Microsoft debuted its first retail store in Scottsdale, Ariz., Thursday to coincide with the launch of Windows 7, and AppleInsider has exclusive photos, video and details from the grand opening event.
Pretty much like everything Microsoft does, just copy what Apple does. A truly innovative company.
I know quite a bit about this project so let me give you some insider info.
Designed by the architects who did the Apple stores (yes, MS wanted it to look like Apple). Well, at least, David Porter head of retail at MS wanted it to look like Apple. He directed the look to head that way even when the architects didn't want it to go there. Believe me, slap an apple logo on it and you'll confuse most consumers. The only difference is the wall of video screens (close to 200) that wraps the store. The only place where these screens will really look cool is the Xbox area that will utilize a grid of 4 screens per game. (assuming it all works)
MS wants this to make money selling high end stuff that utilizes windows and the phone OS, Xbox and possibly Zune. Focused on service and customization. In reality, this is just a brand store like Nike Town. Unlike Apple, which is more than a brand store, it actually makes a very good profit while promoting the brand.
Get ready for the next phase of the stores that will have Emily (wireless gaming/computing like the wii but better). If you ask me, they should just do Xbox/gaming stores.
Something is wrong here. By my calculation 89% of the visitors should either be dressed as Trojans, suffering from worms or really sick with a contagious virus. There are no hijackers, nobody dressed in all blue clothes with white lettering and no frozen people with porn ads all over them.
They're not fooling me, if this was a real Microsoft store opening, most visitors would get infected the moment they walked in the door. The exception, a few guys trying to look normal while wearing 150 lb condoms and some smiley dudes eating apples.
M$ has a reputation as a copier and not an innovator. I can see if they want to compete with Apple's stores but do they have to completely imitate them? Did Apple imitate the Gateway Store when they decided to create retail stores? M$ could have created something newer and edgier than Apple, something distinctive. Instead, Ballmer probably went, get me Apple Stores!! I want Apple Stores! It looks like they copied the furniture, the floor, the walls, the tables, the layout, even the Geniuses!
Michelle Armstrong, a 20-year-old in pajama pants who slept outside the Scottsdale Fashion Square mall to be among the first in the store, said she was a bit disappointed in the bags, which included a $25 gift certificate, chapstick, mints, a bottle of water and tickets to an Ashley Tisdale concert at the store later in the day.
They apparently don't realise the irony. The only other country ever to worship their flag so much was Nazi Germany.
While it's a bit startling to us non-Americans, it's really standard procedure down there. In New York there are flags on the sides of buildings many stories high. Scary at best, but mostly just distasteful.
Its the elite attitude that makes people think every Apple user is an a$$hole. There was a good article on this a while back about Apples biggest problem is not Apple but its users.
I know this will piss people off but fair amount of us know its true.
I do have to agree with you there as some of the comments that the hardcore fans have made make me cringe. I especially noticed it when some people were complaining that Apple kept the white macbook and the rumor that they might drop the price was horrifying to them. The attitude was that if you couldn't afford the then current price then you didn't need to be using a mac. Some people can't stand Apple evolving or making products beyond what a creative artist type user would want or even worse that if you want a feature that Apple does not offer then you are an idiot and should switch to Windows. That attitude is an epic fail and propagates the impression all mac users are snobs.
I agree with this sentiment. I have no problem with Microsoft emulating the formula that has made Apple one of the most successful retailers on the planet (and number one by revenue per square foot metric). If they are bound and determined to enter the retail experience at all, they would be foolish not to learn from the best.
So rather than bitch, I am here to showcase my skills of prognostication: the MS stores will do well for a time, until the novelty wears off, and then they will be a loss leader. I will come back a year from now and say "I told you so."
Thompson
I actually think extremeskater is even further off course than you suggest. In one post, he discusses the benefit of competition and then almost immediately gives a post suggesting that there is no issue with companies copying, to which you replied.
I, in fact, love MS if for no other reason than it gives a competitor a chance to show alternatives. I am allowed to vote by where I spend my money. However, the system breaks for the consumer when the larger corporation is simply replicating over innovating and leaning on enormous capital reserves to defeat competition.
So Apple's #1 rating in customer satisfaction, year after year, just happened by sheer accident. And consumers handing Apple record quarter after record quarter in Mac sales don't actually exist.
There's a reason MS lost the Premium market and is constantly embarrassed by Apple in nearly every area in which it competes. And that's no accident.
Except that MS never lost premium market - because they never had one. Microsoft is doing OS, not computers.
PC hardware manufacturers, well, they might have lost premium market. They definitely did loose retail part of the premium market; how does retail part stands against other purchase options, I have failed to find any relevant info, However, since business does not purchase retail, real picture is likely to be a bit different.
i wonder if this might backfire on ms (like most things they do outside of their reach). after all apple was suffering from lack of exposure when they started opening their stores, and has grown considerably with the advantage of up close comparison - same mall anyway. ms does not suffer from anonymity and if apple succeeds when side-by-side the obviously ms loses.
btw if the picture is from the front then those american flags are hung backwards.
MS doesn't have to copy Apple. Remember MS is the one that owns 90% of the market. Just because a company decides to take an new direction doesn't mean they are always copying Apple, or scared of Apple. Apple isn't all that scary.
Heh, nice one. But don't forget this is the site with huge concentration of Apple Extremists, so logic doesn't always appl(e)y.
Otherwise, it would be very hard to explain how come, when MS comes with their announcement before Apple, they do that because they are scared; but when Apple does the same, they are "stealing thunder"..?
Except that MS never lost premium market - because they never had one. Microsoft is doing OS, not computers.
PC hardware manufacturers, well, they might have lost premium market. They definitely did loose retail part of the premium market; how does retail part stands against other purchase options, I have failed to find any relevant info, However, since business does not purchase retail, real picture is likely to be a bit different.
Or more like they never had it (but they wanted it), in that Vista introduced us to Ultimate, and all the poor suckers who went for the "premium" OS didn't get much in the way of extras or anything of value save for bitlocker+media center.
They want that market, but they haven't shown any compelling reason to buy Ultimate.
Heh, nice one. But don't forget this is the site with huge concentration of Apple Extremists, so logic doesn't always appl(e)y.
Otherwise, it would be very hard to explain how come, when MS comes with their announcement before Apple, they do that because they are scared; but when Apple does the same, they are "stealing thunder"..?
Yeah good point. I forgot Apple didn't intro all this new hardware this week because they are scared of Windows 7 they did it to steal their thunder. Didn't really work all that well.
Comments
Microsoft debuted its first retail store in Scottsdale, Ariz., Thursday to coincide with the launch of Windows 7, and AppleInsider has exclusive photos, video and details from the grand opening event.
Pretty much like everything Microsoft does, just copy what Apple does. A truly innovative company.
A long time ago, SJ had to admit that it was either make a deal with MS and play nice or go out of business. On that, we can agree ...
you may agree with this but if you look into it you will find it's really just a myth.
Designed by the architects who did the Apple stores (yes, MS wanted it to look like Apple). Well, at least, David Porter head of retail at MS wanted it to look like Apple. He directed the look to head that way even when the architects didn't want it to go there. Believe me, slap an apple logo on it and you'll confuse most consumers. The only difference is the wall of video screens (close to 200) that wraps the store. The only place where these screens will really look cool is the Xbox area that will utilize a grid of 4 screens per game. (assuming it all works)
MS wants this to make money selling high end stuff that utilizes windows and the phone OS, Xbox and possibly Zune. Focused on service and customization. In reality, this is just a brand store like Nike Town. Unlike Apple, which is more than a brand store, it actually makes a very good profit while promoting the brand.
Get ready for the next phase of the stores that will have Emily (wireless gaming/computing like the wii but better). If you ask me, they should just do Xbox/gaming stores.
They're not fooling me, if this was a real Microsoft store opening, most visitors would get infected the moment they walked in the door. The exception, a few guys trying to look normal while wearing 150 lb condoms and some smiley dudes eating apples.
Microsoft.... no hardware.... well a Zune
Software.... Its Windows 7...... and ......
Better get myself off to the Apple Store....... Simple
you may agree with this but if you look into it you will find it's really just a myth.
I have MORE than looked into this. I LIVED it.
I do agree that there IS a myth about it. The investment that MS made was immaterial. That part is the myth.
However, Microsoft's accompanying promise to resume development of MS Office for the Mac OS really saved Apple's bacon. That is no myth.
Thompson
http://www.azcentral.com/business/co...microsoft.html
Sadly, it's like that everywhere in the US.
They apparently don't realise the irony. The only other country ever to worship their flag so much was Nazi Germany.
While it's a bit startling to us non-Americans, it's really standard procedure down there. In New York there are flags on the sides of buildings many stories high. Scary at best, but mostly just distasteful.
Shame on people for loving their country.
I put a flag out at my house quite often.
Sue me.
Its the elite attitude that makes people think every Apple user is an a$$hole. There was a good article on this a while back about Apples biggest problem is not Apple but its users.
I know this will piss people off but fair amount of us know its true.
I do have to agree with you there as some of the comments that the hardcore fans have made make me cringe. I especially noticed it when some people were complaining that Apple kept the white macbook and the rumor that they might drop the price was horrifying to them. The attitude was that if you couldn't afford the then current price then you didn't need to be using a mac. Some people can't stand Apple evolving or making products beyond what a creative artist type user would want or even worse that if you want a feature that Apple does not offer then you are an idiot and should switch to Windows. That attitude is an epic fail and propagates the impression all mac users are snobs.
I wonder how many of the people at the grand-opening of the MS store were paid actors...
You mean like how Apple gave away free laptops to celebrities when they opened the Midtown store?
You mean like how Apple gave away free laptops to celebrities when they opened the Midtown store?
Celebs get PAID.
They don't do shit for free.
Think of it this way.
If the site was instead called "Luftwaffe Insider" they would probably publish a lot of stories on Spitfires wouldn't they?
deleted.
I agree with this sentiment. I have no problem with Microsoft emulating the formula that has made Apple one of the most successful retailers on the planet (and number one by revenue per square foot metric). If they are bound and determined to enter the retail experience at all, they would be foolish not to learn from the best.
So rather than bitch, I am here to showcase my skills of prognostication: the MS stores will do well for a time, until the novelty wears off, and then they will be a loss leader. I will come back a year from now and say "I told you so."
Thompson
I actually think extremeskater is even further off course than you suggest. In one post, he discusses the benefit of competition and then almost immediately gives a post suggesting that there is no issue with companies copying, to which you replied.
I, in fact, love MS if for no other reason than it gives a competitor a chance to show alternatives. I am allowed to vote by where I spend my money. However, the system breaks for the consumer when the larger corporation is simply replicating over innovating and leaning on enormous capital reserves to defeat competition.
So Apple's #1 rating in customer satisfaction, year after year, just happened by sheer accident. And consumers handing Apple record quarter after record quarter in Mac sales don't actually exist.
There's a reason MS lost the Premium market and is constantly embarrassed by Apple in nearly every area in which it competes. And that's no accident.
Except that MS never lost premium market - because they never had one. Microsoft is doing OS, not computers.
PC hardware manufacturers, well, they might have lost premium market. They definitely did loose retail part of the premium market; how does retail part stands against other purchase options, I have failed to find any relevant info, However, since business does not purchase retail, real picture is likely to be a bit different.
btw if the picture is from the front then those american flags are hung backwards.
MS doesn't have to copy Apple. Remember MS is the one that owns 90% of the market. Just because a company decides to take an new direction doesn't mean they are always copying Apple, or scared of Apple. Apple isn't all that scary.
Heh, nice one. But don't forget this is the site with huge concentration of Apple Extremists, so logic doesn't always appl(e)y.
Otherwise, it would be very hard to explain how come, when MS comes with their announcement before Apple, they do that because they are scared; but when Apple does the same, they are "stealing thunder"..?
Except that MS never lost premium market - because they never had one. Microsoft is doing OS, not computers.
PC hardware manufacturers, well, they might have lost premium market. They definitely did loose retail part of the premium market; how does retail part stands against other purchase options, I have failed to find any relevant info, However, since business does not purchase retail, real picture is likely to be a bit different.
Or more like they never had it (but they wanted it), in that Vista introduced us to Ultimate, and all the poor suckers who went for the "premium" OS didn't get much in the way of extras or anything of value save for bitlocker+media center.
They want that market, but they haven't shown any compelling reason to buy Ultimate.
Heh, nice one. But don't forget this is the site with huge concentration of Apple Extremists, so logic doesn't always appl(e)y.
Otherwise, it would be very hard to explain how come, when MS comes with their announcement before Apple, they do that because they are scared; but when Apple does the same, they are "stealing thunder"..?
Yeah good point. I forgot Apple didn't intro all this new hardware this week because they are scared of Windows 7 they did it to steal their thunder. Didn't really work all that well.