Celifornia.com blog

Hi

Happy Ben reports the purchase of a MacBook Air as of yesterday 11PM CET . I must say I am really excited, I was almost unable to fall asleep from thoughts in my head. Yes, before you say it, this is a definate sign of geekyness, and I am most definitely a geek.

Read on for details of the purchase, and proof

So, the whole thing started with the fact that I saw the MacBook Air AD on apple.com and I was immediately attracted to the thing. Of course, the price tag was really high, and I already had a brilliant MacBook and on top, I wasn’t sure if the lack of features that the Air presents will be enough for me.

Giving it a little thought and a few days of boiling brains, I got to the Decission, that I am definetally going with the MacBook Air. This was on the 16th of February, and I blogged it, you can read it here if you haven’t seen it before.

Once I made up my mind, I started putting my MacBook online for sale, which started with a fresh reinstall of OS X Tiger, and a few online ADs. There is an excellent Mac site in Hungary which takes Mac related ADs, and this brought me much luck, as I sold the MacBook the day before yesterday, on the 26th of February. I also blogged that, read it here.

Having sold the MacBook already, my mind was all over the MacBook Air, and how to get it purchased fast and cheap. In Hungary, its not yet available, they are expecting it in 2-3 weeks, and the price tag will be 457,900HUF which is about $2664USD at current rate from www.xe.com, which is a far far off price compared to the US price $1799 for the same exact model.

This is an actual screenshot from apple.hu’s store page.

Since I wasn’t lucky enough to find someone who travels to the US in a short while from present time, I decided to go for the 2nd best option, and order from Japan. My Parents in law are coming to Budapest on the 29th of March, which is only one month away. Japanese prices are not as good as US or Hong Kong prices, but they are still more charming than EU prices. I checked the rate on the 26th, and it wasn’t very good, but I saw a huge lift in the Forint to Yen conversion, and counting in Forints, the Japanese price dropped with 30,000HUF in just two days. I needed nothing more, got online with Yuka (translator/wife), created an Apple ID for her, and ordered the MacBook Air. Between the time I checked the HUF/YEN rate, and we were ready with the Apple ID creation, the forint further advanced compare to the Japanese YEN, and the price became even more desired.

This is the SMS I received from my bank (OTP) when we processed the order:

The SMS was forwarded from Yuka’s mobile, as we used her card ideally for the purchase, thus she was the one getting the SMS. Ideally meaning ideal for me, as it wasn’t my money Well, actually it was, so I am broke like a dog now. The MacBook sale didn’t cover the full sum.

But getting back to happy mode after the depression of seeing my Account ballance, here are some more details.

This is the email I got from Apple right after the purchase. As you can see, I also ordered the Ethernet Adapter, becuase that is the one thing I may need which the Air doesnt have. Now I feel fully loaded:

And finally, once I click on the Tracking Link Apple sent me, I see this on their website.

As you can see, the MacBook Air is going to be shipped to my Parents in law’s house no later than the 12th of March, and the Ethernet Adapter by no later than 17th of March. I will order another sleeve case from Japan, and have it delivered to their home, so they can bring the laptop padded, and safe on the long journey.

And the price after all came out to be 358,576HUF which is $2084USD and this even includes the Ethernet Adapter, an additional cost otherwise. If I had bought it in Hungary, I would have ended up paying an extra 100,000HUF which is $581 USD. European taxes are insane, and therefor Apple products are positioned as Luxury items, which I don’t buy into.

So what’s left now is to wait 30 days and 30 nights until my much expected MacBook Air arrives to Budapest. I am going to Turkey for a conference on the 1st of April, so the Air will have a nice welcome trip with me. Its coming from Asia to Europe to Budapest, and just in 2 days of time, going back to Asia. Quite a lucky piece don’t you think?

Cheers