In 2012, there’s nothing that lends prestige, luxury and credibility to a shopping space like an Apple Store. From that perspective, it’s the Tiffany’s or Sak’s of the 21st Century.
In fact, it looks as if the Apple Store was considered to be such a prestigious draw that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority bent over backwards to make sure it could get Apple to lease a space in the famous Grand Central Terminal… at the expense of other applicants.
MBTA's mobile purchases will be fully smartphone-based without NFC
Mobile purchasing systems based on NFC have a way to go before they become ubiquitous, but other types of mobile payments already here. A great example is the Starbucks app that can be used as a virtual reload-able gift card. When you want to pay with the card, a barista scans a code on your iPhone’s screen.
Starbucks may have made this technology a part of every day life for millions of people, but it isn’t the only company to do. Some airlines offer a virtual boarding pass as part of mobile check-in features.
The same iPhone/smartphone screen as digital token approach may soon extend to your commute as well as your morning coffee or air travel. A pilot project in Boston plans to bring the same NFC-less mobile payment technology to the city’s commuter rail service.
We published a couple images of the inside of Apple’s new Grand Central store in New York yesterday, which is due to open on Friday, December 9. Plenty more images are set to surface later on today, with media entering the store for the first time at 10 AM local time.
However, someone with a camera seems to have already gained entry, because we now have even more photos of this terrific store.
Apple’s latest flagship store in New York City’s Grand Central Terminal is set to finally open Friday at 9 AM. While we’ve seen multiple shots of the store’s covered exterior, and even a concept of what the interior will look like, we have yet to see Apple’s finished product on the inside.
Some photos taken inside Apple’s new retail store reveal the Genius Bar and more.
Earlier this week, we reported on a controversy surrounding Apple’s Grand Central Store, set to open Saturday. Critics are blaming New York City’s mass transit agency for inking a ‘sweetheart’ deal giving the tech giant a huge break on the lease cost. The MTA is now fighting back, telling those wanting an investigation into the Apple store to “bring it on.”
New York State regulators are investigating whether Apple got a ‘sweetheart deal’ when it leased space for its largest store in the city’s Grand Central Station. Reportedly, Apple paid the city’s MTA $60 per square foot for space that normally leases for more than $200. Did Apple throw around its marketing muscle to gain preferential treatment? Politicians are up in arms as Apple preps the the location for a Saturday unveiling.
Apple’s new retail store set in the heart of New York’s Grand Central station is set to open its doors next week, according to a report from the New York Post. And thanks to Apple’s infamous negotiation skills, the Cupertino company paid peanuts for the lease.
![Apple’s New Grand Central Store Looks Awesome Inside — Here’s More Pictures! [Gallery]](http://cdn.cultofmac.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/apple-store-grand-central-station-jennydeluxe-002-e1323273288928.jpg "Apple-Store-grand-central")
![Can’t Wait Until Friday? Here’s The Inside Of The New Grand Central Apple Store [Photos]](http://cdn.cultofmac.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Screen-Shot-2011-12-06-at-5.25.33-PM-640x337.jpg "Screen Shot 2011-12-06 at 5.25.33 PM")
