Reported earlier this week after a five-year wait that saw several rumors constantly claiming Apple had finalized work on the location, a new Apple retail store opened this morning in Reading, UK, at the Oracle Shopping Centre. The Oracle Reading centre “is located in Reading town centre on the banks of the River Kennet, just inside the A329 ring road”.

The Apple Store is located in the upper level of the building and, as usual with recent retail grand openings, saw a long line of Apple fans and customers for its debut this morning. ifoAppleStore, who broke the news this week, has some photos and a video of the new Store, and we’ve collected other shots from people who were there from Twitter.

Check out the photo after the break, and visit Apple’s official page for The Oracle Apple Store here. (more…)

Following the screenshots detailing Nuance integration in iOS 5 through Apple internal settings, Chronic Wire reports new MacBook Airs may be coming out on Wednesday. Chronic had a good track record in the past pinpointing various Apple rumors and he seems certain the new line will launch this week, on June 15th. However, he didn’t post any tech specs of the new machines — though it looks fairly obvious that Apple will implement Sandy Bridge processors and Thunderbolt technology like in the iMac and MacBook Pro 2011 refreshes. Several reports in the past months pointed at Apple aiming at a June-July release for the popular ultra-thin laptops.

Meanwhile, 9to5mac also claims Apple will we holding retail store overnights on Tuesday for a Wednesday product launch, but they couldn’t confirm what the product could be. They don’t believe it’s the new MacBook Air family like Chronic Wire does, but it could be considering recent speculation.

We have since heard from a source that there are still some current generation MacBook Airs shipping to retail stores across the world into the next couple of weeks. Because of our own independent information, we doubt a new MacBook Air launch for Wednesday. It does make sense though based on the scheduled retail overnight.

Other products recently rumored for an update would be the Mac Pro Server, Mac mini server and Time Capsule/AirPort Extreme stations, which several bloggers believed would be unveiled by Apple at WWDC.

Update: Chronic Wire now reports Back to School promo material will be put in place during the retail overnights on Tuesday, with a launch on Wednesday alongside the new Airs. The Back to School 2011 promo was initially believed to be set for a WWDC announcement with possibility for students to get the usual iPod touch with the purchase of a new Mac, or a discount off a new iPad 2.

Update #2: MacRumors initially posted part numbers of what they claimed to be the four models supposed to become available this week. In a tweet, they later confirmed the numbers were for unlocked iPhones. Currently, Apple offers four MacBook Air models with 64 GB and 128 GB SSD options for the 11-inch, 128 GB and 256 GB for the 13-inch.

Apple didn’t openly celebrate the tenth anniversary of its retail stores except for using the occasion to role out iPads as an interactive “smart sign”. However it has been noticed that in the back-end of stores, Apple has sent a tenth anniversary poster. The poster is almost philosophical in its review of the past ten years of Apple stores, highlighting the successes, failures, trivial facts and lessons learnt.

Jump the break for a recreated version of the poster, or head to ifoAppleStore for a transcribed copy of the poster. Otherwise, here are some highlights that we thought were interesting:

We’ve learned that a 32’6” transparent glass box can stand tall even among the giants of the Manhattan skyline.That when glass becomes as iconic as the Fifth Avenue Cube, it can also become the fifth most photographed landmark in New York City.

We’ve also learned that getting these details perfect can feel like trying to move a mountain. Sometimes two. But in the end, the effort is worth it. Because steel, glass, and stone can combine to create truly unique and inspiring spaces.

We’ve learned that a visit to the Genius Bar can fix more than just computers. It can also restore a customer’s relationship with Apple

We’ve found that when we wear black T-shirts, we blend in. And when we wear too many colors it’s confusing. But blue shirts are just right. We’ve also learned that it takes precisely 4,253 stitches to embroider the Apple logo on those blue shirts. And we even figured out which direction the stitches should go in.

As beautiful and iconic as our stores may be, the people who create and staff those stores are what matters most. So on this 3,652nd day we say think you to very single one of you. We say thank you to thosewho were there on the first day, to those whose first day is today.

[Via MacRumors]

(more…)

Yesterday, Amazon launched a software store for Mac applications that, using the online retailer’s usual interface to browse and buy products, allows users to purchase apps and download them on their computers without waiting for a boxed copy to arrive. In what it sounded like Amazon’s response to the Mac App Store, which as of today counts thousands of apps available from all kinds of developers, we noted Amazon’s new store launched to roughly 250 titles, and didn’t allow independent developers to submit their apps for release, as the company apparently only worked with existing large sellers (like Adobe and Microsoft) to make their applications available digitally.

Whilst the initial impression was that Amazon’s store couldn’t compete with the ease of use of the Mac App Store but competition is always good (especially when it comes to software deals), Dan Frakes at Macworld took the Mac Download Store for a spin, and it turns out the download and installation process might be worse than expected. First off, Amazon lets you save a direct link for later in your software library, but what you get when you decide to get a new app onto your desktop is not a .dmg file or an .app — Amazon gives you an additional “app downloader” to download the actual app on your Mac:

This is where the process gets quite a bit less convenient than buying through the Mac App Store. The first thing you actually download is a small disk image (2.1MB in size, in my case) containing an application-specific [Software Name] Downloader program. Open this disk image, if your browser doesn’t mount the image automatically, and double-click the Amazon Software Downloader.app inside. After a few seconds, the Downloader program begins downloading the purchased software—not to your Downloads folder, or even to your Applications folder, but to a new folder on your Desktop.

There’s more. When trying to install Photoshop Elements with Amazon’s downloader, Frakes ended up with a new .dmg and he had to figure out by himself what to do with it:

I double-clicked the Adobe Photoshop Elements 9 item, expecting it to launch an installer, but it turns out that was just a folder with a custom icon. Inside that was Install.app (along with several folders named deploy, packages, and payloads). Double-clicking Install.app launched the Photoshop Elements installer, which prompted me to enter my 24-character license key, to sign up for an Adobe ID, and to choose which components of Photoshop Elements I wanted to install.

Obviously, it’s possible that Adobe chose a convoluted process and other apps will come with an easier installation method. However, the fact that a separate downloader needs to run in order to get the stuff you bought online seems to be the norm. Personally, I wasn’t really expecting Amazon’s new Mac store to offer the same experience of the Mac App Store (which, small bugs aside, truly is the best way to discover, install and recover Mac apps), but reading Dan’s article makes me wonder how many average and “geek” users will choose this over Apple’s own store or even a boxed copy just for some small discounts or the fact that you can pay with your existing Amazon account. Make sure to read the entire post to know more about the post-installation and, more importantly, how Amazon handles licenses and software keys on multiple computers.

The Wall Street Journal has today revived suggestions that Apple is looking to open an Apple Store in the New York Grand Central Terminal. Back in early February there had been reports from the New York Observer that Apple was planning to open their largest store at the terminal. Those rumors were then squashed in early March after reports surfaced that negotiations had fallen through.

Todays report from the WSJ claims that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is looking for new tenants and that Apple has expressed interest in establishing a retail presence within Grand Central. The space on offer is large, but not large enough to be the world’s largest Apple Store – which is currently the Regent Street (London) store which is 25,000 square feet.

The agency is looking for a single renter for two adjacent balconies on the north and east sides of the terminal. It will issue a request for proposals Monday.

A spokesman for the MTA told the WSJ that the agency dealing with the space has spoken to Apple and is hopeful that they bid on the space. Their report also suggests that the MTA may even be working specifically to find space for Apple, offering two adjacent spaces for rent, even though one is still occupied by a tenant. That tenant, who operates the Metrazur restaurant, would likely receive a hefty buyout from whoever purchases the space.

If Apple is interested in renting the space they will have to do so publicly – with all retail space within Grand Central awarded through an open bidding process. Jump the break for a plan of the retail space on offer – highlighted in red on the right hand side, labelled “East Balcony”.

(more…)

As widely expected, Apple has just updated the official Apple Store app to version 1.3 including custom configure options for Macs and the ability to get support quickly inside an Apple retail store. Contrarily to previous speculation, the app seems to be US-exclusive and doesn’t include an iPad universal version for now. With the new configure options, users are now able to build and order the Mac they want by selecting different RAM configurations, hard drives, displays and more — just like on the Apple Online Store. As for in-store support, the screenshot below shows you can access Mac OS X Tips and Tricks and workshop schedules, see how many customers are in line in front of you, and check out the next opening at the Genius Bar.

From the changelog:

- Enhanced in-store mode lets you get help and support quickly when you’re at an Apple Retail Store.
- The ability to custom-configure a new Mac with the options you want.

The app is available now in the App Store here.

Update: the app is actually becoming available internationally this time. Here’s the link to get it from the Italian store. The Apple Store app is now slowly propagating across Europe, as it’s out in France, Germany, UK, and Spain.

A few more interesting tidbits about the iPad displays Apple has put up in their retail stores to showcase specs and prices and offer product comparisons have surfaced today. As we already knew, the iPads default to a device or computer they’re paired with to display additional information, making it impossible for customers to return to the iOS home screen by pressing the Home button. As reported by 9to5mac however, it is possible for store managers to “unlock” the devices with a custom gesture combination and use the regular iOS.

An Apple Store Manager relayed to us that the new iPad 2 displays are able to turn into “normal iPads” with a few swipes in secret combination. To find out if true, I went to the Soho store and tried it out. Yep, it works.

Additionally, MacRumors points out that an iPad was found unlocked in an Apple Store, with the iOS home screen displaying and “Enroll iPad” app icon. The app is not a native one but, as many suspected, a webclip that launches an AppleConnect interface in Mobile Safari to log in and associate the iPad to a Mac, iOS device or iPod inside the store. It’s likely that the custom retail software is getting all the data from Apple’s servers, meaning that all changes to iPad stores displays (prices, tech specs, artworks) can be performed remotely by Apple without local modifications by employees or store managers.

The interesting bit was the app that was on the dock which says Enroll iPad. It isnt actually an app but instead a Safari bookmark. Clicking on the app takes you to Safari shown in the last image. I tried to go back to the homescreen but I couldn’t seen the Home Button does not do anything.

Of all the rumors we’ve heard in the past weeks about the “Apple Store 2.0 experience”, there was one that claimed employees were instructed to download a folder containing GBs of data from Apple’s corporate servers — some suggested that private folder could be a retail-specific disk image for OS X Lion. We’re just speculating here, but it could be possible that employees were simply told to download the app data from the servers to test the retail software hours before launch, and the rumors posted were incorrect. Private folder or not, the new Apple Store experience has launched today, and now we’re waiting for the updated Apple Store app to go live in the Store.

After last night’s photos of Apple’s changes to the retail experience (dubbed “Apple Store 2.0″ in recent rumors and speculation), a MacTalk forum member has posted (via MacRumors) his first impressions of the new retail space and in-store tables featuring interactive iPad displays to offer more product information, compare tech specs, and call a Specialist for further assistance. As previously reported, the iPads being used by Apple next to each device and computer are special units glued to a mounting block that’s also glued to the main table, running a custom app that’s impossible to hide by locking the device or clicking the Home button. Forum poster jack112006 says he’s tried different combinations for pressing the Home button, but none of them worked as the iPads are likely impossible to hack in-store to visualize the underlying OS. Furthermore, as we saw from the pictures, the units are connected to a single cable that, once inside the mounting block, is divided into two separate cables: one for security and anti-theft measures, one (a very thin 30-pin dock connector) for charging purposes.

The second cable is quite special. It is an ultra-thin 30 pin ribbon cable. It is tight against the iPads body in the acrylic block, and is used for charging, and I would imagine periodic device re-imaging for a new product, etc. The software on all the iPads is very special, and is set up so that the Home button is inactive.

(more…)

As a latest piece to the retail meeting puzzle the tech press has been trying to put together in the past week, Apple has taken down the online status order webpage (where users can check on their Apple store orders, make changes, and track shipments) until Sunday, May 22. Other pages of store.apple.com seem to be up at the moment, as the order status page is the only one that reports systems are being upgraded.

Apple’s retail meetings on May 22 have been initially rumored to be focused on a product launch or 10th anniversary celebration of retail, though recent speculation indicated employees might be simply trained on new internal systems such as RetailMe installed on staff-only iPads, new Concierge and other overhauled internal services.

[Thanks, Jonathan]