The desire to own a Mac started sometime back. Just after relocating to Bangalore, I visited the iStore in MG Road to check out the MacBook. That was during the Apple WWDC 09 event and after hearing about the new line of MacBook Pro, I have decided to wait. It was worth waiting! I bought the new MacBook Pro 13” today.

The whole process of purchasing has been very smooth. On Monday, 22^nd morning at 10:30, I casually called the Apple India’s toll free number (1800-425-4646) to inquire about the availability of the new MacBook Pro in India.  Honestly, I didn’t have any hope of getting the MacBook Pro anytime before August. It just got launched in US only a couple of weeks back. The call center guy who spoke to me was quite knowledgeable and courteous.  He spent time explaining me the configuration of MacBook Pro. He didn’t commit any specific time line but did mention that they will be shipped soon. Before the call was concluded he took my contact details and told me that one of the retailers will get in touch with me. At around 11:30AM, almost an hour after I spoke to this gentleman, I got a call from Imagine (run by Ample-India) who is the retailer for Apple. A lady by name Priya spoke to me and told me that if I make the decision soon, they will be able to get me the machine by end of this month. I was quite excited to hear that. I requested her to give an hour to decide on one of the two MacBook Pro configurations. After spending sometime on the Apple website, I could clearly see the differences but I couldn’t decide between the old 13” MacBook and the new MacBook Pro. Both of them have a 13” screen, the same processor and the same memory. At 2PM, I called her back and asked her suggestion on making a call. By 3PM, I received a mail from them with a bunch of attachments that explained the differences between the two and also links to the 3^rd party reviews and comparisons. Meanwhile, I also took the help of my friends on Twitter and Facebook in making the decision. By 5PM, I was absolutely clear that I am going ahead with the MacBook Pro.

On Tuesday, I was working from home when I got a call from Priya again. She mentioned that they got the very first consignment of the new MacBook Pro with just 3 pieces. She wanted to find out if I am ready to pickup one today! I enquired about availing the student discount if I buy the machine on my cousin’s name who is an engineering student. I was all excited to know that I could get the same machine immediately with the student discount. In the evening, I rushed to the Imagine store at UB City located at Vital Mallya road. My item was ready and I also purchased a Mini DisplayPort to VGA adapter for hooking up my MacBook Pro to a projector. I was thrilled to learn that I am one of the very first customers in India to own the new MacBook Pro and obviously the first customer in Bangalore!

I met my good friend Deepak Gulati (He runs the Indian Mac Users community which provides very useful tips to Mac owners) who influenced me in switching to a Mac! We went to Café Coffee Day where Deepak spent some time with me demoing the coolness of Mac OS X!

I am quite delighted with the whole purchase experience and no wonder Apple has such loyal customers worldwide.

I can’t wait to download and install Java SDK, Eclipse, Google AppEngine on the Mac. All my demos for my Eclipse sessions at Eclipse India Summit will be now delivered on my own MacBook Pro!

Janakiram MSV is a Cloud Computing Strategist specializing in industry's leading Cloud Computing offerings. Whether you are a developer, architect or an entrepreneur, he can help you get started on the Cloud Computing strategy. Janakiram comes with 10 years of experience in engaging with businesses on architecting enterprise solutions.

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