Stunning – and apparently the biggest Apple Store in the world. It opens this Saturday at 10am, so I guess there is probably already a queue forming… (via Electric Pig)

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Related posts:Upper West Side Apple Store opens Upper West Side Apple Store, originally uploaded by mattbuchanan. WOW.... So, the iPhone is coming to Orange… Yesterday I was a guest on William Wright’s tech slot... Will we be publishing our own digital magazines on the Apple Tablet? So, tomorrow’s big Apple event is looming, and I’ve suddenly...

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With all the recent talk about the iSlate, iPad, iSlab, whatever... doesn't it seem like the obvious candidate for the name of Apple's rumored tablet computer is being completely overlooked? Like Apple's first phone that later came to be called the iPhone, isn't the most obvious name for an Apple tablet the iTablet? To support the theory we decided to share the above image that we received from a trusted source and believe to be authentic. It's a picture taken of an Apple Store employee's corporate email after receiving information about the time and place of Wednesday's Apple event. While the content of the email wasn't very enlightening, note the word used in the filename of the second attachment: "itablet." Now this doesn't prove a thing. The administrative assistant who sent the mass email could have been using "itablet' much in the same way that we've been using the term for years as a generic placeholder for the rumored device. Then again, maybe we should heed the wisdom of Occam's Razor when speculating about Apple's naming preference for a 10-inch tablet computer?

P.S. Amtek currently holds the US trademark (and itablet.com domain) for "iTablet" and continues to sell products under that name as it has for years. Not that a silly thing like trademark ownership could stop Apple from announcing its iPhone at a time when Cisco owned the rights.Apple iTablet: the obvious name? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 Jan 2010 04:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Retail, AppleThe San Jose Mercury News is reporting that Apple may be moving its store in downtown Palo Alto, CA to a new, larger space that would be "a new prototype for the company." Planning documents quoted by the newspaper describe a store that has a completely transparent facade at street level and huge interior skylights. There will be so much daylight in the stores that trees can be grown inside the building.

The store is planned for 340 University Avenue, where a Z Gallerie furniture store was formerly located (see photo at right). The architectural review board for Palo Alto voted 3 - 0 in favor of allowing the project to move forward.

According to the article, the architectural firm involved in the new store is Bohlin Cywinski Jackson. This firm designed the Apple flagship store on Fifth Avenue in New York City, which is a huge glass cube above ground level with the store located beneath the cube. Apple has declined to comment about the proposal, and the applicant for architectural approval was not specifically named, but the architectural review board chair, Alexander Lew, says that "a lot of people have kind of guessed" that the tenant is Apple.

The developers sent the city a note stating that "The proposed store is a new prototype for the applicant. Fully half the function of the store serves to provide education and service to business as well as customer patrons in addition to product sales. The store is a commons for the applicant's community to gather."

The memo continues to say that the glass storefront "dissolves the boundary that traditional store facades create. By not breaking the horizontal ground plane of the sidewalk with opaque wall or landscape element, for example, the street is made part of the store's interior; the pedestrian is in the store before entering it."TUAWApple prepping new prototype retail store in Palo Alto, California? originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 08 Jan 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Mercury News found that Apple's going to kill its downtown Palo Alto store and build a crazy one one block over. Essentially, it's the California equivalent of a transparent NY cube, which means it has trees inside. The architectural firm responsible for the skylights that will feed the trees inside is the same one that built that transparent cube in New York, and plans to make the store 10,700 square feet and basically make the thing sort of inside out. The point? To "[minimize] the transition from outside to inside and [draw] customers in." [Mercury News via Macrumors]

Filed under: RetailFukubukuro, or "Mystery Bag," is a Japanese New Year's Day tradition during which merchants sell sealed bags of various items at a substantial discount, often as high as 50%. Shoppers may get some great deals on the contents of these bags - even if they don't know what exactly they're buying. Japanese Apple Stores have participated since 2005. Once again, this year, they're offering mystery bags to Japanese Apple Store customers.

Stores will begin selling a limited number of Lucky Bags for the equivalent of $380US on January 2nd. But the fun doesn't end there. Each store will offer workshops on photography, video-making and presentations to kids aged eight to 12-years-old. Adults can share in the fun too, as a contest will be held to find the best New Year's greeting card created on a Mac. All contest participants will receive a small gift.

If you attend, let us know. Last year, a reader received an 8 GB iPod touch, a Nike iPod sensor and armband, a Logitech Pure-Fi Anywhere2 speaker set, a cool, re-useable bag (above), a commemorative T-shirt and a 2009 calendar for the approximate equivalent of $384US. Shoppers began to line up at midnight the day before in 2009, so hop to it. Those lines aren't going to get any shorter.

Update: The lineup has begun!

[Via ifoAppleStore]TUAWJapan's Apple Stores continue Lucky Bag tradition originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 01 Jan 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

If you’re looking for that last minute gift, an Apple Store is a fine destination. But if, like my hirsute Uncle Bob, your wrapping skills max out at wadding a clump of disintegrating newspaper around your gift and entombing it in an impenetrable, inch-thick layer of duct tape upon which you’ve written your season’s greeting [...]

Filed under: Apple Corporate, RetailAt a media preview event yesterday designed to create buzz for Apple's newest store opening in Manhattan, Ron Johnston, Apple's senior vice president of retail announced that Apple would be opening 40-50 more Apple retail stores in the coming year.

One focus will be on opening larger stores overall. While this is great news for anybody who has been frustrated by the zoo that is any Apple store on any given day recently (careful what you wish for when you wish for your platform of choice to finally get the market share it needs to ensure continued development), the bulk of these stores will be overseas in cities like Paris, London, and Shanghai.

So if you live in Paris, London, or Shanghai, congratulations! You, too, will have a store you can try to shop in when all you want is a new set of earphones for your iPhone and you can't get anywhere near the display.TUAWApple to open 40 to 50 new Apple Stores next year originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 13 Nov 2009 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments

Upper West Side Apple Store, originally uploaded by mattbuchanan. WOW. Apple’s newest Manhattan store looks amazing. A temple to the brand and the products. From the Gizmodo post here: I call it a temple because the architecture conveys a nearly religious aesthetic, a place to worship Apple, beyond any other Apple store you’ve ever been to. The top floor’s a vast open space, enclosed by spartan stone walls which support a massive glass ceiling. The rows of tables in the main room feel like pews. I can’t tell you—and the pictures can’t show you—how utterly open and expansive the room feels. Apple says it has more demo units than any other store in the world. To give you an idea of the space, the walls are 45 feet tall, and could fit 11 Apple 5th Avenue Cubes inside. It’s the spareness that’s breathtaking. It’s cold. Not literally, but the stone walls, the glass, the sheer space rob it of any sense of warmth or feeling. The only sense of life in room is the products. It’s a temple to them, really. The beating heart, where things actually happen is tucked underground. The Genius Bar and personal training space is the biggest ever in an Apple store, able to handle up to 100 customers at once at 45 feet long. It’s pretty much like any other Apple store down there, just bigger. Want to accelerate your marketing and get better results?, Free Online Marketing Course

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Upper West Side Apple Store, originally uploaded by mattbuchanan. WOW. Apple’s newest Manhattan store looks amazing. A temple to the brand and the products. From the Gizmodo post here: I call it a temple because the architecture conveys a nearly religious aesthetic, a place to worship Apple, beyond any other Apple store you’ve ever been to. The top floor’s a vast open space, enclosed by spartan stone walls which support a massive glass ceiling. The rows of tables in the main room feel like pews. I can’t tell you—and the pictures can’t show you—how utterly open and expansive the room feels. Apple says it has more demo units than any other store in the world. To give you an idea of the space, the walls are 45 feet tall, and could fit 11 Apple 5th Avenue Cubes inside. It’s the spareness that’s breathtaking. It’s cold. Not literally, but the stone walls, the glass, the sheer space rob it of any sense of warmth or feeling. The only sense of life in room is the products. It’s a temple to them, really. The beating heart, where things actually happen is tucked underground. The Genius Bar and personal training space is the biggest ever in an Apple store, able to handle up to 100 customers at once at 45 feet long. It’s pretty much like any other Apple store down there, just bigger. Want to accelerate your marketing and get better results?, Free Online Marketing Course

Related posts:Apple Store Opening in Munich Now that is a BIG crowd!! Thanks to Richard...Green Apple Interesting to see Apple touting their “green” creds. Just...Letter from Apple CEO Steve Jobs January 5, 2009 Letter from Apple CEO Steve Jobs... Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

While every Apple Store is in some sense a place of reverence, the new Upper West Side store unabashedly evokes that feeling, more than any other. It used to be a Victoria's Secret. Update: For everybody asking for full-sized pics, you can grab 'em here, off my Flickr page. I call it a temple because the architecture conveys a nearly religious aesthetic, a place to worship Apple, beyond any other Apple store you've ever been to. The top floor's a vast open space, enclosed by spartan stone walls which support a massive glass ceiling. The rows of tables in the main room feel like pews. I can't tell you—and the pictures can't show you—how utterly open and expansive the room feels. Apple says it has more demo units than any other store in the world. To give you an idea of the space, the walls are 45 feet tall, and could fit 11 Apple 5th Avenue Cubes inside. It's the spareness that's breathtaking. It's cold. Not literally, but the stone walls, the glass, the sheer space rob it of any sense of warmth or feeling. The only sense of life in room is the products. It's a temple to them, really. The beating heart, where things actually happen is tucked underground. The Genius Bar and personal training space is the biggest ever in an Apple store, able to handle up to 100 customers at once at 45 feet long. It's pretty much like any other Apple store down there, just bigger. It's impressive. The store, at 67th and Broadway, opens Saturday. And they're giving away 2500 commemorative shirts if you're that kind of crazy. Apple Store Upper West Side Opening on Saturday, November 14 NEW YORK-November 12, 2009-Apple® will open its newest retail store on New York's Upper West Side on Saturday, November 14 at 10:00 a.m. Set beneath a breathtaking all-glass arched roof, the street level of the Apple Store® Upper West Side offers more Macs, iPods and iPhones than any store in the world for an incredible hands-on experience. The lower level features the largest area ever created by Apple for personal training and technical support, including a 45-foot Genius Bar. Located on Broadway at 67th Street, the Apple Store Upper West Side is just minutes from Lincoln Center and Central Park. "We opened our first store in Manhattan seven years ago, and the response has been incredible," said Ron Johnson, Apple's senior vice president of Retail. "We hope our new store on the Upper West Side will become as much a part of the community as our stores in SoHo, the Meatpacking District and on Fifth Avenue." A highly trained team of more than 200 employees brings the unique Apple retail experience to the Upper West Side, offering the same legendary services that Apple stores provide around the world. At the Genius Bar, customers can get free advice and expert tech support from knowledgeable experts. Customers who buy a Mac® at the Apple Store Upper West Side can join the popular One to One program for personal set-up service and personal training for just $99. Visitors can also get free tips from Specialists who are on-hand to help shoppers find the perfect gift or choose the right Mac, iPod® or iPhone® for themselves. In time for the holiday season, customers can now reserve their favorite Apple product online at http://www.apple.com/retail/reserve and pick it up at their local Apple store between December 15-24. Apple retail stores will also gift wrap any iPod or portable Mac for just $5. The Apple Store Upper West Side is the fourth in Manhattan and Apple's 15th in the New York metro area, joining the hugely successful Apple Stores SoHo, West 14th Street and Fifth Avenue. Nearly 170 million people on four continents have visited Apple retail stores this year. Apple now operates 280 stores in ten countries including the US, UK, Italy, Australia, Canada, Japan, China, Switzerland, Germany and France. The Apple Store Upper West Side is located at 1981 Broadway, on the corner of West 67th Street. The first 2,500 visitors to the store will receive a limited edition, commemorative t-shirt. Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Today, Apple continues to lead the industry in innovation with its award-winning computers, OS X operating system and iLife and professional applications. Apple is also spearheading the digital media revolution with its iPod portable music and video players and iTunes online store, and has entered the mobile phone market with its revolutionary iPhone.

Filed under: Hardware, Retail, iPod touchLast week, we learned that Apple would be revamping some US retail stores, including a new iPod touch-based point-of-sale (POS) system. A new scanner accessory allows Apple to replace the old Windows CE-based sales handhelds.

Gary Allen of ifoAppleStore has given AppleInsider an exclusive look at the thing, and it's pretty cool (that is, if retail hardware is your bag). It's an iPod touch with a magnetic stripe reader, a barcode scanner and Apple's proprietary payment-processing software. The iPod rests inside what AppleInsider calls a "slip-on shell" that plugs into the dock connector; it includes its own battery to power the two scanning peripherals.

Apple Store employees will use the devices to accept purchases made with credit cards, debit cards and cash; they can even make returns and activate a new iPhone.

It looks like a clever device. If you see one in the store (or if you use one), tell us what you can.

[Via The Apple Blog]TUAWA look at Apple's iPod touch-based EasyPay system originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 04 Nov 2009 02:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Retail, Apple, Found Footage TUAW fan George sent us a link to some video he shot earlier today at the grand opening of the Apple Store Union Square in Aberdeen, Scotland.

The video is fun; not only is there the usual high-fiving and applause as customers enter the new store, but one of the Apple employees is wearing a kilt and there was a kilted piper entertaining the folks in line.

In other Apple Store news, reader Christophe pointed us to exclusive photos on Macgeneration of the interior of the new Louvre store in Paris, France, which is scheduled to open on November 7th, 2009. That store will be the first Apple Store in France.

Apple's plans to dominate the European computer and consumer electronics market continue to bear watching, as these new Apple Stores are bound to increase international sales to impressive new levels.TUAWMen in kilts: video from the Aberdeen, Scotland Apple Store opening originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 29 Oct 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments

Guys. Cool it. I'm sure the glass roof of the new NYC Apple Store will make giving Apple your money even more transcendent, but you can wait a couple months until it's open. Seriously. [ifoAppleStore via Purns]

Filed under: Retail, iPhoneWhile Apple has taken many steps to make the iPhone easier and more available to purchase, Apple could take more steps to make the process easier and quicker. MacRumors is reporting that Apple is about implement "iPhone Activation Zones" inside Apple Stores. They would included employees, which will be known as "iPhone Experts," who will be identified by unique clothing and name tags, and will be dedicated to activating and setting up iPhones for customers. Also, customers would be able to pre-authorize their purchase online and have their iPhone almost ready for them to purchase in-store. These optimizations could come as early as tomorrow, so keep your eye out for any changes.TUAWApple aims to ease iPhone purchasing at the Apple Store originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 14 Sep 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Retail, Odds and ends, Apple, Flickr FindAhhhh, Milano! The name makes me think about the Milan Cathedral, La Scala, fashion models, and the aggressive drivers in that city. And now, when I think of Milan, I can also fondly think of the new Apple Store Carosello. TUAW reader Filippo sent us a link to his Flickr gallery of the opening earlier today, which appears to have attracted a huge crowd of Apple fans. PhilApple, as he is known on Flickr, also captured the traditional "running of the geeks" in a short video upload. This is the well-known phenomenon in which the first customers are greeted by the applause, cheers, and general silliness of the Apple Store employees and other customers. While I wish Apple had chosen to place the store in the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele in the Piazza Duomo, reputed to be the world's oldest shopping mall, I'm happy for the Milanese to now have their very own Apple Store. Grazie, Filippo, for this set of photos!TUAWFlickr Find: Apple Store Carosello opening in Milan, Italy originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 05 Sep 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Apple Corporate, RetailWhile all of the attention this weekend was around the launch of Snow Leopard, Apple opened up three new retail stores; two new stores in the US and one in Germany.

First, the company opened a new store in Hamburg, Germany on Saturday, which is now Apple's second store in Germany, after the store in Munich opened last December.

Second, there's a new store in Dedham, Massachusetts at the Legacy Place shopping center. This store will be the ninth store in the state of Massachusetts.

Finally, Apple also opened up a new store at the Stonebriar shopping complex in Frisco, Texas. This store makes it the sixth store in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.

If you live in or are near one of these areas, be sure to check out your new Apple Store. As always, we would love to hear your stories of your first visit or see your photos!TUAWApple retail news: three new stores opened this weekend originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sun, 30 Aug 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

That would be the Apple Store on 5th Avenue in New York City. Newmark Knight Frank Retail estimates it pulls in over $350 million in revenue a year, or about $35,000 per square foot for the 10,000 square foot space. To put that in perspective, Tiffany & Co., who says diamonds has sales of about $18,000 per square foot. In fact, it might be the highest grossing retailer on Fifth Ave. ever, according to an estimate by Prudential Douglas Elliman Real Estate. $350 million. Kee-rist. Good luck touching that, Microsoft. [Bloomberg via ZDNet]

Unless you're crazy enough to believe that Apple would announce its tablet computer or iPods with cameras without a press conference, you shouldn't expect anything too big when Apple's online store (down globally) comes back up later today. Odds-on favorite would be a page for Snow Leopard orders when Apple comes back up at the usual 830 time slot ET. That would give the elves in Cupertino plenty of time to ship discs by August 28th. Then again, it could just be maintenance -- it's not Tuesday for crissake.Apple stores down globally: Snow Leopard possible originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 Aug 2009 06:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Retail, Apple, Snow Leopard It looks like the online Apple Store is down right now with that ubiquitous "We'll be back soon" message. Could finally we be seeing the availability of Mac OS X Snow Leopard? We'll let you know when the store is back up and what might be new. Thanks to everyone who sent this in!TUAWApple Store is down, could Snow Leopard be coming? originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 24 Aug 2009 06:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Sponsored Topics: Snow Leopard - Apple - Mac OS X - TUAW - Unofficial Apple Weblog

Filed under: Humor, iPod Family, Cult of Mac, Odds and endsIn 2001, the same year the Game Boy Advance was introduced, Apple brought the iPod to us (and not to universal enthusiasm, either). When I was doing some Google searching last night on Apple model numbers, I found something quite strange.

Who knew that there were first-generation iPods still for sale on store.apple.com! This is the very first iPod model, introduced in 2001. I don't know how they ended up there, or why they're selling them, but they're shipping "within 24 hours" and are available for $129.00. Remember, this is the model with the "scroll wheel," it's not touch sensitive, and you have to physically turn it with your thumb or finger. Note that the image Apple is using on the store is actually for a third-generation iPod, but the product description and model number are for the first-gen.

It includes a 5GB iPod (for Mac only, the Windows-compatible versions came later) w/rechargeable lithium battery, original scroll wheel), headphones, an Apple iPod Power Adapter, an Apple FireWire Cable (2 meters), a Manual (iPod Getting Started), CD-ROM Disc w/iTunes (version unknown, but let's take a guess and say "old"), and a One Year Limited Warranty that by rights should have expired eight years ago.

Are you going to take the plunge? Will it look good next to your G3 iMac? If you do or don't, feel free to leave a comment below!TUAWWant a 1st generation iPod? They're still available from the Apple Store originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 20 Aug 2009 11:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Sponsored Topics: Apple - Cult of Mac - IPod - Google - Unofficial Apple Weblog