US MBP for use in the UK

[The Mighty Boosh]

I live in the UK but know people who live in America and travel here regularly, so I could buy a MBP and have them bring it over saving ~ £400.
However. I have a few questions:

1) Apart from an adapter for the power supply what other problems might I have in the UK with a US MBP?

2) It seems some users here even prefer the US keyboard, mostly for the different return key, but what else is different? I want to do a lot of programming on it and it seems both keyboards have the " and @ reversed from a PC so no advantage either way there. I have to work on a PC so is @ " reversed keyboard going to drive me mad?

3) Any idea how much a UK keyboard is to buy, and how easy it is to change?

4) Any problem (apart from plugs again) using a US AirPort Extreme in the UK?

I'm asking a lot, but any insights are much appreciated.

[chucker]

1) Apart from an adapter for the power supply what other problems might I have in the UK with a US MBP?

None. All you need is a different power plug. The AC adapter adjusts voltage automatically.

3) Any idea how much a UK keyboard is to buy, and how easy it is to change?

As a programmer, you want to use a US keyboard anyway, as most IDEs and text editors are simply tailored for that.

That said, I can't answer your question.

4) Any problem (apart from plugs again) using a US AirPort Extreme in the UK?

Not that I know of.

[turbulentfurball]

I bought a US MacBook and brought it back to the UK, so I'd consider myself well placed to answer this. :D

Honestly, I wouldn't bother about buying a new keyboard unless you are particularly picky. The only noticeable omission is the £ key, which can be found by using the keyboard shortcut Option+3.

My Mac Mini has a British keyboard and I switch from American to British layout several times a day and don't have any issues at all.

The power supply is a non issue really. The MagSafe power supply works on both voltage systems so you just need a plug converter rather than a transformer.

There are no Airport issues that I've come across.

[The Mighty Boosh]

Thanks for the info chucker and turbulentfurball.
I just had another thought, are there any issues with warranties? I'm guessing if I pay for apple care here they are not going to care where it came from?

[julesstoop]

Well, you might want to know that this (exporting your own goods without paying the appropriate import tax) is actually illegal. Otherwise you shouldn't expect any problems.

[WrestleEwe]

Thanks for the info chucker and turbulentfurball.
I just had another thought, are there any issues with warranties? I'm guessing if I pay for apple care here they are not going to care where it came from?

IIRC Apple offers a worldwide guarantee on laptops. At least it did when I bought my ibook G4 2 years ago.

[fucayama]

Hi,

Another recent US MBP importer, Have to say I had no problems with mine.

Only problem was (can you keep a secret?) my girlfriend still doesn't know I upgraded from my 2.33GHz-UK spec to a new US 2.4GHz (for boot camp gaming mostly).

So I was kind of forced to change the keyboard to avoid being rumbled, also wanted a £ sign and I use "cmd-`" a lot to switch between browser windows and it's a bit awkward on the US layout. I did see companies selling replacements for between £88-£110 but that started to eat into the economy of the US model so found one on ebay for £35. bit of a mistake as some keys were scratched and the caps-lock key did not illuminate :grumble:

However recently an ad popped up on gumtree from a girl who wanted to swap the other way round so she has my US keyboard now.

Actual changeover was daunting at first but reasonably straightforward and took under an hour (torx T6 screwdriver required) found a couple of guides on the net for disassembly.

As mentioned any regular plug cable will work with the apple power supply but if you really must maintain the sleek apple whiteness you can usually see 1 or 2 on ebay for less than a tenner, again I invested to keep up the illusion.

[The Mighty Boosh]

Thanks for that fucayama. I can see I might well do that (advertise a swap).
I also just found this link http://www.powerbookmedic.com/MacBook-Pro-Keys---Individual-Key-Keycap-p-16753.html where they sell individual keys (US site though, so I don't know how much luck I'd have getting a key with the £ sign. But if they can get them there must be somewhere in the UK that does them).
But that begs the obvious question, does anyone know how easy it is to swap individual keys?
It seems that a US style enter key and a 3 with a £ sign might be the best of both worlds?

[The Mighty Boosh]

Thanks for the info fucayama (especially with the potential danger involved ;) ).
Another though occurred to me when I found this (http://www.powerbookmedic.com/MacBook-Pro-Keys---Individual-Key-Keycap-p-16753.html) US site selling individual MBP keys.
If they can get them then I must be able to get just the 3 with a £ sign from somewhere, then I could have the nicer enter key from the US as well. Best of both worlds!

Anyone know how tricky it is to change individual keys on a MBP keyboard?

[PB PM]

So other than voiding your warranty, it went fine? :p

[fucayama]

So other than voiding your warranty, it went fine? :p

heh heh, yeah but at least I enjoyed myself......

-keeps fingers crossed for next 11 months :\