MacBook Pro Retina - Page 5

Yeah, they can flag you. But, if you just have it in your bag like you've always owned it, you usually can get away with it. I don't know how the do things in China though.

Yeah, I mean they can't force you to pay taxes if it's not boxed, but what if it's NIB with the shrink wrap and all? That'd suck to have to pay taxes.

Safest way is to just take it out of box, maybe even create a login and everything. If you had two, then you could technically say one is work one is personal

I think if you just have one you'll be OK, for personal use. If you're found with a suitcase full of new boxed Macbooks or iPads, you might have some explaining to do and probably be breaking rocks for the next 30 years.

Last year I flew from HK to Beijing, the week after the iPad 2 was released in HK (not Mainland). Customs where checking everyone's bags and cases at the airport, presumable looking for smuggled iPads and other contraband.

Funnily enough it's the other way round with cigarettes and liquor, those are very cheap in the Mainland and heavily taxed in HK and Macao.

If I really wanted a new Retina screen Macbook Pro, I could probably get one in Hong Kong for a reasonable price, next time I'm there. But I would probably have to go back to Hong Kong if I had any problems, the Genius' at the Apple Store in Beijing might just tell me to piss off. Most mainlanders can't go to Hong Kong or Macao SARs, or it's not very easy for them.

I'm quite sure Apple in Mainland China are sold as exclusive desirable luxury products, in the same way that LVMH and PPR do, so they inflate the prices accordingly There's only four real Apple Stores and very few Authorized Resellers here. Outside of the Apple Stores in Beijing and Shanghai, there's always dozens of scalpers peddling grey market or smuggled iPhones. Because AFAIK it's the only way to get one without having to commit to an expensive mandatory two year contract.

See my Tumblr about fake Apple Stores here in Xilinhot:
http://welcometomychina.tumblr.com/post/24527673778/fake-apple-stores-in-xilinhot-theres-four-of
AFAICT they're selling grey market or smuggled Apple products, at prices over and above what Apple charges in China.

The thing is other foreign brands of computers and tech products, like Samsung, Sony, Asus, HP or Dell, they're not really any more expensive here than in the EU or USA, unlike Apple. So I don't think it's import tariffs or duties making them so expensive here.

Some clowns even put Apple stickers on the back of their Lenovo laptops, pretending they're Macbooks.

BTW if one mentions certain luxury brands over in MC, the haters really come out.

A friend of mine thought her iPhone was made in the USA. There's probably quite a few people here under the illusion that their Apple products are made in the USA, and NOT China. Like they think their Gucci handbags are made in Italy.

On CDMA iPhones from China Telecom, they just have "Designed by Apple in California." and nothing about being "Assembled in China."
Edited by MikeDT - 6/29/12 at 4:22am

I wouldn't rely on Apple for cloud options though, I suggest using Amazon S3 or Google.

I was using MobileMe Gallery for storing and showing some of my pictures. Apple is pulling the plug on that tomorrow. Tough luck for anyone with an iWeb website, those are all gone tomorrow as well, and no iDisk either.


...I wonder just how long iCloud is going to be around?

And how long of warning did Apple give you to back up your MobileMe content? It's not like they pulled the plug overnight. You had more then enough time to figure out a solution.

I must be the only one unhappy about the loss of the 17" MBP as I have seen no complaining. I have a four year old 17" that is having problems (case is bent so the screen is screwy and goes pink every so often). I want to replace it, but am not sure I will be happy with the 15". One of the main uses is for DVDs and not only is the screen smaller, but no built in optical drive. I am not even sure if Netflix will provide good enough resolution to take advantage of the retina display.
I used it for travel, but didn't mind the size since I travel by plane, train or car rather than on foot so I wasn't really lugging it that far myself. The bigger screen was easily worth the extra weight for me.
Apple told me that less than 2% of laptop sales were of the 17", which is why they discontinued it.

My understanding is it didn't sell well enough. If you want to replace it right now, you can always snag a refurbed model of the last generation while they are still in stock. Should serve your needs.

Also, if you must own the current generation, they are still selling regular MBP with DVD drives and non retina screens.

Oh it's all backed up locally. Proves one thing though, I can't rely on the cloud for long term reliable storage, well not Apple's cloud. That's why I'm suspicious about the long term availability of iCloud. Wonder how long that will last before the plug gets pulled and Apple does something else, two or three years?

Actually I've not found real solution. Just about all the other photo and video sharing services are blocked and censored here in China, so my friends here can't look at my photos and videos online. Apple's MobileMe Gallery was about the only one which wasn't blocked and censored, that's why I was using it. If you could suggest one, I'd be very interested.

Well, the issue is, iCloud is a huge success in that everyone HAS to have it to use any iOS 5 device. MobileMe was great, and I was a subscriber to it, but at $99 a year, it was simply too expensive for most people to find utility from it. There are things missing from iCloud that I enjoyed from MobileMe, but that's the difference between a paid system and a free system I guess

You can get an external DVD reader/writer for around $20. Even the ultra slim ones run only about $40 and they're barely slimmer than the regular ones. I picked one up for my MBA from Newegg for around $15 after rebate.

The back cases of iPhones are all different, dependent on country, with different certs. Maybe they didn't need to mention 'made in China' because its a foregone conclusion at this point?

I think that is good advice. Thanks. The real dilemma is that I want to watch movies. The biggest screens we have at home are the 23" Cinema display in my office and the 17" laptop. When we watch movies together with my kids, the laptop is the more fun choice. I think dropping down to 15" will lose a bit. Maybe I will get the 15"RD for my own use and see how long the existing 17" holds out for movies.

Try the 2nd hand market. I guarantee you a ton of professionals are going to be offloading their 17" MBP's to go for the new 15" retina display model.

Yep. That's why I don't mind waiting a bit to replace the 17" later. I do need to get something new, though, as the 17" is a bit wonky and I can't rely on it for travel.