Several weeks after a debut that included long lines to buy Apple latest iPhone 3G model, the company has tweaked its store hours and sales procedures in an unprecedented attempt to improve the customer experience. According to a Web page, most Apple stores will open two hours earlier at 8 a.m. to give customers a [...]

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The availability of the new iPhone 3G can now be tracked all day, thanks to the TopMuffin Web site, which uses hidden data from Apple’s own Web site. Apple has been posting store-by-store availability of the iPhone each night after 9 p.m. But apparently the information is actually updated throughout the day, which TopMuffin is [...]

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Besides the LIverpool One retail store opening this weekend, Apple will hold grand opening for three other stores: Sainte Catherine (Montreal) on Friday at 5 p.m., and then  Arrowhead Towne Center (Ariz.) and King Street (SC) on Saturday at 10 a.m. The openings begin a series of 23 new stores before the end of September, as [...]

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Apple has announced that the Liverpool One (UK) retail store will open this Saturday at 9 a.m. The store is the first in the city, and fills in coverage for that part of the country, which has a metro population of over 800,000 residents. The first 1,000 visitors will receive a commemorative T-shirt, and there [...]

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On Monday Apple Inc. reported that its retail store financial results dipped for the third quarter of 2008 when compared to the previous quarter, but that revenue, profit and number of visitors all increased substantially when compared to the year-ago quarter. It was the second quarter of decline for the Retail segment, although admittedly the [...]

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There have been persistent rumors that Apple encountered building permit problems after submitting a building permit application for the store on Wisconsin Avenue in the Georgetown section of Washington (DC). The former tenant has long-since moved out, but now photos of the interior show that nothing has changed since the departure. The evidence all leads [...]

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Apple Inc.’s first-ever retail store in China opened at The Village at Sanlitun (Beijing) shopping development with a large overnight crowd of enthusiasts, and a continuing line of very curious visitors after the doors opened. The store represents a very small but financially significant step in broadening Apple’s retail presence around the world. About 85 [...]

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The very first Apple store in China is ready for its grand opening at The Village at Sanlitun (Beijing), and a large overnight crowd has formed in an indoor space arranged by Apple. At 8:15 a.m. the latest wristband was numbered 273, with more people being added to the line each minute. Apple’s store is nearly [...]

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The storefront of the future Ste. Catherine (Montreal) retail store will be stone and glass, instead of the stainless steel that has graced retail stores until now. Photos of the store on the MacEtMoi Web site show medium-gray stone being installed, similar to Burlingame (N. Calif.) and North Michigan Avenue (Chicago), along with a two-story [...]

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After spending nearly a week camped in front of the Fifth Avenue (NYC) retail store for the iPhone 3G debut and his White House Organic Farm cause, Daniel Simon had the welcome mat pulled out from under him at 8 a.m. Instead of entering the Glass Cube first, he was whisked away from the entrance [...]

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There is evidence that AT&T beefed up cellular coverage in the vicinity of at least some Apple retail stores last Friday when the iPhone 3G debuted, apparently in order to provide a superior customer experience for those assembled at the stores. For example, some time late Thursday, a white, unmarked Chevy Astro van appeared on the top [...]

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There were still long lines of iPhone 3G buyers at Apple’s stores the day after the product’s debut, even though the serious server glitches that created lengthy purchase delays on Friday had been fixed. Field surveys of San Francisco area Apple stores in mid-afternoon found at least 20 to 30 persons constantly in line to [...]

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On Friday night’s edition of “The Tonight Show,” host Jay Leno took a three-joke shot at Apple’s debut of the iPhone 3G during his monologue, including at the waiting line participants. Leno joked about how he received a dial version of the new iPhone, and that it replaced on earlier version introduced Wednesday. Leno also [...]

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Friday’s debut of new iPhone 3G model turned to disaster when Apple support computer systems failed to allow buyers to register their handsets at the store, a new requirement intended to insure that all purchased phones are used on AT&T’s network. The computer problems surfaced shortly after Apple’s retail stores opened on the east coast [...]

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Unlike some others who have formed a waiting line for Friday’s iPhone 3G debut, the first person in line at the Walnut Creek (N. Calif.) retail store is a real Apple enthusiast. Aaron arrived on Wednesday at 11 a.m., and then sat by himself in a comfortable chair for seven hours before anyone else joined [...]

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