Latest Gear Live Videos
iPad 2 is the star gadget of SXSW
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Handhelds,
SXSW 2011 brings 20,000 early adopters to downtown Austin, Texas every year, but this year the Apple iPad 2 was going on sale at the exact same time. What is a gadget-loving, Web professional to do? Apple made things a little easy by opening a temporary "pop-up" store just a few blocks from the convention center. On Friday, the lines were around the block. Today, it is just another busy, Apple retail store.
Sales at the pop-up store were brisk despite the fact there are two other Apple stores in Austin, which do about $30 million in combined annual business. The demand for the iPad 2 is driven partly by the fact that Apple didn't accept pre-orders on the device, forcing would-be early adopters to brave the lines at retail stores.
Click to continue reading iPad 2 is the star gadget of SXSW
Advertisement
Surprise! iPad 2 launch draws crowds at Apple Stores
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Corporate News, Handhelds,
At 5:10pm ET, an Apple employee suddenly shouted, "Everybody start cheering!"
And the crowd roared as Russian tourist Alex Shumilov, 29, bounced up the stairs of the New York City's flagship Apple store on Fifth Avenue, clasping two white iPad 2 boxes in each of his hand.
After camping outside the store for 28 hours, through more rain than shine, Shumilov became one of the first people in the world to own an iPad 2. It's quite a story to tell when he returns home to Moscow this Sunday.
"I'm a bit tired," he said, while grinning from ear to ear. "But I came all the way here for the iPad. I got two white ones. Everyone is waiting for white!"
By 4:30pm ET, the line for the iPad 2 outside the Apple Store was more than a mile long. It filled the public pavilion (we felt sorry for neighboring F.A.O. Schwartz), wrapped around the block, and continued along one side of the next block.
According to several Apple employees, the line began to pick up around 2pm. Bottles of water were distributed to the early goers, but what most really craved were stools.
Click to continue reading Surprise! iPad 2 launch draws crowds at Apple Stores
Apple iPad 2 online sales start Friday at 1:00 AM PST
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Handhelds,
Taking a page from Verizon's book, Apple announced Thursday that the iPad 2 will be available online starting at 4am Eastern time Friday.
Unlike the first iPad, Apple did not offer a pre-sale for the iPad 2. The next-generation tablet will be available in Apple Stores, as well as Best Buy, Target, Walmart, and AT&T and Verizon Wireless stores at 5pm local time, but those who are truly eager for the iPad 2 can get up at 4am (or 1am on the West Coast) to place their order.
Apple said that customers who purchase the tablet in-store will get a free personal setup service, which will assist with e-mail and apps.
The Wi-Fi version of the iPad 2 will sell for $499 for the 16GB model, $599 for the 32GB model, $699 for the 64GB model. The iPad 2 with Wi-Fi + 3G will be available for $629 for the 16GB model, $729 for the 32GB model and $829 for the 64GB model. It will come in white or black, and Apple will sell versions that run on the Verizon or AT&T networks.
In the App Store, Apple will add iMovie and GarageBand for iPad for $4.99 each. The new iPad 2 Smart Cover will also go on sale Friday in a variety of polyurethane colors for $39 or leather for $69.
Click to continue reading Apple iPad 2 online sales start Friday at 1:00 AM PST
Apple opening pop-up store at SXSW for iPad 2 launch
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Corporate News,
For all you South by Southwest Interactive attendees distraught at the prospect of missing out on the Apple iPad 2's launch at 5pm on Friday, you're in luck. According to an Austin newspaper, Apple is opening a pop-up store tomorrow just for you.
A leasing agent told Austin's The Statesman that Apple is retrofitting a 5,000 square foot temporary store in the Scarbrough Building on Congress Avenue in downtown Austin. Apple is said to have leased the space for two weeks. Construction apparently began on Wednesday, and the windows are still covered with black vinyl.
"They came in town on Monday, did a quick tour, found a spot, and they're in there working and will open by Friday," Rance Wilemon, a partner at Plat.Form Real Estate told The Statesman. "We would have loved to have had them" in the Second Street District. "They're just a great draw."
Click to continue reading Apple opening pop-up store at SXSW for iPad 2 launch
Some Apple TV orders delayed by up to 3 weeks
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Corporate News, HDTV, Home Entertainment,
Did you order one of those new $99 Apple TV units that Apple announced at their fall music event? If so, you may wanna keep an eye on your inbox, because the company has been sending notices to some customers letting them know that their orders have been delayed by 2-3 weeks:
“Our records indicate that when you placed your order you paid for upgraded shipping,” Apple wrote in the emails. “Due to a delay, we may have not been able to meet our delivery commitment.”
We’re guessing that this is a case where more people were interested in picking up the $99 box than Apple had expected to be able to send out before September finishes out. However, if you go to the Apple TV page on the Apple Store, it still shows that the device will ship within this month.
Read More | Apple Insider
Unboxing Live 060: iPhone 4 (shot on an iPhone 4)
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Accessories, Apple, Cell Phones, Features, Handhelds, Video Games, Videocasts,
Yesterday we gave you our full iPhone 4 line-waiting experience video, but we know that some of you just wanna focus on the device itself, so this video is for you. We give you a look at the iPhone 4 as we open it up at the Alderwood Mall Apple Store in Lynnwood, Washington. We give you a look at the phone, compare it to the iPhone 3GS, and give you a look at the iPhone 4 dock and iPhone 4 bumper case as well.
iPhone 4 deliveries start two days ahead of schedule
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Handhelds,
Well, look what we have here—it turns out that this year Apple has decided not to have FedEx hold on to deliveries of the iPhone 4 until release day (they did this with the iPhone 3G and 3GS,) and is instead letting deliveries happen naturally. The result? Some lucky folks are reporting that they’ve received their iPhone 4 today, two days before they go on sale at Apple retails stores and other third-party locations. Others have a delivery date set for tomorrow, giving them a one-day head start on all that FaceTime goodness.
So, what about all of the others who opted to reserve at a store and wait in line? Looks like it’s gonna remain that way. We must say, though, it’s kind of a low blow by Apple. The fact is that just about everyone who reserved and will be waiting in line for hours at an Apple Store to pick up the iPhone 4 opted to do so in order to be one of the first to have the device. Seriously, they aren’t there because they need help importing their contacts or installing apps. Now that iPhone 4 units are being delivered, it would have been cool of Apple to start sending emails to those who reserved, letting them come in and pick up their iPhone 4 starting today, saving those customers from lining up in the wee hours of the morning.
Read More | MacRumors
ATT won’t have any white iPhone 4 units at launch [UPDATED]
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Rumors,
So tomorrow is when pre-orders start for the iPhone 4, and it looks like an internal AT&T document shows that the carrier won;t have any of the white iPhone 4 units in stock at launch. As you can see in the image, if correct, you’ll be able to get an iPhone 4 or iPhone 3GS in black from AT&T at launch. You can also pre-order these models starting tomorrow. However, the white iPhone 4 won’t be available from AT&T until “later this summer.”
We are gonna assume that, if true, this will be the case with other third-party stores that will be offering the iPhone 4 on launch day as well. Stores like Wal-Mart, Best Buy, and Radio Shack will all sell iPhone 4 on day one, but if AT&T won’t have white for launch, we are guessing that Apple is keeping the white ones to themselves. In fact, Deutsche Telekom just announced on Twitter that they won’t have the white iPhone 4 at launch either. That means you’ll need to pre-order from Apple for delivery, or wait in line at an Apple Store.
UPDATE: As it turns out, even Apple won’t have white iPhone 4 units available at launch!
Read More | MMi
Wal-Mart, Radio Shack, Best Buy to sell iPhone 4 on June 24
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Corporate News, Handhelds,
Looks like Apple is looking to thin some of those long iPhone lines that have become a yearly summer tradition. It has just been announced that Wal-Mart will be selling the iPhone 4 on June 24th, which is the day the phone goes on sale. In the past, Wal-Mart would sell iPhones well after the launch date, so this is a first for them. It’s smart, as there are way more Wal-Mart stores in the country than Apple stores.
In addition, Radio Shack has been telling customers that they would also be selling the new iPhone on launch day as well, bringing that store back into relevancy for the first time since 1992. Lastly, Best Buy has yet to officially announce launch day plans, but they did sell both the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS at launch, so this should be no different.
Of course, you’ll also be able to buy the iPhone 4 directly at an Apple Store as well as any AT&T store as well. That’s a lot of options, and that’s not even taking into account that you’ll be able to pre-order the iPhone 4 starting on June 15th so that it is shipped directly to you, thus avoiding lines altogether.
Read More | CNET
Eye-Fi announces Geo X2 Apple-exclusive, expanded Wi-Fi support
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Accessories, Cameras, Corporate News, Wireless / WiFi,
The folks over at Eye-Fi have yet another 802.11n card they’d like you to know about, and this one is an Apple Store exclusive. The Geo X2 sits nicely between the $49.99 Connect X2 and the $99.99 Explore X2, and will cost $69.99. For all intents and purposes, the Geo X2 appears to be similar to the Explore X2, but it packs in 4GB of memory instead of 8GB. It rocks the same Endless Memory Mode that automatically deletes photos after they safely been wirelessly synched and backed up, the Class-6 flash memory, and the automatic geotagging support as well.
Alongside this announcement, Eye-Fi also made it known that, starting at the end of May, users can expect greatly improved Wi-Fi support, thanks to their partnership with Devicescape. The meat and potatoes of this announcement is that the Eye-Fi cards will now be able to log on to public Wi-Fi hotspots that require getting through a browser splash screen. Since that is pretty much the majority, this opens things up quite a bit.
Advertisement
© Gear Live Inc. {year} – User-posted content, unless source is quoted, is licensed under a Creative Commons Public Domain License. Gear Live graphics, logos, designs, page headers, button icons, videos, articles, blogs, forums, scripts and other service names are the trademarks of Gear Live Inc.