I will want internet when we settle in our condo in February. What do u recommend: Buy a laptop in Cancun or Canada? Thx, Don
I'd buy one in Canada. I suspect the prices are better there. Alos, here it is very difficult to buy a laptop with a non Spanish Keyboard and all come with Spanish operating systems so you'd have to reinstall an OS if you wanted it in English. Plus the specs are about 12 months behind.
Definitely Canada! Cheaper but more advanced models and as Steve said, English operating systems and keyboards.
The Spanish versions of M$ XP that I've seen are only partially translated. When you go to do something complex you have about 3 or 4 dialog boxes in a row in Spanish and then when you get deeper in you'll find the dialog boxes change to English. I truly admire Mexican computer nerds b/c they are forced to be bilingual to be any good at all. I know XP well enough to probably be able to use it in any language (I've been using Windows since version 2 and used to own a computer store), but I find it totally annoying to have the O/S language switching mid-task. Therefore I would always try to get an English O/S. Plus computer hardware here is not the latest technology and the prices are 20-40% higher here than in the States (don't know about Canada though).
I'll just throw in that Dell in Mexico http://www1.la.dell.com/content/default.aspx?c=mx&l=es&s=gen offers the choice of English or Spanish keyboards and operating systems on all of their notebooks and laptops. The machines are the same as US spec models, but the model numbers may vary. You'll need to do side-by-side comparisons. Prices are close on similar models. A Dell purchased in Mexico will be warranteed and serviced in Mexico. You may want to investigate how easily you can obtain service here in Mexico. I only own ThinkPads. IBM/Lenovo in Jalisco has been great about doing waranty service on US purchased machines. You'll be able to obtain HP/Compaq service locally, but you should investigate whether the local providers will honor a Canadian warranty. I do not know of an Apple, Dell or Sony service center here, so warranty service will consist of shipping your machine to the service center. You should also investigate whether the Mexican service center will honor a Canadian warranty. Good luck.
I just bought a new Toshiba Tecra-A8 SP4012. Have had a Dell for 2 years and always had a Toshiba before that. Would never buy a Dell laptop again--too many minor details wear out. I would also never buy another one from outside Mexico since servicing is a problem. But that's just me.
When I owned my computer store years ago (mid 90's) we sold a TON of Toshiba laptops and I cannot remember having more than a handful of problems with them (the ones we had were always heat-related I think). We also sold a lot of Texas Instruments laptops, and they were great too (they were more bang for the buck), but TI is gone now I think. That said, I own a Toshiba laptop now which is slow, the case cracked from normal wear and the screen is now dying a slow, tortured death. And my warranty is only valid in Colorado so now I have to fly to Denver to get the thing fixed and that stinks! My next laptop will not be a Toshiba and will not be bought with such a location-specific warranty. I've owned 4 Dell laptops (all prior to 2002) and 7 or 8 Dell desktops over the years. I know that Dell's laptops in recent years have not been terribly reliable. But all the ones I had were excellent machines, I never had any problems with any of them. Right now my 12 year old daughter has a 10 year old Dell laptop which runs fine despite the fact that she steps on it, lets her cat sleep on it, sticks her used gum to it, eats potato chips over it, and generally beats it into the ground. And my Dell desktops have all been stable machines with decent quality parts. Although my current Dell desktop case breathes in a way I don't like, as in, it sucks air through the floppy drive, which is asinine, but I never use the d*mn floppy drive anyway and so don't not care that it probably doesn't work due to dust build-up. But the other Dell cases I've had have breathed properly.
You could order one online from Canada or the US and arrange to simply have it shipped to you in Cancun. That way you can order pretty much anything you want. If you chose the exspress shipment option, it is usually UPS, so you won't have to rely on Mexico's mail system. I just bought the SONY VAIO online and was totally happy with all aspects of the service.
Might be customs problems and import duty to pay though. My last laptop was a Sony Vaio, the hard drive died on it in August after two years of fairly heavy use - but still I'd expect it to last longer than that. The one I have now is a Toshiba and it's just OK, despite having double the memory of my old Vaio it locks up quite often with multiple applications open. It also came bundled with far too much crap, most oif which I've tried to delete but probably not fully. I wish they'd just sell you a computer with no software on it at all.
One word: IMPUESTOS! Anything that comes in via UPS, Fedex or DHL will be opened by customs and slapped with a ridiculous duty which you'll have to pay to the driver before he'll give you your goods. There doesn't appear to be any logic in how the amount is calculated. One curious fact is that the identical item shipped by mail will not be opened or taxed. I still haven't figured out why. Of course if an item is shipped by mail, it may never show up at all. I had a 20" LCD monitor disappear into the ether that way. When the vendor re-shipped it via FedEx (65 USD) there was a 465 peso impuesto added on. Also, unlike FedEx or DGL, UPS has no local representation in Cancun. An express shipment gets held in Mexico City. If you track the package on the web you'll see something to the effect of "Item Re-scheduled for Delivery to Remote Area". I bet you didn't know we live in a "remote area". Anyhow, figure 2 or 3 extra days overhead,
