- Average user rating: 4.0 stars out of 104 reviews Back to product review
- My rating: 0 stars
Full user review
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0 out of 1 people found this review helpful
5.0 stars
"Excellent computer-Applecare not necessarily necessary!"
Pros: Illuminated keyboard, battery life, stable and secure OS
Cons: Price and lack of included software.
Summary: Macs are great computers, but I question the insistence that every consumer *needs* the Applecare extended warranty. (Especially if your credit card automatically extends warranties on purchased products). Applecare doesn't include accidental coverage, so there seems to be no more need for it than there is for any other extended warranty.
- 2 replies to this review
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Apple Care may not be mandatory for all users, but I'd never buy a Mac without it. I am on my 4th Mac, currently summer '09 Core 2 Duo 15" w/ 2.8 GHz processor. I have an intense & fast paced job working from home, and my previous 3 Mac laptops have taken quite a pounding. The 15" first-gen. MacBook Pro I just turned in after 3 years, to be refurbed & passed on to someone else, not only has smudged keys but it's the SECOND smudged keyboard. I had new aluminum case & keyboard put on 14 months ago & Apple Care covered 95% of cost. Any problem I've had -- occasional slowdown, programs closing w/o cause -- it's been great to run it to the Apple store & they send it in, fix it and have back in my hands in 7-10 days. Also my Mac doesn't leave the house more than 8-10 times a year, and always in a sturdy case, so for me, much of what's considered "accidental" is covered under my homeowner's ins. policy for a very small fee. IMO it depends on personal circumstances of your Mac use.
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I must disagree with you on this point. Consumer Reports among others have done stories about credit card's coverage of computers and found it extremely lacking. What's more, the Macbooks, while very well made, are very expensive to fix. If anything breaks, good luck getting it fixed for less than your computer is worth. While it is true that Apple doesn't offer accidental damage, which is a huge oversight in my opinion, your initial warranty is only good for phone support for 90 days after purchase, not the full year so if you have a problem beyond that, you have to make an appointment and go into an Applestore for support which can be a headache.
The only instance I would not recomend Applecare is if you are an established Mac user and you know of a good alternative warranty (not a big box store's warranty like Best Buy's). But you should ALWAYS get an extended warranty on a laptop. Desktops are another matter all together, but laptops are just too expensive to risk.
Where to buy
Apple MacBook Pro Summer 2009 (Core 2 Duo 2.26GHz, 2GB RAM, 160GB HDD, Nvidia GeForce 9400M, 13-inch):
$1,149.00 - $1,198.00
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$1,194.00 | Yes |
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$1,149.95 | Yes |
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$1,169.00 | Yes |
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$1,149.00 | Yes |
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$1,198.00 | Yes |
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