Apple

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.

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.

Photos: iPhone 3G S launch day

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.

iPhone 3G buyers line up on launch day last year.

(Credit: James Martin/CNET)

Despite the intense amount of interest in Apple's third-generation iPhone, this Friday's launch of the device may not bring out the hordes of Apple fans like it has in years past.

The first days that the original iPhone was on sale in June 2007 (and the iPhone 3G last July), lines at Apple and AT&T stores across the country snaked around city blocks, filled with both newbies and Apple's most loyal customers anxious to be the first to get their hands on the much-anticipated smartphones. Some of the most ardent iPhone devotees camped overnight to be first in line. And, as a result, the launches were always accompanied by a media frenzy.

Things could be different this Friday for several reasons: Some current iPhone owners are being forced to wait to upgrade by their carrier; the hardware update isn't as dramatic as it has been in the past; and there's the possibility that the novelty of line-waiting has worn off.

AT&T's policy for current iPhone customers--which it altered slightly Wednesday--could be the biggest deterrent. AT&T customers whose contracts say they are eligible for a phone upgrade between now and September, and who pay at least $99 a month for iPhone service, will be able to buy the iPhone 3G S for the same price as a new AT&T customer: $199 for a 16GB model, or $299 for a 32GB model. But if you don't fall into either of those categories, you could be eligible for "early upgrade pricing" of $399 for a 16GB and $499 for a 32GB. The full price of the phone without signing a two-year contract is $599 and $699, respectively.

Will people camp out for the new iPhone as in years past?

(Credit: James Martin/CNET)

In other words, AT&T is making it prohibitively expensive for many customers who are in the habit of getting a new model iPhone every year. The reason makes sense--the carrier is subsidizing the cost of the new phone for those who sign contracts and doesn't want to do that every year--but it's likely to keep at least some of the most earnest and loyal iPhone customers away this Friday.

The other reason the crowds could be lighter this year is that the 3G S isn't nearly as big of a leap forward for Apple as in years past. (See CNET editor Kent German's full review.) The original iPhone was the single-most anticipated piece of consumer technology probably ever, and the iPhone 3G was a major upgrade in terms of hardware and network connection speed from the original iPhone.

The 3G S is faster and has better battery life, as well as some new features like video recording and voice control, but for many users it might not be as compelling an update. Plus, most of the features lacking in the iPhone and iPhone 3G can be corrected by downloading the new operating system, iPhone OS 3.0.

Another difference this year: Apple allowed customers to preorder the iPhone 3G S online for home delivery. Last year, customers were forced to go to an Apple or AT&T store to activate their phone.

Whether or not they come out in large numbers on Friday, it sounds like the process might be a bit more orderly this year. The iPhone 3G S will be available for purchase at Apple and AT&T stores starting at 7 a.m. on Friday. AT&T customers who preordered the device for in-store pickup can get their phones starting at 7 a.m. AT&T customers who didn't reserve one will have to wait until 9 a.m. The iPhone will be sold on a first come, first served basis at all Apple stores.

We'll be monitoring the launch in several different time zones on Friday as always, so be sure to come back here early Friday for the full run-down of the day's events.

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.

Apple is among 15 companies that have been slapped with a lawsuit by Actus. The company claims the defendants infringed on four of its patents.

The lawsuit, filed on May 26 in the Eastern District of Texas, Marshall Division, describes a method of using electronic tokens for e-commerce that Actus says the companies infringed on with their own systems. For example, the lawsuit claims that the Apple Store, iTunes, and the App Store all infringe on the Actus patents.

Actus claims four counts of infringement for e-commerce patents that were issued between February 2007 and May 2008.

Companies involved in the lawsuit include Amazon.com, Amdocs, American Express, Apple, Barnes & Noble, Best Buy, Cabela's, Citigroup, eBay, FirstView, Marketing Technology Concepts, NetSpend, OfficeMax, U.S. Bancorp, and ViVOtech.

Actus is seeking a permanent injunction against all of the companies preventing them from using the e-commerce technology, as well as monetary payments for damages.

Apple's clearly onto something with its 24-hour store plopped down in a tourist hot spot.

The New York Post reports that as of sometime last year, Apple was pulling down $440 million a year in sales at its Fifth Avenue Apple Store in New York City. The numbers surfaced in the paper's investigation of empty retail space along Fifth Avenue.

The Fifth Avenue Apple Store in New York City.

(Credit: Marguerite Reardon/CNET)

Even if it is a high-end retail outpost for Macs, iPhones, and iPods, that's an impressive amount of money coming in when seemingly every retailer was clobbered by the arrival of the current recession. By comparison, the SoHo Apple Store rakes in about $100 million per year, according to the Post. And one of Apple's newest locations, in the prime shopping district of the ritzy California coastal town of Santa Barbara, is expected to pull in $20 million annually.

It's interesting insight into the company's flagship location, since Apple does not break out individual stores' take. The company did report in its second-quarter earnings filing that its 252 stores worldwide brought in $1.47 billion collectively for the quarter.

All of this explains why the company has not stopped investing in its retail presence. Apple's senior vice president of retail, Ron Johnson, said last week that 100 of its stores will be remodeled this year to allow for bigger displays and room for customer training courses.

The shopping frenzy at the tourist-clogged Fifth Avenue location isn't like to abate anytime soon, particularly if Apple releases new iPhone hardware next month, as is widely expected.