Appletell

With recent news of Microsoft opening up retail stores, it got me thinking.  Why?  Microsoft already has its OS available in almost every technology retail store there is, and you can get a Xbox 360 or Zune in almost all of these places, too.  Sure, it would be great to specifically promote your own brand and give consumers another store to shop at, but would it just fight for sales with the many stores that already sell Microsoft products?  If you ask me, Microsoft doesn’t really even make enough products themselves to make the store interesting enough.  They have the Zune, 360, their OS, and some peripherals, but how interesting could a store with just this really become (unless they have 360 game competitions, that is)?  All I could see these stores really being good for is maybe a cheaper alternative to Best Buy’s Geek Squad.  Maybe I’m missing something, but I just don’t think a Microsoft store could create quite the community the Apple stores are so famous for.

Apple stores offer an experience like no other.  They are full of life, learning, and, of course, awesome products.  If you ask me, Apple stores aren’t just stores.  With the Genius Bar, One on One Lessons, and daily help sessions, they are full of activity other than just buying.  They don’t pressure you to buy products, they make you WANT to buy the product.  They make people like me and you get excited about visiting them and cause you to want to come back.  I just can’t see a Microsoft store doing this.  I don’t know why, it just seems like it would be sort of dull.

Do you think a store made by Microsoft is just what they need to get back on track after the Vista disappointment, or would it be a waste of money?

It seems that Maine will be getting it’s first Apple Store soon.  Although an Apple spokeswoman would not confirm or deny this, it is fairly obvious after seeing listings for jobs at the store on Monster.com as well as Apple’s official job listings page.  This is great for Apple lovers in Maine, butMacNN points out that this new Maine store opening could also, unfortunately, reduce sales from local Mac resellers such as Best Buy.

On top of this, there is a rumor that yet another Apple store may be opening in New York.  Located on either 15th Broad Street or 23 Wall Street, this will be New York’s 13th Apple Store.  Lastly, the Third Street Promenade in southern California may be closed for a while to undergo a remodeling, including a new glass spiral staircase.  Hopefully all of these new Apple stores help Apple’s market share raise even more in upcoming quarters, so keep up the good work Apple and thanks for providing a shopping experience like no other!

In almost everything Apple does, they are known for their attention to detail, and perfectionism. This stands true looking at their products, all the way up to their retail stores. A true testament to this is the 5th Avenue Apple Retail Store (otherwise known as “the Cube”) in New York. World Of Apple has a great video on some of the work that went into building the Cube.

Apple had hired WSFilms to document the construction of the 5th Avenue Store since its inception, and the video is now available for everyone to enjoy. The video provides some great insight into just how much work was put into this project. Every little detail from the materials, location, and people was made sure to be perfect.

If you are interested in architecture, construction, or even just Apple, this video is worth your time.

Watch [Cube Construction]

Today, thousands of people will be lining up in front of Apple and AT&T Stores in anticipation of the iPhone. Some people have been in line since Monday, and there are more people joining the ranks every minute. If you happen to live in a country that isn’t supporting the iPhone off of launch (like say, every country in the world except for the United States), then you can still join in on the line waiting fun. Gridskipper has set up a national iPhone line gallery, so you can be up to date on all iPhone lines across the U.S.

There is a map showing all the areas they have data for, and pictures from some of the lines. I’m not sure how accurate the numbers are, so take all the information with a grain of salt. From what it looks like, only a small number of all iPhone lines are actually listed. On the surface, the site looks great, but without definite information, and info for all lines, it loses some of it’s usefulness.

If you feel the need to actually feel like you are in an iPhone line, there are a few live streams available around the web.

Via [FSJ]