Buying A MacBook In Pattaya With English-Only Keyboard

[tropo]

I set out to find out where I could buy a new Apple Macbook Air in Pattaya with an English-only keyboard for my (non-Thai) wife. If I'm going to spend 43K on a laptop I don't want an ugly dual language keyboard.

Here's the results at 4 different stores:

1. Tesco Lotus on Sukhumvit Rd - no can do.

2. Power Buy on 3rd floor of Central Mall - no can do - cannot get in Thailand.

3. iStudio on 3rd floor of Central Mall - 7000 baht extra and 3 weeks to order.

4. Shop #8 on ground floor of Tukcom - no problem, no additional cost and 3 weeks to order.

Another option is to order on-line from the Apple Store (Thailand) which offers free shipping. Just tick the option under hardware before finalizing your purchase.

Note to anti-Mac die-hards:

Why would I spend so much on a laptop?

The answer is simple: My wife wants one. The Sony Vaio I bought for her last year didn't quite satisfy - she needs that cute little apple logo on the front.

(One thing did surprise me as this is my very first Apple purchase - no carry bag or sleeve is included)

Edited November 9, 2011 by tropo

[Pattaya Diver]

Far and away the best way is to order from the Apple Store, either online or call their free number and speak to a human being, which is what I did.

iStudio is staffed by untrained monkeys and is a complete waste of space. Avoid them when at all possible for anything of substance or importance.

As for why Mac? Because they're the best-made, most-dependable and most-reliable notebooks on the planet, a fact borne out by retail study after study on return rates, breakdowns and the like.

In my opinion (and that of most Mac users) they're also the best performing, easiest to use and least troublesome machines you can get. I hate using Widows in the office. (My Mac is at home...)

Once you go Mac, you never go back....

[tropo]

Far and away the best way is to order from the Apple Store, either online or call their free number and speak to a human being, which is what I did.

iStudio is staffed by untrained monkeys and is a complete waste of space. Avoid them when at all possible for anything of substance or importance.

As for why Mac? Because they're the best-made, most-dependable and most-reliable notebooks on the planet, a fact borne out by retail study after study on return rates, breakdowns and the like.

In my opinion (and that of most Mac users) they're also the best performing, easiest to use and least troublesome machines you can get. I hate using Widows in the office. (My Mac is at home...)

Once you go Mac, you never go back....

Thanks for your praise of Mac - it makes me feel better about forking out the cash. I've never used one before so it will be an interesting learning experience.

[anon8]

I got 13 inch MB Pro with English only keyboard at the Mac dealer at Central World or WTC or World Trade Centre or what's the latest incarnation. Of course this isn't going to help you much cos it was 2 years ago, before the place got torched. But Bangkok shops do sell English only versions.

and it isn't just about the cute apple btw. It is nice and shiny also!

[anon8]

iStudio is staffed by untrained monkeys and is a complete waste of space. Avoid them when at all possible for anything of substance or importance.

By 'by untrained monkeys' do you mean the shop staff isn't capable of operating the cash register and printing out the receipt after you make your purchase? All their stock is out on the tables.. play with each and every machine as long as you like.. what do you want the staff to do exactly, other than be polite and swipe the credit card

[William Osborne]

this post is completely pointless as you have answered the question yourself, which is to buy it online via apple store, although why a dual keyboard would make the slightest difference is beyond me (unless you wanted to add another text)

Although, i think the whole idea of this post is to tell everyone that you are spending 43k on a notebook as well as spending probably the same amount last year on a Sony ... for your wife....(who clearly isn't very computer literate )

Anyway, go for it... just be careful not to overpay the baht bus by 5 baht on the way :jap:

[tropo]

this post is completely pointless as you have answered the question yourself, which is to buy it online via apple store, although why a dual keyboard would make the slightest difference is beyond me (unless you wanted to add another text)

Although, i think the whole idea of this post is to tell everyone that you are spending 43k on a notebook as well as spending probably the same amount last year on a Sony ... for your wife....(who clearly isn't very computer literate )

Anyway, go for it... just be careful not to overpay the baht bus by 5 baht on the way :jap:

1. Typical of you, yet another excuse to try to start a flame war.

2. I was providing some information for people who do prefer English language keyboards. I (and my wife) don't like dual language keyboards because they have a messy appearance. On a cheap computer I don't give a rats...., but if I'm paying a lot, it makes a difference.

3. Yes, my wife is completely computer illiterate - that was incredible how you worked that out.

4. I'm buying it from Tukcom. Perhaps you missed the part where I mentioned the store in Tukcom doesn't charge to order an English-only keyboard.

5. I could have paid 10K more for the 256 GB flash drive. Would that have upset you more?

Go away!

Edited November 9, 2011 by tropo

[William Osborne]

best of luck with your purchase ..... personally, i think mac-books are a load of crap because i use notebooks in real life opposed to spinning and flipping pictures.....which is fine..if thats your thing ....... just try not to have punch-up with the baht bus driver as you argue about a 5 baht fare....whilst carrying a 43k notebook.... as you may drop it :jap:

edit... might be a good idea to actually get the wife trained up on computers ... probably best to use a proper brand for this thou

Edited November 9, 2011 by William Osborne

[Phil Conners]

This is more an Apple issue than a Pattaya issue, so let's move it to the Apple forum.

[sotsira]

Far and away the best way is to order from the Apple Store, either online or call their free number and speak to a human being, which is what I did.

iStudio is staffed by untrained monkeys and is a complete waste of space. Avoid them when at all possible for anything of substance or importance.

As for why Mac? Because they're the best-made, most-dependable and most-reliable notebooks on the planet, a fact borne out by retail study after study on return rates, breakdowns and the like.

In my opinion (and that of most Mac users) they're also the best performing, easiest to use and least troublesome machines you can get. I hate using Widows in the office. (My Mac is at home...)

Once you go Mac, you never go back....

Thanks for your praise of Mac - it makes me feel better about forking out the cash. I've never used one before so it will be an interesting learning experience.

Couldn't agree more with "Pattaya Diver" once you get used to using a Mac it makes Windows systems feel primitive and there's no comparison in how much

more efficient a MacBook computer is.

"Tropo" i think you'll be buying yourself one in a couple of months, either that or nicking the wifes.

[tropo]

best of luck with your purchase ..... personally, i think mac-books are a load of crap because i use notebooks in real life opposed to spinning and flipping pictures.....which is fine..if thats your thing ....... just try not to have punch-up with the baht bus driver as you argue about a 5 baht fare....whilst carrying a 43k notebook.... as you may drop it :jap:

edit... might be a good idea to actually get the wife trained up on computers ... probably best to use a proper brand for this thou

Don't worry, the computer will be well wrapped and I won't be using a baht bus, but thanks for you concern.

One member on this thread has praised Macs and you think they are crap. Going by your posting skills, which is all I have to go by I'd take his word over yours. I've also read plenty of reviews written by intelligent people who disagree with you.

My wife knows how to use computers just fine thank you and probably types faster than you do. I was trying to be humorous by making a point that ladies don't always buy computers for the same reasons as self appointed experts such as yourself do but of course you had to use it as an excuse to insult people who don't care about the under-the-hood mechanics of a computer. I personally never insult such people and understand them, just as I understand people who drive cars with little interest in the mechanics beneath the hood.

Having used just about every version of Windows since 95 I would have to say that Windows is crap, so Mac wouldn't have to perform very well to be an improvement.

Edited November 9, 2011 by tropo

[hughden]

My wife bought a Sony Vaio about three years ago and hated it; so we sold it and she bought a Macbook. Never looked back and now we have an iMac, a Mac Pro, and the original Macbook is still going strong. A different level of quality and usability.

[tropo]

My wife bought a Sony Vaio about three years ago and hated it; so we sold it and she bought a Macbook. Never looked back and now we have an iMac, a Mac Pro, and the original Macbook is still going strong. A different level of quality and usability.

Thanks for the encouragement.

Cheers

[anon8]

personally, i think mac-books are a load of crap because i use notebooks in real life opposed to spinning and flipping pictures....

spinning and flipping pictures

[gray42]

I too am looking to buy a MacBook Pro with an English-only keyboard. I never even considered ordering online from Apple because I figured I'd get taxed to oblivion. None of you have mentioned the taxes, so are laptops somehow exempt?

[tropo]

I too am looking to buy a MacBook Pro with an English-only keyboard. I never even considered ordering online from Apple because I figured I'd get taxed to oblivion. None of you have mentioned the taxes, so are laptops somehow exempt?

Are you buying in Thailand? If so, the online prices includes the 7% VAT as do the shop prices. If you're leaving the country within 60 days you can get a VAT refund at the airport. You have to fill in a form when you purchase the product - this is very important - you cannot do it later. I don't know how you'd go about that with the online shop, but in a retail shop you need to bring you passport when you make a purchase.

[Pattaya Diver]

The price you see on the website is the price you pay. No added taxes, customs duties or shipping charges. (Free shipping).

As for Obsborne and his "flipping pictures" comment, I've often done the below or similar SIMULTANEOUSLY and am positive any windows machine I ever used would crash and burn.

* Encode a 15-minute video

* Re-encode a batch of audio files from one format to another

* Run Windows 7 inside an emulator (Parallels)

* Download a batch of torrents

* Play music to listen to

* Run MS Word on OSX

* Run Outlook on Windows

* Surf the Web

Again, these tasks would be running simultaneously with no slowdown or impact on the machine (other than the fan running to cut down the heat) on a Macbook Pro with just 4 GB of RAM.

I too am looking to buy a MacBook Pro with an English-only keyboard. I never even considered ordering online from Apple because I figured I'd get taxed to oblivion. None of you have mentioned the taxes, so are laptops somehow exempt?

[tropo]

The price you see on the website is the price you pay. No added taxes, customs duties or shipping charges. (Free shipping).

There is an included 7% VAT in all purchases in Thailand. I'd be interested to know how you can claim back VAT if you order online. Do they send out a form to fill out so you can make your claim at the airport when you leave?

[Lost in LOS]

anybody want to trade a wireless keyboard for my iMac let me know. I have one that is English only but wanted Thai and English, they messed up the order and wouldn't fix it

[tropo]

Update

I was in Central Mall Pattaya again today. Just for the hell of it I decided to go into the iStudio again and ask them if they could get an English-only keyboard for a 13in MacBook Air. Last time they told me that it would cost an additional 7000 baht and 3 weeks to order. Today it was gong to be free (no extra charge) and 2 weeks to order.

Pattaya Driver had it nailed when he called the staff of iStudio "untrained monkeys". They lost a sale over this stupidity because the next day I ordered one at Tukcom.

Edited November 15, 2011 by tropo

[gray42]

The price you see on the website is the price you pay. No added taxes, customs duties or shipping charges. (Free shipping).

Was on vacation in Koh Chang and I couldn't remember my password for ThaiVisa =) That's really good to know. I've just read so many threads about people ordering things online from stores outside of Thailand and customs basically holding the package "hostage" until additional money is paid. From what I understood they'll say the package is worth more than it's declared value and "ask" for additional duties to be paid, sometimes requiring you to pay 200%-300% of the actual value. I haven't ordered anything online from stores located outside of Thailand because of this. This is great news because maybe I just understood it wrong? Is it only personal packages that I have to worry about? As long as the VAT is included, should I be able to safely order from any online store and have it delivered to my Thai address? For example say I order a tub of protein powder or archery equipment (sorry for going off topic, but those are two things I've been needing here) from an online shop in the United States and VAT is included. Should everything be OK?

[Jimi007]

The price you see on the website is the price you pay. No added taxes, customs duties or shipping charges. (Free shipping).

Was on vacation in Koh Chang and I couldn't remember my password for ThaiVisa =) That's really good to know. I've just read so many threads about people ordering things online from stores outside of Thailand and customs basically holding the package "hostage" until additional money is paid. From what I understood they'll say the package is worth more than it's declared value and "ask" for additional duties to be paid, sometimes requiring you to pay 200%-300% of the actual value. I haven't ordered anything online from stores located outside of Thailand because of this. This is great news because maybe I just understood it wrong? Is it only personal packages that I have to worry about? As long as the VAT is included, should I be able to safely order from any online store and have it delivered to my Thai address? For example say I order a tub of protein powder or archery equipment (sorry for going off topic, but those are two things I've been needing here) from an online shop in the United States and VAT is included. Should everything be OK?

No. They were talking about ordering online from the Apple Store in Thailand, I do believe.

[tropo]

The price you see on the website is the price you pay. No added taxes, customs duties or shipping charges. (Free shipping).

Was on vacation in Koh Chang and I couldn't remember my password for ThaiVisa =) That's really good to know. I've just read so many threads about people ordering things online from stores outside of Thailand and customs basically holding the package "hostage" until additional money is paid. From what I understood they'll say the package is worth more than it's declared value and "ask" for additional duties to be paid, sometimes requiring you to pay 200%-300% of the actual value. I haven't ordered anything online from stores located outside of Thailand because of this. This is great news because maybe I just understood it wrong? Is it only personal packages that I have to worry about? As long as the VAT is included, should I be able to safely order from any online store and have it delivered to my Thai address? For example say I order a tub of protein powder or archery equipment (sorry for going off topic, but those are two things I've been needing here) from an online shop in the United States and VAT is included. Should everything be OK?

No. They were talking about ordering online from the Apple Store in Thailand, I do believe.

Yes, we were talking about buying an Apple computer online from the Apple Store in Thailand delivered to a Thailand address. There will be no customs issues when buying a product in Thailand for delivery to an address in Thailand.

If a foreigner fills out the appropriate paperwork when purchasing they will get a 7% VAT refund at the airport if they leave within 60 days.

Edited November 20, 2011 by tropo

[gray42]

Ok, thanks for clearing that up. Makes much more sense. I got a little excited thinking I could order from abroad and avoid any import taxes...

[Naam]

My wife bought a Sony Vaio about three years ago and hated it; so we sold it and she bought a Macbook. Never looked back and now we have an iMac, a Mac Pro, and the original Macbook is still going strong. A different level of quality and usability.

"faith can move mountains" said the hedgehog after having had sex with a toilet brush.

[watcharacters]

My wife bought a Sony Vaio about three years ago and hated it; so we sold it and she bought a Macbook. Never looked back and now we have an iMac, a Mac Pro, and the original Macbook is still going strong. A different level of quality and usability.

Don't tell ...

William Osborne 555

[hughden]

My wife bought a Sony Vaio about three years ago and hated it; so we sold it and she bought a Macbook. Never looked back and now we have an iMac, a Mac Pro, and the original Macbook is still going strong. A different level of quality and usability.

"faith can move mountains" said the hedgehog after having had sex with a toilet brush.

Just my experience, nothing to do with faith.

[hughden]

My wife bought a Sony Vaio about three years ago and hated it; so we sold it and she bought a Macbook. Never looked back and now we have an iMac, a Mac Pro, and the original Macbook is still going strong. A different level of quality and usability.

Don't tell ...

William Osborne 555

Mr. Osborne's mean-spirited whining is of no consequence.

[richard_smith237]

I don't particularly like Mac or Hate Windows 7 (I do hate Vista, which turned me to MAC in the first place).

MAC simply does everything better...

(except perhaps for MS Word and Excel and some specialized programs that only run on Windows)

Some say if you spend the same on a machine operated by windows that it works as well as a MAC.

BUT, it still runs windows !! and I wouldn't take the risk to see if a new machine works well or not when I know a MAC will work perfectly all year straight out of the box.

My MAC has crashed about 10 times in 3 years.

[watcharacters]

I don't particularly like Mac or Hate Windows 7 (I do hate Vista, which turned me to MAC in the first place).

MAC simply does everything better...

(except perhaps for MS Word and Excel and some specialized programs that only run on Windows)

Some say if you spend the same on a machine operated by windows that it works as well as a MAC.

BUT, it still runs windows !! and I wouldn't take the risk to see if a new machine works well or not when I know a MAC will work perfectly all year straight out of the box.

My MAC has crashed about 10 times in 3 years.

when you say "crashed" do you just mean safari quit unexpectedly? As you know there's no blue screen of "fatal error" on a Mac.