Please advise experiences on voltage, service centres & cost of servicing.

Back in Singapore, I was advised to use the 3 prong plugs with a adaptor socket for the lappies for Thailand use. Its to minimise power surges as those 3 prong power plugs has a capacitator (Whatever the heck is it? Me totally no understand electricity.) And most lappies 3 prong power plugs comes with a spare capacitator in case of a blow out.

Help.

[naka]

Hi, am thinking of which laptop to buy and bring to Thailand.

Papa prefers the Sony because he had good experiences with the service staffs repairing a water logged laptop in record time and with good servicing & low cost with the Sony Centres in Thailand.

I prefer the Macbook because I am not feeling very secure with the Vistas.

And I wont be buying them lappies in Thailand. I will either buy them from USA or Singapore before heading towards Thailand.

Please advise experiences on voltage, service centres & cost of servicing.

Back in Singapore, I was advised to use the 3 prong plugs with a adaptor socket for the lappies for Thailand use. Its to minimise power surges as those 3 prong power plugs has a capacitator (Whatever the heck is it? Me totally no understand electricity.) And most lappies 3 prong power plugs comes with a spare capacitator in case of a blow out.

Help.

Buy in Singapore, and buy an Acer or HP.

Both Sony and Mac's are grossly overpriced. Just like your Prada bag, right !

It's just like the Thai's who buy a tiny 3 series Beemer on a six year plan

and live in a tardy three thou a month apartment.

Their rationale being that, they never invite anyone to their pad but all their

mates see them driving up to the pub in their little Beemer.

Regarding the 3 prong thingy business ... forget all that nonsense !

Naka.

[cdnvic]

Both are a bit pricy, but Sony is notorious for poor support on the Vaio, and just about anything else.

Of the two, I would take the MacBook which is a solid piece of hardware and a solid OS. In the MacBook's case I think the price is justified. My only beef is the widescreen but that's a personal preference.

Mac/Apple outlets in Thailand are listed here:

http://203.151.217.14/databases/applestores/applestores.html

[Guest Reimar]

I would go for the Macbook also!

Sony is out of any questions form: never ever buy any shitty sony stuff again!

Last two things from Sony I have is a Car-Radio and a Digital Camera and for the Camera I can't get a new craddle or even the Data Cable! Service and support by Sony: blow 0!@

[cdnvic]

Plus now you can use the built in Bootcamp or Parallels and run Windows on the MacBook if you still need it for some applications.

[hughden]

We bought a Vaio. Tacky. Sold it and bought a Macbook. Quality.

[backflip]

Apple will be introducing new MacBook and MackBook Pro models in early-June, so you might want to wait...

[InspectorGadget]

Macbook, unquestionably. Fantastic piece of hardware. Slick, easy to use OS. Great compatibility (no more worrying about drivers - just plug and play), painless wireless internet and a great suite of software in iLife. Easily one of the best purchases I ever made. A few Thai friends have had to buy one after using mine!

If you're worried about the power supply, you can pick up Apple's worldwide travel adaptor kit. I use that and never had a problem.

And, as reported above, you can also run Windows on it if you really want to...

For servicing, consider extending Apple's 1 yr warranty by buying Applecare (extends warranty to 3 yrs). This is pricey if you buy it from Apple but I have seen it on sale in Thailand for about 5000 baht. If anything goes wrong with your mac, Apple will service it for free if you have Applecare.

[nikster]

MacBook, no doubt.

The last batch of MacBooks/MacBook Pros has been largely trouble free if the internet forums are to be believed. More importantly, Apple service is excellent.

Sony has pretty much the worst reputation for service. I used to hear stories from people who were basically left alone by Sony. First, its your own fault. Second, if it isn't, we'll send the machine in to Japan. Come back in 3 weeks. Haha. A joke. Good quality machines, and nice designs but I have never considered them because there's always something that goes wrong. Good service is a must.

Naka - you were not really answering the question, and I wonder where that opinion comes from. To each his own, surely both Sony and Apple are expensive, but you do get something for your money. I recently priced an Acer - which is always the cost leader, at the expense of quality - vs a new MacBook. The Acer with the same specs as the MacBook was 4000 baht less. Not much at all...

I have extensive experience with Acer and I have to say that their cheap models are crap. I don't recommend them anymore. I had a lemon that spent more time in the shop than with me, and several friends with Acers had the same experience. That low price is coming from somewhere - it's cheap stuff. I found Acer service in Chiang Mai to be wonderful, excellent, couldn't praise these guys enough - but it doesn't make up for the shoddy quality of the machines.

I now have a business Acer and it's pretty decent. Ok quality but it cost more than a new MacBook Pro.

[nikster]

Apple will be introducing new MacBook and MackBook Pro models in early-June, so you might want to wait...

With LED-backlit screens, as rumors have it... I have two fistful of baht waiting for these puppies...

[spacebass]

Your question about the three pin plug and capacitor. In Singapore they use the UK '13amp' square pin plug that does not have a capacitor but a fuse inside, sometimes you can access this fuse from the outside via a hatch sometimes you have to unscrew the top of the plug and then you have access to the fuse, I would suspect that you would get a sealed plug with a hatch to access the fuse.

So a fuse will blow if something is wrong with the electrical condition of the appliance and you put a new one in and it works again, but may blow again if the faulty condition subsists. It is vitally important that the amp value of the fuse is correct i.e. probably 3 amp for a laptop (maybe 5!) because if you put in a 13 amp fuse the laptop will blow up before the fuse blows!

Anyway it is probably worth having as a measure of protection from this imperfect world!

[TopDogger]

The last 2 i've had have been Vaio's, the most recent one being a VGN-FS18SP which has pretty much fallen to peices over 2yrs even though its only used 3 or 4 days a month. Im sick of them & gettin a MacBook next time

[bubba]

Apple warranty service is worldwide for their laptops regardless of where you purchased it. The power adapters that come with them are universal, meaning you can use them in any country; however, you might need a plug adapter.

If you are thinking of buying one in Thailand, the electronics duty-free shop at Suvarnabhumi has incredible prices. I saw the Macbook Pro 2.16 Intel Core 2 Duo for sale at 68,500 baht.

I have a six month old Macbook Pro and have subjected it to lots and lots of travel abuse and all sorts of software and I have yet to have a single problem, not even a crash. The build is very high quality and it still looks like it just came out of the box. Highly recommended.

[taxexile]

i use a vaio laptop (pcg-k66sp) , had it 3 years now, bought it at the sony shop in the emporium , had a hard disk replaced by sony repair in bkk last year , i think the hd was actually made by toshiba , it was out of guarantee but they didnt charge me anything , they re-installed everything and upgraded xp sp1 to sp2.

the computer gets moved around a lot , its used almost every day , it seems tough and reliable. i have no complaints.

but having said that , my next one will be a mac.

[jackmuu]

I have an iBook that I want to replace but it just won't die on me, the quality is so good compared to all the other pc brands I ever had. Anyway, when I first came to thailand my screen went black and I couldn't do anything, I thought now might be a good time to get a new mac if the screen is knackered, so I went to mac shop in Panthip plaza and one of the staff noticed that there was a logic board free replacement service offered by apple for laptops built within a certain time and he saw that mine was in the range (I didn't have a clue about this). Anyway, they took it away and I had it back, fixed free in 4 days by an official apple engineer.

Now I do complain about some customer service in Thailand, but compare this to apple in the UK where they usually quote you a minimum of a few weeks turnaround and Bangkok is pretty good.

Kudos to the guy in the mac shop who really (due to my ignorance) could have got me to pay for the thing to be repaired or replaced.

It just goes to show you that contrary to popular belief, not everyone in Thailand is trying to rip you off.

[Grover]

i've owned a sony viao and more recently a macbook.

that macbook is superior in all respects including value for money. After installing 2gb ram I can run windows through it very nicely through parallels. its got a 1 year international warranty with the apple service point in BKK.

[steffi]

Firstly Sony Vaios are overpriced in Thailand so don't buy those here. Secondly I am a Macbook Pro user and I would never buy a PC laptop today. I do make use of vmware fusion and bootcamp to run windows but it's secondary in my needs to running OSX. I have a JAF flasher to enable me to easly upgrade the firmware in my Nokia cell phone so that and NSU requires a Windows platform.

The bottom line is decide which OS you want to run and buy the laptop for it. Typically if you buy a Mac and then want to run Windows you then have the added expense of Windows on top of the price of the Mac because it will come with OSX.

Macbook Pro can run Windows just as well as any PC laptop and the bulid quality and world wide support make it a no brainer for me but for those still wanting to use PC laptops should buy PC laptops if they are bean counters and worry about the additional cost of the Windows software.

Bear in mind I'm an experienced Unix/Nextstep/OSX user so I would never want to run Windows as my primary operating system and would probably give up computers if the day ever game that I had to.

I have an iBook that I want to replace but it just won't die on me, the quality is so good compared to all the other pc brands I ever had. Anyway, when I first came to thailand my screen went black and I couldn't do anything, I thought now might be a good time to get a new mac if the screen is knackered, so I went to mac shop in Panthip plaza and one of the staff noticed that there was a logic board free replacement service offered by apple for laptops built within a certain time and he saw that mine was in the range (I didn't have a clue about this). Anyway, they took it away and I had it back, fixed free in 4 days by an official apple engineer.

Now I do complain about some customer service in Thailand, but compare this to apple in the UK where they usually quote you a minimum of a few weeks turnaround and Bangkok is pretty good.

Kudos to the guy in the mac shop who really (due to my ignorance) could have got me to pay for the thing to be repaired or replaced.

It just goes to show you that contrary to popular belief, not everyone in Thailand is trying to rip you off.

[steffi]

Don't just consider Parallels VMware Fusion is also a very nice product. I haven't found any fault with it's USB support yet. Don't forget to extend your warranty thru applecare.

i've owned a sony viao and more recently a macbook.

that macbook is superior in all respects including value for money. After installing 2gb ram I can run windows through it very nicely through parallels. its got a 1 year international warranty with the apple service point in BKK.

[Grover]

hi steffi, I also use OSx primarily, great OS, probably about 95% of the time compared to parallels. I will have a look at VMware fusion but since ive already paid for my parallels license i guess ill stick with it for a while.

the applecare warranty seems expensive at AU$419 compared to the entry level macbook at AU$1600.... dunno seems a bit expensive, hmmm reckon it is still worth it ?

bugger! they just released a new model macbook, quicker and cheaper than the one I bought only a few weeks ago !

[cdnvic]

I've listened to a lot of Mac podcasts and the almost unanimous opinion is that the Applecare isn't needed, or cost effective.

[steffi]

Yeah I've had 3 major repairs done on the spot here in Thailand. This was when Applecenter was over at yannawa .... I had to get my top case replaced, screen replaced and logic board replaced and every one of these repairs was done whilst I waited at near by Lotus. Exceptional service and I'd never expect this level of service in the US.

[steffi]

well a lot depends on how often your turn over your machine. If you think you'll keep it for 2+ years it's probably worth it. But not if you're upgrading every year. You get very little benefit by buying Applecare in the first year except that you avoid any price increase later.

I've listened to a lot of Mac podcasts and the almost unanimous opinion is that the Applecare isn't needed, or cost effective.

[bubba]

I've listened to a lot of Mac podcasts and the almost unanimous opinion is that the Applecare isn't needed, or cost effective.

Would be best to touch wood when you say that. All it takes is a logic board replacement the week after your one year warranty runs out and you've then paid for three AppleCare extensions. Laptops tend to take a lot more abuse than desktops and for me it's worth it. So far I have had two logic board failures with four different laptions and AppleCare has definitely paid off. That said, I travel a lot and my laptop gets bumped around and used in all sorts of hot, humid, cold, or dry places so I might be sort of an exception.

[danone]

macbook.

tons or reasons available on the net.

and soon we get leopard, will again be ahead of windoze.

[nikster]

I've listened to a lot of Mac podcasts and the almost unanimous opinion is that the Applecare isn't needed, or cost effective.

It's expensive, sure, but it provides peace of mind and top notch service around the world.

If I'd just bought AppleCare for my ancient TiBook, it would have never come to this:

http://homepage.mac.com/nikster/PhotoAlbum4.html

This TiBook is running strong in all other regards, just doesn't look very good anymore

In my experience, things always break with laptops, more so when used in hot climates like Thailand. So next time, I have sworn to myself to buy it. You can buy it any time within the first year of ownership. And there's a reason it's pretty expensive: Chances that you'll make use of it are pretty high.

I wonder if Apple repairs are cheaper in Thailand though (low cost of labor...)??