Retail Stores

'Occupy' activists use iPhone line as podium for protest

NEW YORK -- A group of about 12 people who say they're part of the Occupy Wall Street movement joined the iPhone 5 line in front of Apple's flagship Manhattan store on 5th Avenue, members of the group told CNET.

Shiloh Coral, 22, and Thomas Volanos, 21, said they joined the ranks of Apple fans this evening to protest the company's labor practices in China, as well as what they see as the commercialization and waste that the company and its gadgets represent.

An Apple spokesman was not immediately available for comment. We will update as soon … Read more

iPhone 5 line sitters: Give us $40-$150 a day

Apple isn't the only one cashing in on the iPhone 5.

Not only are marketers trying to piggyback on the media interest that the iPhone 5 is generating but some people are advertising their services as surrogate line sitters as well.

They offer to pinch-hit for people who really want the phone but who really don't want to wait in line.

The iPhone appears to be once again the hot item to own. On Friday at 8 a.m., Apple Stores are scheduled to begin offering the iPhone 5 to the public all across the country. Some are … Read more

Line already forming in New York for iPhone 5

NEW YORK--The iHaters must be pulling their hair out.

Demand for the iPhone 5 appears to be white hot, so much so that lines are already forming outside Apple stores. In the very early hours this morning, people hoping to buy the handset were swaddled in sleeping bags and heavy coats and camping out in front of Apple's 5th Avenue store.

They began gathering in front of the location, also known as the Cube, on Friday, a full week before the devices are scheduled to go on sale. If the iPhone 5 follows the same pattern as other popular … Read more

Thief drives straight through Apple Store window

Perhaps he thought the iPhone 5 would already be there.

Who can imagine why someone would risk the sensitive fenders of his BMW to drive straight through the front window of the Apple Store in Temecula, Calif.?

And yet here is footage of a smash, a grab, and a slight thoughtlessness, given that the robbers seemed not to have factored in the security cameras.

Footage that was release to YouTube shows action that seems as incontrovertible as it is rather tragic.

I am grateful to the BBC for grabbing this footage and smashing it into my eyes.

Some will be … Read more

Apple sizes up Genius Bar at expanding N.J. locale

Apple could be overhauling at least one of its retail stores to add more space for the Genius Bar and the customers themselves.

The company's Garden State Plaza store in Paramus, N.J., is reportedly the target of the renovations, according to Apple blog site ifoAppleStore. The store itself is moving to a larger space in the shopping mall that will triple its square footage.

Sources told ifoAppleStore that the Paramus store originally occupied a space 30 feet wide but has since outgrown that and has run into problems of overcrowding. The new location will open up room for … Read more

Apple retail chief offers a pep talk to his troops

Apple retail head John Browett offered reassurance to store employees Sunday night following recent concerns within the ranks about store cutbacks, including reduced work hours and layoffs.

"You will see a number of improvements which are coming through which are going to make it better for the customer, easier for you to do your jobs and that's what my job is all about," Browett said, according to an audio recording of his address during Apple's quarterly meeting for every Apple Store. The audio was obtained by 9to5 Mac.

Browett, who became Apple's senior vp of retail five months ago, … Read more

How iPhone 5 sales will help City Hall

Two weeks from today, the Apple store in Denver's Cherry Creek shopping center is likely to collect enough sales tax in just a few hours to pay the entire year's salary of one of Denver's city employees.

This assertion assumes, of course, that the iPhone 5 will go on sale across Europe and the United States on September 21 and that it will sell like... well, like an iPhone (the device sells much better than hotcakes these days).

I was curious just how much of a single-day boost all those huge lines at Apple stores on iPhone release day give to local government coffers, so I made some calls yesterday morning.… Read more

Apple salespeople go online in four countries outside the U.S.

Apple salespeople are now going online in a handful of countries around the world.

The iPhone maker today launched an online service that will allow would-be customers looking to buy an iPhone or iPad to chat or hold a call with an Apple Store specialist discussing the ins and outs of those devices. If the person decides to make a purchase, the specialist will set up the product, just as they would in-store.

According to Pocket-lint, which was first to report on the launch, the service is only available to customers in the U.K., Brazil, Germany, and Spain. Customers … Read more

Parts of Apple's Genius training manual leaked

One of the key parts of Apple's retail success has been its Genius Bar, its in-house support service that lets Apple product owners bring in their gear to get looked at.

As it's been explained by former executives, the idea for the bar initially befuddled users, though over the years it's become a defining feature, and an increasingly important one as the company's gadgets have moved away from user-replaceable parts.

But just what kind of training is involved to make it behind that bar? Tech chops for sure, but as an internal training document shows, quite … Read more