Apple's newest retail store is on Broadway and 67th Street in Manhattan.
(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)Apple's latest Manhattan store doesn't officially open until this Saturday, but it had the press in today for a sneak peek. Of course, because the store's made mostly of glass, the general public can get a pretty good idea of what everything looks like inside--except for what's below ground.
Click on any of the images to launch the slideshow.
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The Pyramids at Giza sound like the perfect place for an Apple Store.
(Credit: Crave UK)Apple has opened an Apple Store at the Carrousel du Louvre in Paris, an upscale shopping center beneath the famous Louvre art gallery. We reckon Apple products will look right at home in an art gallery, and we've come up with some suggestions for where Monsieur Jobs should open the next branch of Apple Store.
The new Magasin du Pomme, which opened this weekend, is located beneath the Louvre Museum. It features the usual white decor and split-level glass staircase.
The Paris shop is the first Apple Store in France. A branch in Montpellier was ready sooner, but the opening has been held back until Saturday to let the Paris branch grab the headlines. Microsoft, which is branching into its own dedicated stores, has a cafe on Rue Sebastopol where Parisians can try out, but not buy, Windows 7.
So where next for Apple? Here are our suggestions.
Read more of "Apple Store opens in the Louvre: Where next?" at Crave UK.
The image of a red curtain hides the construction of Apple's latest store.
(Credit: David Carnoy/CNET)While it was confirmed several months ago that Apple would open a fourth Manhattan retail store on the Upper West Side, the company appears to be just days away from taking the wraps off the somewhat secretive project.
Located on the northwest corner of Broadway and 67th Street just up from Lincoln Center and The Juilliard School, the new Apple Store, after over a year of construction, was recently embellished with an Apple logo and the words, "Opening soon." In dramatic fashion, Apple also has an image of a giant red curtain covering the entire front of the structure, which is made of glass and covered in plastic.
Ifoapplestore.com, a site dedicated to Apple's retail endeavors, predicts that the new store will "mimic some of (Apple's) Fifth Avenue glass cube and basement retail space," as well some of the George Street storefront in Sydney, Australia. The site reports that the glass is 54 feet tall, 75 feet wide, and 30 feet deep and that when the plastic film is peeled off, the storefront will "present a blue-green, filtered view into the store, which building permits indicate will be one level above ground, and two below ground." A circular glass staircase will link the street level to the first basement level, while the sub-basement will house back-of-house operations, tipsters said.
While it may not do as much business as the Fifth Avenue location, the new store is perfectly situated in a densely populated area that's filled with legions of Apple fans, so it could do extremely well.
As for a Manhattan Microsoft store, rumor has it the company is looking to possibly set up shop in Times Square.
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Here is a speculative rendering of what Apple's Upper West Side retail store may look like.
(Credit: Ifoapplestore.com)Update 8-21-09: Joachim Bean at TUAW e-mailed us to say that after receiving confirmation of his purchase, a follow-up e-mail canceled his order saying that the iPod he ordered "is no longer in stock." False alarm.
Here's some fun nostalgia for Apple fans. TUAW points out an oddity discovered while perusing the Web recently: the Apple Store is currently selling the original iPod and the first-generation iPod Shuffle online.
The original iPod, circa 2001, for sale now at Apple.com.
They're refurbished, but it's unclear why Apple still has a backlog of the iPod model first introduced eight years ago and the original 4-year-old Shuffle model. But whatever the reason, you can buy one and it ships for free within 24 hours, according to the site.
The original iPod, the kind with a black-and-white screen and the original physical scroll wheel that wasn't touch sensitive, is selling for $129. The site says it's a 5GB version, but Joachim at TUAW notes that he ordered it and was told they'd be shipping him the 10GB version instead. The Shuffle (unbelievably) is selling for $99. For that you can store a whopping 240 songs and wear it with the old-style lanyard around your neck--no built-in clip here.
First iPhone 3G S buyers emerge from New York's Fifth Avenue Apple Store.
(Credit: Caroline McCarthy/CNET)SAN FRANCISCO--What a difference a year makes.
Apple released its third-generation iPhone Friday, but considerably smaller and quieter crowds came out for the smartphone's debut. It was a stark contrast to the frenzied first day sales of the original iPhone and last year's iPhone 3G. Friday's lines outside stores across the country were reportedly 100- to 200-people deep in some places, falling short of the lines that sometimes stretched for blocks in 2007 and 2008.
Also different this year was the activation process for new phones. Both Apple and AT&T's servers appeared to hold up much better this year, with many buyers Friday morning reporting quick, easy transactions. After just an hour, folks lining up outside Apple and AT&T stores in New York City, San Francisco, and Emeryville, Calif. were filing into the stores in an orderly manner, with no brawls breaking out over line-jumping or the headache-inducing activation problems of last year to be found.
The relatively lower turnout in the early morning wasn't really unexpected. Both Apple and AT&T offered a few more options for purchasing the 3G S this year that appeared to reduce the chaos--offering preordering and the ability to reserve iPhones for in-store pickup. Some customers who may have wanted a new phone are not yet eligible for an upgrade from AT&T unless they want to pay a hefty "early upgrade" fee, and for others, the 3G S isn't that much of an improvement over the 3G model released last year.
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The rolling rollout of the iPhone 3G S is under way. Apple's latest iPhone has been going on sale Friday at 7 a.m. local time in each time zone where it's available.
We've got a team of people covering the launch. In the East, CNET News' Caroline McCarthy and Marguerite Reardon are reporting live from Apple and AT&T stores in Manhattan. Out West, Erica Ogg, Josh Lowensohn, and James Martin are keeping tabs on iPhone sales in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Are people lining up the way they have for past iPhone launches? Is the phone everything they expected it to be? Does it really take just 10 to 15 minutes to get set up? Tune in and find out as the day goes along.
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Click the photo for more pics of last year's iPhone launch.
(Credit: James Martin/CNET)Apple Stores will now open an hour earlier than planned on Friday when the iPhone 3G S goes on sale.
Doors will now open at 7 a.m. in all time zones instead of 8 a.m. as the company had previously stated. The move makes sense since AT&T stores are opening at 7 a.m. Friday, though only for customers who pre-ordered an iPhone. AT&T's doors will open to sell the phones at 9 a.m. on a first-come, first-served basis.
As usual, we'll be following iPhone sales in various time zones. Will Apple fans stand in line for the third straight year? We'll find out. In the meantime, click the photo above for a gallery of very committed line standers from the 2008 launch of the iPhone 3G.
Click the photo for more pics of last year's iPhone launch.
(Credit: James Martin/CNET)This post was udpated with information about AT&T store hours at 3:45 p.m. PDT.
Apple offered clarification Wednesday for when exactly the new iPhone 3G S will go on sale.
Though Apple Senior Vice President of Marketing Phil Schiller said during his keynote speech at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference that the phone will first be available in the U.S. and seven other countries on June 19, he didn't offer a specific time. The 3G S will go on sale starting at 8 a.m. (in all time zones) next Friday. We know that many stores will open early that day for the occasion.
AT&T Stores will open even earlier, at 7 a.m., just for those who have pre-ordered an iPhone 3G S from the carrier. Those who haven't will have to wait outside AT&T stores until 8 a.m. with the rest of the public.
As usual, we'll be following iPhone sales in various time zones. Will Apple fans stand in line for the third straight year? We'll find out. In the meantime, click the photo above for a gallery of very committed line standers from the 2008 launch of the iPhone 3G.
(Credit:
CNET)
The Post-it note of happiness is once again gracing the front page of Apple's online store, alerting users that changes are afoot behind the scenes. This happens during most Apple events, and can mean anything from an updated version of box art, to purchase pages for new products.
In just under an hour Apple's Worldwide Developer's Conference (WWDC) kicks off with a keynote from Apple's Phil Schiller, senior vice president of worldwide product marketing. Apple is expected to announce new hardware and software, including an updated version of the iPhone, as well as a price and release date for the next version of the OS X operating system codenamed "Snow Leopard."
You can find our live coverage of the event on this page.
As someone who regularly councils consumers to avoid overpriced after-market repair services for computer hardware, I was intrigued by a report from Glassdoor.com (a Web site where employees anonymously dish about their employers) that compares the purported average salaries for Apple and Best Buy front-line tech-support personnel.
Both the Geek Squad and Genius Bar offer carry-in service for your hardware, although the Genius Bar is more focused on in-warranty service for your Mac stuff, while the Geek Squad sells a variety of upgrades, security, installation, and maintenance services.
The Glassdoor.com data is based on submissions from people who claim to be employed by the respective companies, so it's far from scientific. That being said, the reported average hourly salary for a Genius Bar tech was $18.30, while the reported average hourly salary for a Geek Squad Agent was $11.58.
Anecdotally, the Genius Bar seems to have a better reputation than the Geek Squad, which has been busted stealing data from customers' computers (hence the nickname "Peek Squad"), but I'm sure plenty of people have both good stories and horror stories about both.
Is the Genius Bar attracting better people with better pay? What experiences with one or both services have you had?
