ReelSmart.com » Retail

Apple Opening Largest Store in London

Stephen Antonucci — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 18:13:07 +0000

The biggest Apple Store in the world will open this Saturday at 10 AM in Covent Garden, London. Watch the video for a quick virtual tour of Apple’s largest store in the heart of London that includes a long Genius Bar and new Pro Labs education areas. On a recent visit to London I found the Apple Store on Regent Street to be one of the best places for access to free WiFi. [via the Electric Pig]

Apple Opens Mobile Store

Stephen Antonucci — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 14:56:19 +0000

Apple just increased their store presence by 100 million plus. They have launched Apple Store a free app that can run on all the iOS devices like iPods and iPhones. This app allows users to get information and purchase Apple products complete with user reviews as well as make appointments for the Genius Bar, Personal Shopping and One-on-One training at your local Apple Store.

iPhone 3G Launch at Best Buy on Sunday

Stephen Antonucci — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 15:02:39 +0000

With no sign of iPhone 3G sales slowing they will be going on sale at Best Buy this Sunday September 7th. Sales numbers on the iPhone 3G have caused even Nokia to scale back its forecast to stockholders. iPhone 3G is now outselling the Blackberry Curve at AT&T. This is despite some iPhone glitches with 3G, dropped calls and crashing apps.

Burglars Caught Heisting Apple Store at Tices Corner

Stephen Antonucci — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 00:01:32 +0000

Four burglars used sledgehammers, saws and pry bars to break through an adjacent wall from an empty store that used to be Bombay Furniture (out of business) into the Apple Store located at Tice's Corner in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey. This is the Apple Store I visit most often. The break-in set off alarms around 3 AM in the morning with police responding catching three out of four of the burglars. They are now in custody at the Bergen County Jail. The fourth man is still being sought. "This was obviously not a smash and grab," said Police Chief Anthony Jannicelli. "It was coordinated." he added that Apple merchandise was found packed in duffle bags and "ready to go." This is similar to a previous burglary at the Paramus New Jersey Jewelers Exchange in which US$800,000 worth of diamonds and other jewelry were stolen. No arrests were made in that burglary, and Chief Jannicelli declined to say whether he thought there was a link.

Apple Store Sydney in Glorious 3D Virtual Panorama

Stephen Antonucci — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 15:15:38 +0000

Want to get the first look at the Apple Store Sydney? See it here on APCMag.

Get A Free iPod touch with Apple’s School Deal

Stephen Antonucci — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 12:39:59 +0000

Apple started a back-to-school promo offering a free iPod touch to faculty and students buying a Mac through either the online Apple Store or retail stores. The promo offers a $299 rebate equivalent to the price of an 8GB iPod touch if both the iPod and the Mac are on the same order. Upgrading to a 16GB or 32GB iPod touch allows buyers to apply the full $299 discount. Those who prefer the iPod nano can opt for an 8GB model at a reduced $199 rebate. The promo runs to October 15th.

Apple Shareholder Meeting 2008

Stephen Antonucci — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 18:52:28 +0000

ComputerWorld's Seth Weintraub has compiled some notes from today's Apple shareholder meeting that are quite interesting. On the iPhone:

It won't have Flash for the forseeable future (as I reported earlier)
There will be lots of applications this summer based on the SDK
The SDK will bring gaming to the iPhone/iPod touch
When asked if there be an iPhone blogging application? Jobs said "build one using the SDK"
They still plan to sell 10 million in 2008.
Apple plans to offer the iPhone in both China and India ... but declined to say when
Unlocked iPhones are a good thing - it shows demand
There was opportunity in business for the iPhone

Regarding the company:

At the meeting, investors passed a shareholder proposal urging the company to allow investors to have an advisory vote each year on executive compensation

Apple has no plans to buy back stock

Tim Cook, Apple COO - reiterated that they passed Dell to become number one in Higher Education laptop sales.

Investors voted down another shareholder proposal for Apple to deepen its commitment to limiting its environmental impact by creating a special board committee on sustainability.

Corporate responsibility - Apple delivered a code of conduct to all of its first tier vendors that it enforces vigorously. Apple has dropped relationships due to vendors not adhering to these. It plans to expand this to lower tier vendors

A successor to Steve Jobs? After joking that he hoped there wouldn't be a party if he was hit by a bus, Jobs said the board has put a lot of thought into the issue. His job is to make sure that anyone on the company's executive team could potentially succeed him, he said. 'We've got really good leadership at the company," Jobs said. If Steve were to leave in the near term, COO Tim cook seems like the obvious successor. Gaming:

Reiterated Windows games released by EA for the Mac using Transgaming's Cider
Apple gives game developers much needed support - World of Warcraft for instance
iPhone/iPod Touch games with SDK would be out soon
Has no plans to take on Microsoft, Sony or Nintendo in gaming

Apple Retail:

Apple now has 15,000 retail store employees with an 80% retention year over year. Jobs noted that employees don't just have retail jobs, but have career paths as Creatives and Geniuses.

AppleTV:

Apple has missed the 1000 rental movies by March 1st as promised by Jobs. This was blamed the licensing complexities at the studios. Apple said they will get there.

To read more go over to ComputerWorld's Seth Weintraub post.

Sharper Image Files for Bankruptcy

Stephen Antonucci — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 18:01:30 +0000

Sharper Image files Chapter 11 bankruptcy citing slow sales and litigation over its Ionic Breeze air purifiers. The company tried to sue Consumer Reports for libel in 2003 over a story that claimed its purifiers did not, in fact, purify air and released unhealthy levels of ozone. The suit failed, leaving the company almost penniless.

Wal-Mart to Drop HD-DVD

Stephen Antonucci — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 20:21:01 +0000

This just in, more bad news for Toshiba. Wal-Mart plans to drop HD-DVD by June and will only be carrying BluRay movies and hardware machines, and of course standard def movies, DVD players, and up convert players. With the loss of America's largest retailer to add to Best Buy, Netflix and Blockbuster all now in the Blu-ray camp how long will Toshiba hang on? I bet not too much longer.

Upgrading iPhone Does Not Extend Contract

Stephen Antonucci — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 15:07:56 +0000

According to several users that bought a new 16GB iPhone using it as an upgrade to an existing plan, have reported it did not extend their original two-year contract. Activation requires the user to acknowledge the contract, but the effective start date remains when the plan was initially introduced. I have spoken to people that purchased 8GB iPhones a few days after MacWorld and were able to return the unit to the Apple Store for the new 16GB model without restocking charges. If you are in this situation, check with your local Apple Store.

Not Humor: We Remove Vista – The Latest Windows Malware

Stephen Antonucci — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 14:53:00 +0000

Seems the local computer store does not only remove worms, viruses, spyware and trojans from Windows users machines. The A&D Computer Store in Milford, N.H, across the street from the town square has displayed this sign. Shop manager Aaron Kaplan said they were prompted to put it up because so many people were having problems with Windows Vista, including compatibility issues with older software and trouble adjusting to the interface. "A lot of people didn't like using Vista, and a lot of the manufacturers forced people to go up to Vista," he said. What was the demand for the service? "We had a lot of people coming in and asking about it," Kaplan said. "Of all the signs we put up there the last two years, at least, we probably got the most response out of that one. A lot of people coming in." Kaplan said they've since replaced it with a different message, but they're thinking about putting the Vista removal message back up

Dell is Abandoning US Stores & Kiosks

Stephen Antonucci — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 18:36:14 +0000

Dell has announced that it will close all 140 of its U.S. kiosks in a matter of days that were launched back in 2002 as a way for customers to see products firsthand before ordering online or by phone. Dell will focus its retail efforts with deals with Best Buy, Wal-Mart and Staples. Although, the company is not closing its kiosks outside the US.

Apple’s New NYC Store to Open December 7

Stephen Antonucci — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 00:18:36 +0000

Apple's third retail store in Manhattan appears set to open on December 7, just in time for the shopping season. The new store is located on West 14th Street and Ninth Avenue, a two-story corner space in the city’s Meatpacking District. The new store is said to feature a large glass circular staircase. Although, Apple will neither confirm or deny this.

Apple’s Black Friday One Day Sale

Stephen Antonucci — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 15:01:41 +0000

Apple is having a one day sale online and in all their retail stores bringing some nice savings:

MacBooks: Up to $101 off
iMacs: Up to $101 off
iPod Shuffle: $68 ($11 off)
iPod nano: from $138 ($11 off)
iPod classic: from $228 ($31 off)
Airport Extreme: $158 ($21 off)
Airport Express: $88 ($11 off)
Wireless Mighty Mouse: $58 ($11 off)
Apple Bluetooth Headset: $108 ($21 off)
iLife and iWork: $68 each ($11 off)
Microsoft Office (all versions): $100 off, combined with the Technology Promise, could bring you Office 2008 Special Media Edition for only $49.95 + $6.99 shipping for the upgrade next year. Great deal.

See more deals on the Apple website o loads of stuff. Also want to check out dealmac.com and Elgato. Shop till you drop!

Leopard World Premiere Starts Tomorrow at 6PM

Stephen Antonucci — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 17:42:36 +0000

Apple Retail Stores will be closed from 4:00 - 6:00 p.m. to get ready for the Leopard launch. Please note Apple's Genius Bars will be closed during the Leopard World Premiere, but Geniuses will still be available to assist you. The Leopard World Premiere runs 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. with the first 500 guests receiving a special edition Leopard T-shirt. If you do not want to stand in line and would like to receive a discount consider buying OS 10.5 Leopard from Amazon at $109 (with free shipping) from this link and support ReelSmart at the same time. Special offer: Buy Parallels 3.0 when you pre-order Apple Mac OS X Version 10.5 Leopard or Apple Mac OS X Version 10.5 Leopard Family Pack at Amazon.com through 10/31/07 and receive $20 via mail-in rebate.

Apple Announces iPhone Purchase Info

Stephen Antonucci — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 15:19:52 +0000

Apple has an official announcement with their retail sales for the iPhone. Here it is:

• All 164 Apple retail stores will close at 2 PM and reopen at 6 PM until midnight on the 29th. • 2 iPhone's per person MAX. • First come, first serve basis. • Free iPhone training workshops will begin Saturday morning at all Apple retail stores. • Apple's online store will also begin taking orders at 6 PM PDT on the 29th. Free shipping.

So you don't get disappointed, Apple is providing an online tool to check for iPhone availability at your local Apple store. I would also remind you that activation is done at your leisure using iTunes, see here. No need to hang around the store to wait to activate your new cool phone!

Apple Stores to close at 2PM on Fri. for iPhone

Stephen Antonucci — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 16:59:26 +0000

Apple retail stores will be closed on June 29 from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. to get ready for the premiere of iPhone. We’ll open the doors again at 6:00 p.m., when you can be one of the first to see, try, and buy the iPhone. Be sure to arrive early — iPhone is available on a first-come, first-served basis. This even goes for Apple’s Fifth Avenue store in New York City, which is otherwise open 24 hours a day. That location already has people camping out in anticipation of buying an iPhone when it’s available.

Apple Planning Third Store in NYC

Stephen Antonucci — Thu, 26 Apr 2007 14:06:17 +0000

Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer announced at yesterday's conference call, that a third Big Apple store is being planned. It has been suggested that a building at 401 West 14th Street might be the third Apple store location in NYC. At 52,000 square-feet, it could be a large store.

Best Buy Will Sell Macs in 200 U.S. Stores

Stephen Antonucci — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 18:46:02 +0000

Best Buy, the nation's largest consumer electronics retailer, is expanding a pilot program that began in late May of last year, bringing Apple computers to 200 of its stores by this fall. Best Buy began with a select number of stores selling Mac systems, which grew to 50 stores across the U.S. in mid-October. The most recent pilot expansion reveals the success of its predecessors, increasing the exposure of Mac computers at Best Buy locations by three-fold. Circuit City also said it would begin selling Macs in a small number of its stores in the Eastern U.S. in early September to test the waters of Mac sales in its retail outlets.

Speakeasy A Best Buy?

Stephen Antonucci — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 18:32:37 +0000

Speakeasy, one of the largest and most popular DSL/VoIP providers in the United States has been acquired by Best Buy, according to the two companies. The purchase price was reported as $97 million, which the companies put at 20% greater than Speakeasy's 2006 revenues. Best Buy bought Speakeasy for its business operations. The plan apparently is to promote Speakeasy Small Business DSL through the company’s lesser-known Best Buy for Business program (BBFB). This deal will not happen until the first quarter of 2008. Best Buy plans to run Speakeasy as an independent subsidiary of the retail chain. It's unlikely, that Speakeasy customers will see any significant changes, at least in the short term.

Best Buy Makes Apple TV Deal

Stephen Antonucci — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 16:48:58 +0000

Best Buy has managed to swing an exclusive deal with Apple. They are the only retailer to be offering the Apple TV for the next two weeks, outside of Apple's own retail stores. So if do not have a Apple Store near you, head over to a Best Buy.

CompUSA Closing 126 Stores

Stephen Antonucci — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 22:52:37 +0000

CompUSA is closing more than 50 percent of its stores over the next few months as part of a comprehensive restructuring strategy. Looks like New Jersey will be hit pretty hard with only the Mount Laurel store surviving. Several stores in New York are closing also. The remaining CompUSA stores can be seen here.