Tidbits: Retail blackout days; 3G iPhone ad filming; iPhone GPS

Posted:
in iPhone edited January 2014
Apple has started to spread word of its own retail vacation blackout days. Meanwhile, the company's filming in Manhattan on Thursday was likely tied to one in Los Angeles a week earlier; the GPS chip inside the 3G iPhone has been paired with a supplier; and four teens have been permanently banned from Apple's international retail chain for extending the capabilities of an iPhone.



Apple retail blackout days



AT&T is blacking out vacation days for its retail staffers from June 15th to July 12, presumably in preparation of the 3G iPhone launch in late June. Apple, however, isn't asking the same of its store employees until mid-July, people familiar with the plans say.



Apparently, the Mac maker is expecting a flood of back-to-school shoppers starting the third week of July and running through the second week of August. As such, retail staffers in some regions are being told that back-to-back vacation days during that period are a no-no, as are multiple weekend absences.



The company's annual Back-to-School promotion will actually kick-off much earlier, and it's reported that this year's incentives will be even more compelling than last. Apple will be briefing its partners in higher-ed on the matter at 11:30 a.m. Pacific on Monday, meaning a formal announcement is likely that day or the next.



A tale of two Apple product shoots



We have a little bit higher conviction today that Thursday evening's filming outside the Apple Store Fifth Avenue in Manhattan was indeed tied to the upcoming 3G iPhone launch, and may have even been a continuation of a shoot that took place in Los Angeles last week (as first reported by our friends over at Gizmodo). Explanation follows:



In its report last week, Giz noted that it had it "on good authority that an iPhone ad is being shot today by a big name director." AppleInsider later noted that director was said to be David Fincher, an avid Final Cut Pro user and director of big-time flicks such as "Se7en," "Fight Club," and "Panic Room."



People familiar with the shoot in Los Angeles say Apple and its production crew built a replica Apple retail store interior on stage for the filming. It was said to be a typical production for the most part, until the "product" was brought on stage. At this point, all non-essentials were forced to vacate, leaving just the director, producer, props and camera assist crews.



One person on hand did not get the clearest of looks at the iPhone, but said "it looked pretty much like the current one."Â*Even so, "everyone knew they were working on the 3G iPhone commercial," that person added.



The set outside Apple Store Fifth Ave. | Image credits: The iLife.



Fast forward one week, and Apple's filming around what's arguably its most lavish retail exterior -- the giant 32-foot cube that sites atop its flagship shop on Fifth Avenue like a giant gemstone. Not much could be made of exactly what was going on by the folks at The iLife who were blogging the event, though there was bit of hoopla over some blurry photographs they took of black cases marked "Anonymous 5+4" making their way into the store.



Those cases, people familiar with the filming say, belong to production studio Anonymous Content and contained walkie-talkies used by the production crew during filming, not 3G iPhones or Steve Jobs. David Fincher directs for Anonymous Content.



GPS in 3G iPhone



Though its long been a given that the 3G iPhone will likely include traditional GPS functionality, it's getting a mention now because GigaOM is claiming to have tracked down Apple's GPS chip supplier.



"The company supplying the GPS to iPhone is going to be a big winner in this space; according to my sources, the contract has been nailed down by Broadcom, a relatively new entrant into the GPS market," writes Om Malik.







Om notes that GoogleÂ?s Marissa Meyer told him last year that the Google Maps usage from iPhone was off the charts.



"Now imagine that Maps feature married to the built-in GPS; the combo could give location based services a big massive boost," he adds. "Pelago, an LBS social service has already received $15 million in funding for its iPhone application."



Teens banned from Apple Stores for life



And for kicks: Apple has banned two high-school students and their friends from its international retail chain, permanently.



Daniel Fukuba, 17, Eric Vicenti, 16, and two of their friends were detained by police outside the company's store in downtown Palo Alto for 2.5 hours last week. Their crime? Hacking an iPhone on the premise so they could install a third-party car racing game, then leaving the store.



Be on the lookout for these two scoundrels!



"We're halfway down the block when the manager comes running out and tells us to 'stop right there,'" Fukuba told the Palo Alto Daily News.



After being detained by the cops and lectured by the manager on the dangers of "hacking" into the phones, the teens were photographed and told their pictures were being sent to all Apple stores so employees could be "on the lookout" for them in the future.

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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 82
    deepdeep Posts: 13member
    If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you could possibly imagine...
  • Reply 2 of 82
    sapporobabysapporobaby Posts: 1,079member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by deep View Post


    If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you could possibly imagine...



    Sweet !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  • Reply 3 of 82
    They are lucky for the punishment they received.



    These guys are just a couple of script kiddies.
  • Reply 4 of 82
    nagrommenagromme Posts: 2,834member
    I don't blame the kids too much for not thinking it through, but hacking someone ELSE's phone is what the problem is here. As to whether the entire Apple organization REALLY puts huge effort into tracking these kids around the world, or whether it's just what some manager SAID would happen when he snapped at them, is another matter. (And having seen how some kids behave in stores, I can well imagine a manager eventually snapping and saying things that went too far.)
  • Reply 5 of 82
    I think the kids should get an award and a Security Consulting Job with Apple so they cold secure the iphone so won't get hacked...
  • Reply 6 of 82
    wheelhotwheelhot Posts: 465member
    Silly kids
  • Reply 7 of 82
    emoeric87emoeric87 Posts: 72member
    What's going to happen when Apple rolls out iPhones with third-party apps in a few weeks?
  • Reply 8 of 82
    8corewhore8corewhore Posts: 833member
    "...that director was said to be David Fincher, an avid Final Cut Pro user..." Well, which is it - avid or FCP? What's wrong with kids today. Sheesh! When I was growing up, we would've just ran!
  • Reply 9 of 82
    aria505aria505 Posts: 10member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by SARO91201 View Post


    I think the kids should get an award and a Security Consulting Job with Apple so they cold secure the iphone so won't get hacked...



    Are you kidding me?



    If a guy walking down the street picked up a brick and threw it through the front glass window of an Apple store would you give him an award and a Security Consulting Job to secure the physical perimeter of the store? I don't think so.



    Where does this ridiculous idea that "hackers", in this case script kiddies, should be rewarded for vandalizing other peoples property come from? If you want to hack your own phone then go for it! Play around and learn how things work, but don't start messing with other people's property without their permission.
  • Reply 10 of 82
    panupanu Posts: 135member
    I think Apple's reaction was entirely appropriate. Anyone who goes into any store and vandalizes the merchandise should expect the same treatment. There are actual monetary damages, because they have to pay an employee to fix the phone, just as they would have to pay someone to clean graffiti off the wall, so the kids are lucky that Apple was kind enough not to press charges. I wouldn't be surprised at all if the pictures are really sent around to all the stores, because they may repeat the behavior, especially since they have a cheering section in these comments. I doubt Apple will make good on their threat to make it a lifetime ban.
  • Reply 11 of 82
    mdriftmeyermdriftmeyer Posts: 7,503member
    Oh my gosh! Broadcom! A virtual unknown!!



    Broadcom and Wireless tend to go hand-in-hand.
  • Reply 12 of 82
    mdriftmeyermdriftmeyer Posts: 7,503member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by aria505 View Post


    Are you kidding me?



    If a guy walking down the street picked up a brick and threw it through the front glass window of an Apple store would you give him an award and a Security Consulting Job to secure the physical perimeter of the store? I don't think so.







    Where does this ridiculous idea that "hackers", in this case script kiddies, should be rewarded for vandalizing other peoples property come from? If you want to hack your own phone then go for it! Play around and learn how things work, but don't start messing with other people's property without their permission.







    Your storefront's broken.



    No it's not.



    *crash* Now it is. I can help you with that problem and seeing as I'm looking for work you could just hire me on the spot.
  • Reply 13 of 82
    sigs21sigs21 Posts: 82member
    they should have to wash steve's black Benz....
  • Reply 14 of 82
    virgil-tb2virgil-tb2 Posts: 1,416member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by SARO91201 View Post


    I think the kids should get an award and a Security Consulting Job with Apple so they cold secure the iphone so won't get hacked...



    That's insane. I bet any kids you have are monstrous.



    What you want in a security expert is intelligence, a clear idea of the difference between right and wrong and a keen sense of responsibility. Those kids have the opposite of all that.



    They were dumb enough to get caught, had no idea that fooling with other peoples stuff was "wrong" and no sense of guilt or responsibility for their actions.



    Additionally, to hack the iPhone that fast inside an Apple store they must have just cracked it by visiting that web page we all know about. In other words, they don't necessarily have any hacker skill at all.
  • Reply 15 of 82
    bloggerblogbloggerblog Posts: 2,462member
    This is so retarded, it takes less than 10 min to restore the iphone. And what a stupid store-manager! I would have him fired for banning kids from the store, or claiming to have done so, and calling the cops!! What a loser!! Computer stores should be fun and kids are expected to explore things every now an then, look at the mac line-up, it's mainly for schools (imac, mac-mini, ibook), Apple has always been for schools, starting with the Apple II. I don't see anything that's worth "punishing". Apple has obviously hired a looser for a manager.

    DON'T CALL ME DUDE!
  • Reply 16 of 82
    ronboronbo Posts: 669member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by bloggerblog View Post


    This is so retarded, it takes less than 10 min to restore the iphone. And what a stupid store-manager! I would have him fired for banning kids from the store, or claiming to have done so, and calling the cops!! What a loser!! Computer stores should be fun and kids are expected to explore things every now an then, look at the mac line-up, it's mainly for schools (imac, mac-mini, ibook), Apple has always been for schools, starting with the Apple II. I don't see anything that's worth "punishing". Apple has obviously hired a looser for a manager.

    DON'T CALL ME DUDE!



    Wow. It's like every single thing you said is wrong. Which one of those kids are you?

    As for all the other people who have already posted, let me say that it's nice to see people with an appropriate sense of right and wrong.
  • Reply 17 of 82
    bloggerblogbloggerblog Posts: 2,462member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Ronbo View Post


    Wow. It's like every single thing you said is wrong. Which one of those kids are you?

    As for all the other people who have already posted, let me say that it's nice to see people with an appropriate sense of right and wrong.



    I don't think tinkering with stuff on display is a bad thing, these macs and iphones are easily restored; however, if they actually break something or go to porn websites, well that's different. And yes Apple has always been big on schools, and incase you haven't read the latest news, Apple is planning it's largest back to school sale yet.
  • Reply 18 of 82
    macarmacar Posts: 5member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by mdriftmeyer View Post






    Your storefront's broken.



    No it's not.



    *crash* Now it is. I can help you with that problem and seeing as I'm looking for work you could just hire me on the spot.






    I can't stop laughing!



  • Reply 19 of 82
    boogabooga Posts: 1,082member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by bloggerblog View Post


    I don't think tinkering with stuff on display is a bad thing, these macs and iphones are easily restored; however, if they actually break something or go to porn websites, well that's different. And yes Apple has always been big on schools, and incase you haven't read the latest news, Apple is planning it's largest back to school sale yet.



    Going to a site that intentionally takes advantage of a known security hole in the iPhone to inject user code on a phone that's for sale is okay, but naked people is evil enough to ban them in your mind? Give me a break.
  • Reply 20 of 82
    kpluckkpluck Posts: 500member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    ... "on good authority that an iPhone ad is being shot today by a big name director." AppleInsider later noted that director was said to be David Fincher, an avid Final Cut Pro user and director of big-time flicks such as "Se7en," "Fight Club," and "Panic Room."





    The first rule of filming a 3G iPhone commercial is you don't talk about filming a 3G iPhone commercial. The second rule....



    -Keith
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