Laptop prices

We are planning a move early next year hopfully to Tauranga and currently don't own a computer. ( The good ol' NHS is suppling the elec and broadband connection on a night shift for this post!!)

Can anyone say if it will be cheaper to buy a computer in the UK or NZ. Neither of us are computer wizards and only want something which we can communicate with the mates back home with, not something all singing and dancing with bells on!!!

Also, if we do buy in the Uk, will we need to make any adaptions to it in NZ (apart from the plug!!).

Cheers

Karen

Our machines just plugged in and away they went. After 3 years here we still run them, including an old Escom 120MHz from about 10 years ago.

If you buy in the UK you will get a UK keyboard which is different from the NZ one. May not be a problem, but if you end up using one type of keyboard at work and the other at home it could be frustrating at times. With a desktop easy and cheap to change keyboards, with a laptop not so much so.

If you buy anything other than a big brand laptop it may be difficult to get parts / servicing in NZ, so best to check before you decide. Dell, HP/Compaq, Toshiba are all down here.

I have an old Accent laptop which I bought from PCWorld in Soton in 2000. I had a bit of a problem with the network connection, and when I took it in to be looked at they said they had never come across one of them before. They managed to sort the problem out, but said that if anything fundamental went it might be difficult to get hold of bits. Desktops are, I think, a bit more generic inside but with laptops you need to be more careful.

For a general comparison of prices have a look at:
www.del.co.nz
and
www.del.co.uk

From memory I don't think the prices are too much different.
I personally quite like having my keys in the set out I've become accustomed to, but then I don't have to use a work keyboard with the NZ set up. So I still have a £ key and my @ is in the 'right' place :P

Thanks for the tips and web addresses. Hadn't even thought about the variation on keyboards, but l suppose if using 2 different types of boards at home and at work became a major issue, l could buy a Kiwi board and plug it into a UK laptop?

Karen

Yeah - keyboards are the same - we had to buy one out here I think its just the @ and " symbols that are in opposite places - no biggie.

I bought a Dell laptop in UK - much cheaper (Dell NZ are a nightmare) - Just don't take a free printer from Dell UK - I have to buy printer supplies from the UK and get them delivered to my Mum's address & then get her to ship them to me as they don't sell printers (nor ink) out here - took me 10 phonecalls to a call centre in India to find that one out! (not frustrating in the slightest!) I'm planning on getting the cartridges re-filled here at a local printer shop now I've located one.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by sarahw

(Dell NZ are a nightmare)

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I've bought Dells in both the UK and NZ, and am happy with the purchases I made in both places. (Happier with the 2.8GHz, 80Gb, 1Gb RAM, 17" flat screen machine I brought here for $1,600 just over a year ago than the 550MHz machine I bought in '01 for as many pounds (but then it's never the right time to buy technology :? ))