Filed under: Retail
Apple logo installed at Boston's future Apple Store
We're getting closer, Bostonians. The flagship Apple Store that we've been anticipating for more than a year is starting to resemble an Apple Store.The folks at ifoAppleStore have a live webcam pointed towards the construction, and Flickr user kokernutz has posted a shot of the shrouded logo.
This store is on Boylston Street, directly across the street from The Prudential Center in Boston's upscale Back Bay. This will be the ninth store in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the first in Beantown. It's been suggested that it will open in May. I'll be there!
![TUAW [Cafepress]](http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.tuaw.com/media/tuaw-cafepress-promo.png)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
max said 2:19PM on 4-04-2008
so im a huge apple fan... as a company i love the products... but what is the obsession with the stores? why do people want to be there first? i can understand lining up for a product... but just to be in a retail store?
can someone explain? do they give free milk and cookies? what am i missing
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Shane Lloyd said 2:22PM on 4-04-2008
Usually they give out free shirts or gift packs to the first X hundred number of people during the grand opening. Also, for a mega flagship store like this (much like the 5th Ave store in New York), there is some caché in just being there (and if you live in Boston anyway, why not).
mikull said 4:19PM on 4-04-2008
I'm with you... I don't see how opening another retail store is exciting -- it's barely news. I mean, a webcam? Are people such consumer sheep they're hawking a live feed in anticipation or a ...store?
I'm within driving distance of all the NYC stores and too many Jersey stores to count -- and honestly: meh. They're stores. I stop in once or twice a year, usually with intention to buy nothing. Aside from my iPod, all my Apple purchases were through the website.
Hey, I'm not knocking the convenience of their existence or the benefits they can serve - but seriously - it's more annoying than interesting. I think most people know how to get to http://www.apple.com/retail/ by now.
FrankTheCrank said 1:42PM on 4-04-2008
It totally amazes me that with the 10 or so major colleges in the central MA(Worcester) area, they don't have a store here.
Apple what gives? Doesn't Boston have enough stores? You have one in Holyoke for Gods sake...WTF?
Worcester is the second biggest city in New England. Even bigger than Providence....and they have a store.
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MATT! said 2:18PM on 4-04-2008
Right, except there is no Apple Store in Boston...
Chris G. said 2:20PM on 4-04-2008
There is Apple stores that are within reach of a T ride in Boston (one in Cambridge, right down the street from the Museum of Science and then there are a couple of others in the suburbs). There is just no Apple stores with a Boston zip code.
Shane Lloyd said 2:26PM on 4-04-2008
You think you're getting shafted? There are three Apple stores in Toronto. Yet, on the west coast, there is not ONE store in Metro Vancouver, an area with nearly 2.5 million people.
TM said 3:08PM on 4-04-2008
FrankTheCrank, how about the Natick Collection store or Providence, it's not exactly Worcester, but it is closer than Boston or Holyoke...
PSM said 3:42PM on 4-04-2008
I work near Boston from June to August, and normally shop at the Apple Store at the Burlington Mall. One day I had a day off and was hoping to buy something Burlington didn't have in stock, so I decided to go into Boston and stop by the Apple Store there. I was shocked to learn there wasn't a real flagship store in Boston, and the store wasn't even as good as the one in Burlington. I'm so happy for the Boston Mac fans that the big store is about to open. I'll make sure to check it out when I get there this summer.
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GeekForceFive.com said 4:01PM on 4-04-2008
I am so very, very excited about this. I walk by the store on my way to work nearly every day and I just can't wait until I'll be able to stop in and play with things. I think I heard it will be open in mid-May. Does that sound right?
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jfrtwo said 4:03PM on 4-04-2008
I work for AT&T and I was just in there on Wednesday testing the building to ensure good GSM service for the iPhones. It's going to be a really nice store.
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max said 4:17PM on 4-04-2008
i truly don't get the cache in just being there... plus anything like hard drives and non apple extras are always way over priced from the usual stores... again i love the company and get excited about new products, i watch the keynotes and read the rumour sites... but yeay im in the new store? don't get it AT all... sure take people to show them how amazing a giant imac looks in person, or how genius the floating cash out machines are (no waiting in line rules all) but "hey look at me i waited in line for three hours to be in a store!" no comprende amigo
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Bram O. said 5:24PM on 4-04-2008
There is already about 10 apple stores around Boston.. i'm not saying this is a bad thing, but seriously, enough is enough.
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Joseph S. said 6:51PM on 4-04-2008
I hope it's a more pleasant shopping experience than the Apple store in London, England.
I went there with money burning a hole in my pocket to buy a MBP and Time Capsule and couldn't get anywhere near the hardware. Every computer in the place was being used by passers-by to check their emails. I managed to grab someone for a second who answered 2 quick questions before making it clear she wanted to elsewhere - despite me making it obvious I was interested in spending money.
I happened to bump into someone I hadn't seen in years who works there and he said it was like that all the time, including all the iPhones being used up by the same drop-ins to make local calls. He offered to find someone to help me (he wasn't shop-floor staff) but I couldn't be bothered; service obviously wasn't important there. I walked down the road and bought it somewhere I know I can get good service. John Lewis department store even threw in an extra years guarantee for free.
I appreciate that there are the genius bars and the workshops - these are great ideas and of great use to users but perhaps it would be more accurate to describe it more of a 'lab' than a 'store'. The staff were difficult were difficult to find or identify and I'm sorry to say that I get more personal attention ordering online.
And the decor? Looks nice in the pics but cram it full of people crowding around tables and it just looks like a warehouse.
Perhaps to dedicated Apple fans none of this will matter; most people with a good knowledge of their choice of product won't need retail service of the kind I was looking for but the entire experience took a little gloss of the shiny apple for me.
For what it's worth; I love and adore my new MBP.
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SystemFault said 7:37PM on 4-04-2008
A gallon or two of gasoline and a little driving will get you to the Apple Store in tax free Salem, New Hampshire some 35 miles to the north. Saving five percent sales tax on a $2,000 MacBook Pro means $100 more in your pocket. But feel free to ignore this suggestion if you think that Massachusetts hasn't already soaked you enough tax-wise.
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Bob S. said 9:28PM on 4-04-2008
Ha. As a native Bostonian now living in Chicago, where the sales tax is 10.25%, I'd come out ahead if I flew out to Boston to buy a Mac.
Bill Buchan said 10:27AM on 4-05-2008
Pah. Try living in Scotland. Before the Glasgow store opened, it was a trip to London (500 miles). Now its only 120 miles (4-5 hours). And why is the store important ?
Should your Macbook Pro (seagate) hard drive die on you 5 weeks in, its the only place in Scotland where you can get a replacement *quickly*. Handy if youre a business user...
---* Bill
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iflooie said 8:54PM on 4-07-2008
sweet... Ill be there day 1
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Buffy&Eliot said 8:15AM on 5-01-2008
Here are are few more pics of the Apple Store on Boylston St...
http://www.rainydaymagazine.com/RDM2008/Home/May/RDMHomeMay08W1.htm#AppleStoreComing
Thought folks here would like to get an early look at tomorrow's article on RainyDayMagazine
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