Apple Store - page 36

Despite millions of people living without power, or gas, and a crippled public transit system, New Yorkers have flocked to the Apple Stores in record numbers to buy the iPad mini.

Yesterday we assumed that the 5th Avenue Apple Store would see shorter crowds thanks to the effects of hurricane Sandy. The lack of public transportation combined with the financial cost of the hurricane damaged seemed like they would knock prevent people from wanting to buy an new Apple device, but reports are showing that the iPad mini has drawn big crowds.

The iPad mini is going to be a hit. It’s perfectly small, light and affordable which means that people should be flocking to the Apple Store to buy it. But today, lines at the Apple Store have been reported to be a lot shorter than other product launches.

So you didn’t pre-order your iPad mini, huh? It’s ok. Even though online orders aren’t shipping for 2 – 3 weeks now you can still get an iPad mini tomorrow if you gear up and go brave the launch line

Yes, it’s a huge time investment, and no one really wants to sit outside an Apple Store for a couple of hours before the break of dawn, but we’re here to help you make the most of your iPad mini launch line waiting experience. In fact, this could even be a lot of fun. Just follow this guide and you’ll be in and out of the store and cradling your iPad mini in no time.

It stuck around for more than four days, but the initial supply of Apple’s fourth-generation iPad has now sold out, causing shipping delays for the device to increase to one week across the U.S. and international stores. The delay applies to both the black and white models, regardless of which storage option you choose.

The 5th Avenue Apple Store is one of New York City’s most iconic buildings. It’s also made out of glass. Really strong glass that will probably be able to survive hurricane Sandy’s damage, but the store is also located underground. To add more protection from flooding, Apple added sandbags to the entrance of the store just in case.

Hopefully they’ve added a few barriers below the entrance too, because hypothetically, if the glass facade of the Apple Store does come crashing down I’m betting it would be huge target for looters, especially if it were discovered that a huge stash of iPad minis are down there right now.

Lightbulbs are boring. Yes, they provide an important service to the world, but when was the last time that you got really excited to go out and buy some new lightbulbs? Probably never. But Philips’ new Hue LED lightbulbs are actually incredibly cool and will change your blasé opinion on lighting fixtures.

The new Hue bulbs revealed today by Philips are wirelessly controlled by your iOS device. You can turn them on or off from your iPhone as well as change their color even if you’re not at your house. The Hue app will select the perfect lighting for your mood or activity or let you adjust the lightning in a room based on one of your favorite photos.

I had a great idea this morning. I figured I’d head to the Microsoft Store in Scottsdale around 10am, waltz in, buy a Microsoft Surface, and then be out in 10 minutes. I assumed the store would be empty. I mean, come on, this is a Microsoft tablet we’re talking about, and who goes to the Microsoft Store anyway?

I was completely wrong. Microsoft’s new tablet, the Surface RT, may not do everything an iPad can, but it’s drawing some pretty big lines to Microsoft retail stores across the country for its launch this morning.

One of the biggest shockers at the iPad mini keynote was the announcement of the redesigned iMacs that are unbelievably thin. In our readers poll we were surprised that almost 50% of people were more excited about the iMac than the iPad mini. Unfortunately for all those people eager to get their hands on it, the new iMac will be in short supply when it launches.

During Apple’s financial results conference call this afternoon, Tim Cook was asked whether any Apple products will be facing any significant supply constraints over the next few months. Cook made sure to mention the iMac in particular and said that it will be “constrained in a significant way.”

Just a short drive away from Apple Headquarters in Cupertino, Apple has been working on a new store in Palo Alto that is said to be a “prototype” Apple Store. The new Apple Store will have its grand opening on October 27th at 10AM.

Last year it was reported that the Palo Alto store will feature some unique open architecture elements. The store is supposed to be about 5,030 sq. ft and feature both a glass roof and glass walls that will allow natural light to fill the open retail space.

While some companies churn out new smartphones and tablets every month, Apple has traditionally given us at least 12 months with our iOS devices before replacing them with newer models. So it was a big surprise to us all when it announced a new and improved fourth-generation iPad on Tuesday, just seven months after the third-generation iPad went on sale.

If you bought a “new” iPad within the last 30 days, however, don’t be too miffed your device is already obsolete — because you could be one of the lucky ones. If you take your device into an Apple Store, there’s a chance you’ll be able to swap it for a brand new, fourth-generation model free of charge.

Apple announced the iPad mini today, a smaller iPad model that starts at $329 for a 16G model. Along with the new form factor and a lightning connector cable, Apple is also making Smart Covers for the new iOS device. You can see them right on the Apple Store website.

As it says in the official Apple Press release, the iPad mini Smart Cover will be available in six colors, including dark gray, blue, green, pink, light gray, and (PRODUCT) RED. It will cost $39 and fit that sweet new Wi-Fi iPad mini you can pre-order on October 26, purchase in an Apple retail store on November 2. The Wi-Fi + Cellular models will show up mid-November.

Source: Apple

The Apple Store is down. As usual, Apple’s replaced it with a blank page and a little sticky note that say’s “We’ll be back.” But if Apple ever decided to be a bit more honest, the sticky note would look a lot more like the one in the picture above.

Source: Reddit

We told you earlier this week that Apple is gearing up to open a new retail store in the famous Wangfujing shopping district. Not only will the new store be the largest of the 5 other Apple stores in China, but it will also be the largest Apple Store in all of Asia. 300 local employees will work at the flagship Wangfujing store and serve customers with two 360-degree Genius Bars and plenty of floor space.

Apple’s Wangfujing store opens at 9 A.M local time Saturday, October 20th. Lots of people have already gathered in the freezing Beijing weather for the grand opening.

The iPhone 5’s been on sale for three weeks now, and as is always the case with a device this popular, a long list of defects is already building up. There’s Maps, of course — though that’s not really exclusive to the iPhone 5 — the purple haze that sometimes appears in photos, and the black model is susceptible to chips and scratches.

And now some users are reporting that an odd green glow, described as “plasma bleed,” is plaguing the handset’s display.

The iPhone 5 is expected to launch in India on October 26, more than seven weeks after making its debut in the United States. The device is also expected to come with “wider availability” than previous models, which were hard to get hold of, and should come with a similar price to the iPhone 4S when that first launched in India.

If you think the iPhone 5 is hard to get hold of where you live, spare a thought for those in Hong Kong, where the device is in such short supply, users must play the “Apple Store lottery” to be in with any chance of getting their hands on one. According to one analyst, locals have more chance of winning the real lottery than picking up the Cupertino company’s latest smartphone the day after they order.

Microsoft is gearing up to launch Windows 8 really soon along with Windows 8 Phone and the Microsoft Surface to compete with the iPad. The Surface might even be released around the same times as Apple’s iPad Mini, which could make the tablet wars pretty interesting.

Getting a jump start on their Surface ad campaigns, Microsoft has littered urban areas with guerrilla Surface ads and the lastest ones have been placed near a highly trafficked Apple Store in the Lincoln Park area of Chicago.

Did you want to get an iPhone 5 on Friday, only to find out that they’d been sold out? Word is that Apple will start taking personal pickup orders starting at 10pm tonight. You’ll have another chance soon.

SAN FRANCISCO — This is Charlie Hufnagel, who was paid $1,500 to be first in line for the iPhone 5 at Apple’s flagship store here in the city.

Hufnagel was hired through TaskRabbit, an increasingly popular freelance odd-job company in this economy. He’s been camping out in front of the store for 94 hours (nearly 4 days) to snag a new iPhone for a “private investor.”

In fact, there are about 70 “TaskRabbits” in line here in San Francisco, who are being paid $55 to wait up to four hours for other people. A TaskRabbit rep estimated that one in four in line here are TaskRabbits.

Last year, iPhone 4S pre-orders sold out in 22 hours before shipping dates slipped to 2-3 weeks. This year iPhone 5 pre-orders sold out in 1 hour before shipping moved to 2-3 weeks. Apple is going to sell iPhone 5s faster, and in more volume, than they’ve ever sold anything.

If you didn’t manage to secure a pre-order in time and are facing the prospect of standing in line at the Apple Store to get an iPhone 5 on launch day, you’re probably wondering how early you need to wake up and get in line. There’s not a clear formula on how it all works, and only Apple knows for sure how much stock they have, but the experience of the last five iPhone launches have given us some important information.

The iPhone 5 is set to become Apple’s best-selling product ever released, and so we’re hardly surprised that just an hour after the company started accepting pre-orders, shipping estimates have already slipped. For those in the United States who haven’t yet pre-ordered, you can now expect a two-week delay before your iPhone 5 is dispatched, while some territories are now being quoted “2-3 weeks.”

I just got back from the friendly Apple Store at Barcelona Passeig de Gràcia, and I'm the proud owner of Spain's first set of EarPods. The Apple Store service was — as ever — spectacular, and the salesman, Manel, told me I had bought the first pair of EarPods sold in Spain. But how did he know?

Why is it that all Apple Store burglars have to have the intellectual capacity of a six year-old hyped up on Mountain Dew? Our latest Apple thief, Equonne R. Howard, decided it’d be a great idea to ram his BMW X-5 through the front glass of the Temecula Apple Store and steal a bunch of Apple products.

What Howard didn’t count on happening, was getting two flat tires in the process, and the drop gate for the store closing. He reversed full speed into the drop gate a couple times and eventually got out, but the dummy’s license plate fell off and he got caught when he went back later to retrieve it. Brilliant! Watch the video below to see his car crashing through the glass:

The Apple Store goes down for many reasons throughout any given month, and not all of them mean big updates, but the fact that it went down four and a half hours before Apple’s iPhone 5 announcement event pretty much guarantees we’re going to see sweeping changes and awesome new products when it goes back up, including the iPhone 5, the new iPod touch, new Lightning adapters, new Earpods, and maybe, just maybe, new iMacs and a 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro?

Who knows? What do you want to see in the Apple Store when it comes back up? Let us know in the comments.

On August 22, it became apparent that retailers across the United States were beginning to see shortages of 27-inch iMacs, sparking speculation that Apple’s popular all-in-one could be about to get a much-anticipated refresh. Now those tight supplies are affecting Apple’s own retail stores, which are quickly running out of both 27-inch iMac iterations.