In something of a surprise move, Apple has launched its annual Back to School promotion for education customers in a number of its international online stores alongside the U.S. and Canadian promotion. Apple has typically offered the promotion outside of the United States and Canada later in the calendar year.

The promotion is available to education customers purchasing a Mac and an iPod on the same receipt through September 8th. In many cases, Apple's offer appears to be better than in previous years. For example, this year's UK promotion is offering rebates of up to 145, while last year's promo topped out at 95.

The full list of country-specific stores now advertising the promotion includes: Austria, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and United States.

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