A large placard has appeared at the Genius Bars of Apple stores reiterating the company’s previous “statement”–or warning–on hacking iPhones. “Many of the unauthorized iPhone unlocking programs available on the Internet cause irreparable damage to the iPhone software,” the placard states. The statement goes on to say that unauthorized modifications violates the license agreement and voids the iPhones warranty. Most importantly, “An unlocked iPhone is not eligible for Genius Bar service or technical support,” the placard states. Also read this account about an irate customer at the Crabtree Valley Mall (Raleigh, NC) store. [placard at Santa Rosa Plaza (N. Calif.) / TUAW story]
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A Glasgow (Scotland) writer and podcaster says he was asked to leave the Buchanan Street store in that city by a staffer who spotted him taking photos of the products on display. The employee, Paul, also noticed “Scottish podcaster” using a cellular phone and laptop. According to the account, the employee eventually told him, “I’m going to have to ask you not to take pictures in the store,” and then escorted him out of the store. Read the full account of his adventure here.
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Thanks to speednut for the flickr photos of Saturday’s grand opening of the Lehigh Valley Mall (Penn.) store. It’s a wide-style store with the now-standard interior features. Long-time grand opening attendee Darrin has also posted his photos on flickr.
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Our nation’s capital is ringed with Apple stores in Virginia and Maryland, but until now has not hosted a store within the District itself. Apple is now finalizing a real estate deal for a flagship store on what’s called “the best corner of the most powerful city in the world,” at Wisconsin and M Street NW in the city’s Georgetown area. The space at 3150 M Street NW is now occupied by the legendary Nathan’s Restaurant, a Zagat-rated, wood-paneled hang-out for those who crave American classic cuisine. The restaurant’s lease expires in April 2009, but the operation will vacate in late 2008, leaving a 2,500 square-foot lot for Apple to develop into a two or three-story flagship store. read more…
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The Curbed SF Web site has photos of the construction progress on the future Chestnut Street (San Francisco) retail store. The 40′x95′ space is framed by steel beams, and wrapped by galvanized steel studs that will support the interior stainless steel siding. The air conditioning and electrical work also appears to be finished. The photos show 6-7 wooden crates inside the building, containing stainless steel for the interior. Curbed also noticed that the SF construction parking permit runs out in mid-December, speculating that the store will be finished by then. read more…
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Actors Natalie Portman and Jason Schwartzman, and director Wes Anderson attracted a large crowd to the SoHo (NYC) retail store Tuesday night to discuss their latest film venture, a 13-minute prequel to the full-length movie “The Darjeeling Limited” to be released later this month. A waiting line formed at 3 p.m. in front of the store for the 9 p.m. screening of the short, followed by a question-and-answer session with the film trio. The short is available as a free download at the iTunes Music Store.
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Belatedly, I discovered an entire Web page of live music events scheduled for Apple stores related to Hispanic Heritage Month. Apple continues to hold “Jam, Action, Snap” youth workshops during September and October. Register here.
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The Staten Island (NY) retail store is closed for a five-day renovation that will include moving the Genius Bar from right-side to store-rear, and eliminating the dedicated cash-wrap position. The move also means that the Genii and Creatives will no longer have to share the same space. The store should re-open this Saturday, the 29th.
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Thanks to Vincent for the photos of the underground Carrousel du Louvre shopping center in central Paris, which the MacBidouiille Web site earlier speculated might become an Apple store site. The mall is beneath the Tuilleries garden, and adjacent to the Louvre entrance, making it a huge destination for locals and tourists. Check his photos and recon here.
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The K-tuin chain of authorized reseller stores has opened a new store in the center of Alicante (Spain), featuring a bright white interior, lots of stock and a full range of products and services. K-tuin is the largest Apple dealer in Spain, with six shops in Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao, Valencia, Zaragoza and now Alicante. A huge crowd attended the grand opening of the new store [photo #1 / #2]
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Construction continues on the West 14th Street store in New York City’s Meatpacking District, as shown in this report from setteB.IT. However, the most interesting news is that workers are on extended shifts so they can complete the store before the upcoming holiday shopping season.
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Apple has scheduled the grand opening of the Lehigh Valley Mall (Whitehall) retail store for this Saturday, September 29th at 10 a.m. It’s the fifth store in the state, and the first beyond the Pittsburgh and Philadelphia metro areas.
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Check these flickr photos posted by pale_white of yesterday’s Touchwood Centre store grand opening. They show a long waiting line in front of a very tall stainless steel storefront, a very narrow interior that’s barely 22 feet wide, and a no-window storefront. The store did have stock of the just-introduced iPod touch.
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The numbers seem overwhelming: an ever-increasing number of visitors to Apple’s retail stores, a larger market share, and millions of computers and iPods sold each year. But do those figures mean that Apple’s retail stores are actually growing more crowded? Not according to figures derived from Apple’s financial reports. According to Apple, the number of visitors has increased from 2.1 million in the third quarter of 2002, to 21.9 million in the same quarter of 2007. But at the same time, the average number of open stores has also increased, from 30 in Q3 2002 to 180 in the same quarter of 2007. Based on those figures, the number of per-store visitors has remained fairly stable lately, within a narrow range of from 112,000 to 126,000 visitors per quarter. read more…
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Apple has scheduled the grand opening of its fifth Pennsylvania store at the Lehigh Valley Mall for September 29th at 10 a.m. The store will be part of a 102,00 square-foot outdoor addition to the existing indoor mall. The opening will feature 1,000 commemorative T-shirts but no sweepstakes. The store will be #197 overall, and the 32nd store to open during Apple’s fiscal year, which ends September 30th.
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