Hi there. I will be travelling to Portugal in August and would like to give my relatives there a laptop as a gift, which i will buy here in Canada. As i am somewhat technology/computer challenged, i was wondering what i need to consider before i buy, especially because i know they use a different electrical outlet system then ours. Any advice would be so greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Hi Cat and Welcome to Slow Travel,

Have you considered waiting and purchasing the laptop in Portugal? It would be equipped for the electrical outlet, it would have a Portuguese keyboard and the operating system would be configured correctly for the Portuguese language and locale(date format and currency format).

Also, officially you would have to declare the gift with Customs when you enter the country and there would be duty on the gift.

Marta

buying there is ok the have excellent dept stores like the french chain FNAC and the Spanish El Corte Inglés.
the keyboard will be completely diff if you bring it in, operation system too. But the electrical is no problem, we use it alternatively with the local french computer so my kids learn both keyboards. just make sure the computer has a swithable electrical current built in as 230 50 V which most do if not all.

I'm with Marta. Wait and buy in Portugal. For so many reasons, not the least of which would be the nightmare your relatives would have trying to take advantage of their warranty, should the need arise.