CompUSA posts

Filed under: Retail

Poll: How will the CompUSA closings affect you as an Apple user

by Erica Sadun (RSS feed) on Dec 13th, 2007

Loyal TUAW reader Mike Schleifstein wrote in on our tip line with a thoughtful commentary about the CompUSA closings. Losing CompUSA means losing local Apple Certified Repair centers for a large segment of the United States without access to Apple Stores. More, without the brick and mortar CompUSA stores, many potential customers will not be to try out Apple products in person or buy Mac software at a real store. We decided to ask you, our readership, how the CompUSA closings will affect you. Here's an Amazon Unspun poll that you can expand and add your own feedback to. I'm curious to see how these closings will affect the TUAW community as a whole.

Tags: CompUSA

Filed under: Retail, Steve Jobs, Apple

History of the Apple Store

by Mike Schramm (RSS feed) on Jun 26th, 2007

Just in time for the iPhone crowds and media to descend on Apple stores around the country, SiliconUser has a quick little history of how Apple's famous retail space came to be. It all started back in 19-aught-7, when Mr. Stevonious Jobsenheimer first opened the Apple Computing Salon and General Store in little Border Junction, Wyoming...

No, only kidding. In 1996 when Jobs came back to Apple, they were struggling to come up with a good way to sell their computers at retail, and after a few bumpy years with store-within-a-stores at CompUSA, they set up a warehouse in Cupertino and went to work designing a real live Apple experience. The first try was apparently based on Apple's product matrix (and caused Jobs to famously say, "Oh God, we're screwed"), but eventually they came up with what we know today-- bright, open spaces with stations that encouraged visitors to use and play with the products. Strangely enough, SiliconUser points out that they are very much like Gap stores, which both disturbs and awes me at the same time.

So when you're standing outside your local Apple store Thursday at midnight while it rains and you stare at the growing-even-more- obsolete- than-it-already-is Treo 650 only to look up at the dry and warm Apple store and the glorious iPhones that lie inside behind the glass, just remember the good folks that designed it all for you. The money they were paid made it worth it, but the irresistible spending draw you feel while walking by is just the icing on the cake.

Tags: apple, applestore, compusa, cupertino, ohgodwerescrewed, retail, stephoniousjobsenheimer, store-within-a-store

Filed under: Rumors, Mac Pro

Rumors: CompUSA pulls Mac Pros

by Erica Sadun (RSS feed) on Feb 9th, 2007

Are new Mac Pros on the way? That's what JackSYi, a poster over at the MacRumors forums, seems to think. He writes that CompUSA just placed their Mac Pro inventory as "D status", which I'm guessing means "discontinued", in anticipation of new models arriving next week. He says that all Mac Pros, including demo models, are being pulled off the shelves to make room for the new inventory. If true, what do you readers think the refreshed specs will be? Or do you think this is all malarkey? Let us know in the comments.

Update: Since this post was written, JackSYi has posted again over at MacRumors saying that the memo was read wrong and the Mac Pros aren't being discontinued. Thanks Mark.

Tags: CompUSA, MacRumors

Filed under: Humor, iTS

How to sell a Zune: Give away an iPod gift card

by Erica Sadun (RSS feed) on Feb 8th, 2007

http://www.tuaw.com/media/2007/02/compusazunethumbnail.jpgg

Here's a chuckle from the forums over at MacRumors. Poster GFLPraxis, who works at the Spokane CompUSA, scanned this advertisement tag for the new Zune special. For only $249.99, you'll not only get a spankin' new Zune but also a $15 iTunes Gift Card. Now that's an inducement to buy the Zune! If only Apple would license FairPlay.

Although these tags should reflect what's printed in the circulated advertisements, this one didn't quite match. It was caught by the store manager, who passed it around the store for laughs.

Click the image to enlarge it.

Tags: CompUSA, Zune

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