Microsoft stores to open near Apple's; Steve Jobs at Coldplay gig
In a not-so-subtle move, Microsoft says its retail stores will deliberately open near those run by Apple. Also, Steve Jobs has shown a rare public display of his love of music by attending a Coldplay concert, and the first Apple store in Canada's capital city is due to open this Saturday.
Microsoft retail locations to shadow Apple's
While Microsoft declared its intentions to enter the retail game and counter Apple's public image months ago, its chief operating officer Kevin Turner on Wednesday revealed just how important Apple is to its strategy: when they open in the fall, the new shops will be situated near Apple stores, not independently. A Microsoft representative eventually confirmed that at least some stores will be "in proximity" to Apple's.
Turner also emphasized that the company's stores will be as much a learning experience as centers of commerce and that it would 'share with partners' what it finds from its experience. The gesture would potentially assuage fears from PC manufacturers that also sell at retail elsewhere.
He wouldn't enter into a discussion of what the stores themselves would resemble other than to say they wouldn't copy Apple. They will instead "innovate for the long term," one attendee heard Turner mention. One clue as to Microsoft's direction might be found in the company's Retail Experience Center near its Redmond headquarters. The 20,000 square foot location has been characterized as a testbed for what the software giant would like to see for Windows PCs, Xbox 360s and Zune media players displayed at retail. Among its touches would be intelligent shopping carts that receive live data to guide customers.
Microsoft's Retail Experience Center in Redmond, a possible clue as to its eventual store design.
Mary Jo Foley of ZDNet, however, hears from her sources that the stores will be "showcases" more than they will be traditional stores. The strategy is controversial; companies like Dell and Gateway have both tried opening stores that wouldn't allow customers to carry home physical goods and were ultimately forced to shift their focus towards third-party retail.
Jobs attends Coldplay concert
Apple co-founder Steve Jobs may have been back at work two weeks ago, but his schedule has afforded him some time to relax, one roadie for Coldplay discovered for himself Tuesday night.
At a show in the Shoreline Amphitheater near San Francisco, the unnamed crew member spotted Jobs talking to TV host and celebrity news blogger Dave Holmes outside of the band's dressing room. What was discussed wasn't mentioned, but Jobs' identifiable presence was unusual; in spite of his self-professed love of music, few publicly single him out as having appeared at a given event. The roadie himself admitted that he couldn't bring himself to talk to Jobs directly.
"I suddenly [felt] like a star-struck teenager," the band help said. "In order to get the gall up to speak to the guy, I [downed] a double espresso. The mixture of caffeine buzz and feeling like a cheesy little fanboy [meant] that all I [could] manage to say to him is 'Thank you so much.' I [realised] that [I was] quite simply making a tit of myself and so [excused] myself as fast as I appeared."
Ottawa Apple store to open Saturday
Apple's drive into Canada will expand significantly when Apple Store Rideau opens its doors at 9:30 a.m. Saturday morning.
Located in the Rideau Centre in the downtown of the country's capital, the store will be Apple's tenth in Canada and the first for the province of Ontario outside of the Greater Toronto Area, where four stores already exist.
Confirmation of plans for the store first appeared in February, when job listings identified the Mac maker's plans. Construction began in earnest as of April.
Microsoft retail locations to shadow Apple's
While Microsoft declared its intentions to enter the retail game and counter Apple's public image months ago, its chief operating officer Kevin Turner on Wednesday revealed just how important Apple is to its strategy: when they open in the fall, the new shops will be situated near Apple stores, not independently. A Microsoft representative eventually confirmed that at least some stores will be "in proximity" to Apple's.
Turner also emphasized that the company's stores will be as much a learning experience as centers of commerce and that it would 'share with partners' what it finds from its experience. The gesture would potentially assuage fears from PC manufacturers that also sell at retail elsewhere.
He wouldn't enter into a discussion of what the stores themselves would resemble other than to say they wouldn't copy Apple. They will instead "innovate for the long term," one attendee heard Turner mention. One clue as to Microsoft's direction might be found in the company's Retail Experience Center near its Redmond headquarters. The 20,000 square foot location has been characterized as a testbed for what the software giant would like to see for Windows PCs, Xbox 360s and Zune media players displayed at retail. Among its touches would be intelligent shopping carts that receive live data to guide customers.
Microsoft's Retail Experience Center in Redmond, a possible clue as to its eventual store design.
Mary Jo Foley of ZDNet, however, hears from her sources that the stores will be "showcases" more than they will be traditional stores. The strategy is controversial; companies like Dell and Gateway have both tried opening stores that wouldn't allow customers to carry home physical goods and were ultimately forced to shift their focus towards third-party retail.
Jobs attends Coldplay concert
Apple co-founder Steve Jobs may have been back at work two weeks ago, but his schedule has afforded him some time to relax, one roadie for Coldplay discovered for himself Tuesday night.
At a show in the Shoreline Amphitheater near San Francisco, the unnamed crew member spotted Jobs talking to TV host and celebrity news blogger Dave Holmes outside of the band's dressing room. What was discussed wasn't mentioned, but Jobs' identifiable presence was unusual; in spite of his self-professed love of music, few publicly single him out as having appeared at a given event. The roadie himself admitted that he couldn't bring himself to talk to Jobs directly.
"I suddenly [felt] like a star-struck teenager," the band help said. "In order to get the gall up to speak to the guy, I [downed] a double espresso. The mixture of caffeine buzz and feeling like a cheesy little fanboy [meant] that all I [could] manage to say to him is 'Thank you so much.' I [realised] that [I was] quite simply making a tit of myself and so [excused] myself as fast as I appeared."
Ottawa Apple store to open Saturday
Apple's drive into Canada will expand significantly when Apple Store Rideau opens its doors at 9:30 a.m. Saturday morning.
Located in the Rideau Centre in the downtown of the country's capital, the store will be Apple's tenth in Canada and the first for the province of Ontario outside of the Greater Toronto Area, where four stores already exist.
Confirmation of plans for the store first appeared in February, when job listings identified the Mac maker's plans. Construction began in earnest as of April.
Comments
In a not-so-subtle move, Microsoft says its retail stores will deliberately open near those run by Apple.
Shirley, you must be kidding.
This ought to drive customers to the Apple Stores and really boost sales.
I can call you Shirley. Right?
i
microsoft retail locations to shadow apple's
.
good life
A Microsoft representative eventually confirmed that at least some stores will be "in proximity" to Apple's.
Great news! This only makes it simpler for people to walk within proximity to compare and laugh their asses off on how different the systems work and figure out how come the kids all want Macs and the parents are stuck using Windows to keep current with work.
Please, don't forget to include 3 or 4 vendor PCs to demo Windows 7 when Snow Leopard comes out and people can test them both.
Oh no, that picture doesnt look like an apple store at all!
*rolls eyes*
("He wouldn't enter into a discussion of what the stores themselves would resemble other than to say they wouldn't copy Apple. ")
Oh no, that picture doesnt look like an apple store at all!
*rolls eyes*
Doesnt look like an apple store to me. My local apple store is 2 counters on each side with another counter in the middle of the back and shelves all around the outside. Looks nothing like that picture.
Microsoft opening a store next to Apple's is a cancerous move for Microsoft. Microsoft's only credible weapon is XBox which doesn't run Windows.
He wouldn't enter into a discussion of what the stores themselves would resemble other than to say they wouldn't copy Apple. They will instead "innovate for the long term," one attendee heard Turner mention.
That sounds like corporate rhetoric for "short term, we don't have a clue".
One clue as to Microsoft's direction might be found in the company's Retail Experience Center near its Redmond headquarters. The 20,000 square foot location has been characterized as a testbed for what the software giant would like to see for Windows PCs, Xbox 360s and Zune media players displayed at retail. Among its touches would be intelligent shopping carts that receive live data to guide customers.
Someone needs to write an iPod touch app for that.
Jobs attends Coldplay concert
Oh sh*t, now he will be depressed...
Apple co-founder Steve Jobs may have been back at work two weeks ago, but his schedule has afforded him some time to relax, one roadie for Coldplay discovered for himself Tuesday night.
Having gone to this concert, it was on Monday night, not Tuesday night. Whoops.
Among its touches would be intelligent shopping carts that receive live data to guide customers.
Shopping carts? Sounds classy.
It seems like Steve Ballmer is willing to go to great lengths to "get even" with Apple using his shareholders' money.
Maybe they'll at least play the Monkey Boy and Developers! Developers! Developers! videos on a big screen?
What exactly would they sell at a Microsoft store? MS Office, Zune, and xbox? Oh, and a mouse? How could they possible make money doing this?
One guesses that they would be selling PCs, third-party software, and probably flat-panel TVs and monitors too.
In a weird sort of a way, you have to hand it to Microsoft for being bold enough to just brazenly copy Apple the way they do. Given the amazing success of Apple's business model, it's odd that more people don't copy them.
Anyway, we've now got Windows 7 (OS X with a Microsoft twist), coming to a Microsoft Store (Apple Store with a Microsoft twist) near you! Now that Apple is more than fighting fit, I'm looking forward to Microsoft offering better competition than they have over the last few years (Windows 7 looks like it might actually be good
Doesnt look like an apple store to me. My local apple store is 2 counters on each side with another counter in the middle of the back and shelves all around the outside. Looks nothing like that picture.
It looks like Microsoft's version of an Apple store. In other words they took the colors and materials of a clean, simply organized Apple store and made a big complicated mess of it all.
This will fail.