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Filed under: Retail

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Retail, iPhone

iPhone service challenges show how Apple can go the extra mile

by Mel Martin on Jan 7th 2009 at 2:15PM

For years, my Apple stuff has been super reliable, more than any other brand I own. So it came as a bit of a surprise when my trusty iPhone reported 'call failed' as I tapped a number from my address book. I assumed it was an AT&T cell problem, so moved out of the area and tried again. Same result. I looked at the iPhone screen and saw I had a full signal and 3G, so I tried yet again. This time I noticed that the call started, the signal dropped to zero (even the AT&T logo vanished) and the call failed again.

Assuming cell tower gremlins, I didn't think too much about it, but as a precaution returned home and restored and re-synced my phone.

Next day I made another call or two with no problems, then patted myself on the back for dealing with the problem on my own. Then the same symptoms returned. Not only were outgoing calls failing, but incoming calls failed in the same way.

A trip to the Apple Store was in order, so I made an appointment and sauntered on in. The tech was helpful. Tried the usual tricks like restarting the phone, resetting network settings etc, but nothing solved it. We switched SIMs with another phone, but no joy there. He suggested I call AT&T and have them 're-provision' the phone. Did that but no dice.

Continue reading “iPhone service challenges show how Apple can go the extra mile”

Tags: Apple Retail, customer service, iPhone

Filed under: Macworld, iLife, Retail, iWork

Buy Leopard, iWork '09, iLife '09 via the Mac Box Set

by Dave Caolo on Jan 6th 2009 at 3:45PM

As mentioned in this morning's keynote, the Mac Box Set lets you purchase Mac OS 10.5.6, iLife '09 and iWork '09 in one tidy package for $169US. Additionally, shoppers can install the Mac Box Set Family Pack on up to five Mac computers in in the same household for $229US. Call us crazy, but we don't remember seeing such a bundle from Apple before.

Before you pull out your credit card, know that this won't ship until iLife '09 ships, which Phil identified as "Late January." However, TUAW reader Lou purchased iLife '09 online today, and his receipt listed "February '09" as the ship date. So, we'll see.

If you happen to visit a store near a store in a major city today, have a look around or ask an employee if January is likely for this product. Let us know what you find. Thanks!

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Tags: ilife, iwork, mac box set, MacBoxSet, macworld, macworld09, retail

Filed under: Macworld, Retail

Surprise! The US online Apple Store is down

by Dave Caolo on Jan 6th 2009 at 10:10AM

As expected, the US online Apple Store has become unavailable as it's prepped to sell this afternoon's post-keynote goodies.

While you're waiting, why not take a last gander at the rumors, check out our photos from Macworld Expo or dust off your credit card in preparation for a new Mac mini?

To our readers outside the USA: is the online Apple Store down in your neck of the woods, too? Let us know in the comments, and stay tuned to TUAW for our live coverage of the Phil Schiller keynote later today.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]

Tags: apple store, AppleStore, macworld, macworld expo, macworld09, MacworldExpo, retail

Filed under: Retail, Holidays

Lucky Bags sold in Japanese Apple Store

by Dave Caolo on Jan 5th 2009 at 5:00PM

Fukubukuro, or "Mystery Bag," is a Japanese New Year's Day tradition during which merchants sell sealed bags of various items at a substantial discount, often as high as 50%. Apple participated this year, and one lucky shopper, Justin, blogged his experience.

For the approximate equivalent of $384US, Justin received

  • an 8 GB iPod touch
  • Nike iPod sensor and armband
  • Logitech Pure-Fi Anywhere2 speaker set
  • Cool, re-useable bag (at right)
  • Commemorative T-shirt
  • 2009 calendar

Quite a haul! Shoppers lined up at midnight on January 2nd for a chance to buy one of Apple's Mystery Bags. I'm thinking that US retailers need to adopt this tradition.

[Via ifoAppleStore]

Tags: apple retail, Apple Store, AppleRetail, AppleStore, Fukubukuro, japan

Filed under: Retail

Thieves steal $10,000 of gear from an Apple Store

by Mike Schramm on Dec 31st 2008 at 3:00PM

Thieves broke into an Apple Store in Palo Alto, California, and within two minutes had nabbed $10,000 worth of gear, including six laptops (gotta be MacBook Pros, right?) and two iPhones. And apparently they trucked right over to Los Gatos, and did the same thing about an hour later. There's no dollar figure from the second robbery, but more laptops and iPhones were stolen.

It's actually surprising this kind of thing doesn't happen more often, though I'm also surprised the thieves were able to duck in and out of the store in two minutes -- I've been to many Apple Stores, and I don't think I could carry out $10,000 worth of stuff and be gone in just two minutes.

But I guess as long as there's something expensive around, someone will try to steal it. Cops have a car description on these guys, and having gotten away with two robberies already, it's probably a good guess they'll try again. Only a matter of time before they're caught.

[via Techmeme]

Tags: apple-store, cops, gear, iphone, los-gatos, macbook-pros, palo-alto, retail, robbery, stolen, thefts, thieves

Filed under: Retail, Surveys and Polls, Holidays

Apple ranked #4 among online retailers

by Mel Martin on Dec 31st 2008 at 9:00AM

A holiday survey of shopper satisfaction with e-retailers ranked Apple as number 4, with 78% of customers pleased with purchases made on the Apple website. The survey was conducted by ForeSee Results and FGI Research.

Only two online retailers scored above 80 percent, with Amazon and Netflix tied at 84%. QVC.com ranked third. The survey is intended to be predictive for how companies will do in 2009. Retailers losing some customer confidence included Circuit City, Gap, Home Depot, HSN, Neiman Marcus, and Overstock.com.

Larry Freed, President and CEO of ForeSee Results, said that too many e-retailers aren't paying attention to metrics like customer satisfaction and he said "that's just not playing to win in this economy."

Apple is down 1% from last year's rankings. In general, Apple does very well in surveys that measure customer loyalty, product reliability, and service and support.

2009 could be a tough year for brick and mortar and online retailers, so every little bit of customer pleasure really helps translate into sales.

Tags: Apple Store, customer satisfaction, holiday sales, surveys

Filed under: Retail, Deals, iPhone

AT&T sells $99 refurb iPhones until end of December

by Cory Bohon on Dec 27th 2008 at 7:00AM


Just last week we mention that AT&T would start selling the iPhone 3G through its website. AT&T took that idea a bit further, and is now offering an iPhone 3G at a really good deal.

Currently being offered is a refurbished 8GB iPhone 3G for only $99US (with a 2-year contract). You heard right, you can get an iPhone 3G for only $99. So the rumors about the $99 iPhone were semi-true, except this isn't Walmart, and it's only a limited deal. You can get $50 off all refurbed iPhones until December 31.

Here's how the prices break down for the refurbs:

Thanks for the tip, Binja!

Tags: 3G, 99, ATT, deal, iPhone, rumors, sale

Filed under: Retail, iPhone

iPhone 3G now available for online purchase

by Cory Bohon on Dec 20th 2008 at 2:00PM

Since the introduction of the iPhone 3G, neither Apple nor AT&T has sold the device online. That is, until now. AT&T is now allowing customers the option of ordering an iPhone 3G on their store website.

You can now pick up an iPhone 3G in either 8GB or 16GB black/white configurations. The 8GB iPhone is being sold for $199US, and the 16GB for $299. If new isn't your thing, AT&T is also offering refurbished iPhones starting at $149 for an 8GB model. You can visit the AT&T online store for more information.

Will this affect your iPhone purchase?




Thanks to everyone who sent this in!

Tags: Apple, ATT, online, retail

Filed under: Retail, Stocking Stuffers

Apple Store free shipping deadline is tonight

by Michael Rose on Dec 19th 2008 at 3:32PM

If you're flush enough to give Apple gifts this holiday season, but frugal enough to want to avoid shipping charges and still get your gear in time for Christmas, be mindful: Apple's web store deadline for free express shipping is tonight at midnight Pacific time (3 AM Saturday ET). Most items (including refurb machines) can still be shipped in time if ordered by 12/23 at 10 am PT, for an additional fee; however, tonight is the last chance to put your money down for an engraved iPod.

If you really like the idea of gift shopping at the very last minute and beyond, you do have one option that can take you right into Christmas Day: Apple's flagship 5th Avenue retail store in NYC will be open as usual, 24/7 right through the holiday. My sympathies, in advance, to the retail staffing team that's drawn the short straw and has to work overnight on New Year's Eve... that's going to be messy.

[via Dealnews]

Tags: gifts, holidash, holiday, retail, shipping, store

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Hardware, iPod Family, Retail, Odds and ends, Stocking Stuffers, iPhone

iBreathalyzer is, yes, a breathalyzer for your iPod

by Mike Schramm on Dec 18th 2008 at 5:00PM


It's late Friday night, you're stepping out of the bar into the cold after a few drinks, and as you head towards the car, you stop, realizing that it might not be the right time to drive. But how can you know for sure? Simple -- you just pull out your iPod. Because the iPod hasn't had enough random things attached to it, there's the iBreath, a breathalyzer that connects to the bottom of your iPod or iPhone and will not only tell you what your BAC is, but transmit your iPod's audio to your FM radio as well.

You've gotta be kidding us. Not only should you never drive after drinking, as even legal levels can be dangerous, but even if you just want to know your BAC you can buy a regular breathalyzer for a lot less than the $80 this one costs, and you don't even need an iPod to connect it to.

But we'll give these guys their credit -- of all the things you can attach to an iPod, this one might be the strangest.

Tags: accessories, alcohol, bar, breathalyzer, drinking, humor, ibreath, iphone, ipod, silly

Filed under: Retail, iPhone

Walmart to test iPhone sales with employees starting today

by Robert Palmer on Dec 17th 2008 at 3:40PM

Engadget is featuring an image allegedly showing details of Walmart's "soft launch" for the iPhone, scheduled to go on sale at 9 a.m. on December 28.

The note indicates that 488 Walmart stores were chosen for a "pilot" exercise, whereby each store will be given five iPhones to sell to Walmart employees between now and the 28th.

Associates will be able to purchase the phones for "full contract price and a two-year service agreement," but they can take advantage of a 15 percent discount on the contract as employees.

The purpose of the pilot program is to sort out any issues with the sales or activation process prior to the public launch date. If anything, it will make for a happy holiday for 2,440 Walmart associates.

Tags: engadget, iphone, retail, soft-launch, walmart

Filed under: Retail, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch

Target releases 'Gift Globe' iPhone app

by Cory Bohon on Dec 17th 2008 at 8:00AM

Target has decided to release released its own iPhone application a couple of weeks ago, possibly to encourage holiday shopping online. Stepping beyond the basic web application that Walmart released, the Target application [iTunes link] offers an interesting concept -- like an Urbanspoon for gift ideas.

The idea is to generate gift ideas quickly. First, select the gender and age of your recipient. Then shake the iPhone and the snow globe will display a potential gift. Don't like the recommendation? Shake the iPhone again, and another item will be displayed.

You can tap the item to access actions: add it to your favorites, purchase online, or start your selection over. With the favorites list, you have the ability to create a personalized holiday shopping list that you can carry with you. You can mark off items on the list as you purchase them. The application also allows you to find the nearest Target store.

The Target Gift Globe application can be found in the iTunes App Store for free.

Gallery: First Look: Target Gift Globe

Tags: App Store, AppStore, iPhone, iPod touch, IpodTouch, shopping, Target, walmart

Filed under: Humor, Retail, Cult of Mac, Odds and ends, iMac, PowerBook, Apple

Apple t-shirt quilt available on eBay

by Mike Schramm on Dec 13th 2008 at 2:30PM


I don't know how comfy a quilt made out of t-shirts would be, but maybe the fact that they're all Apple t-shirts will help. That's exactly what this quilt is made out of -- it's up over on eBay right now, and while the price is only around $36 at the time of this writing, it's probably gone up since then. There are about 20 t-shirts in the quilt total, and they look like they range from the late '90s (there's a bondi blue iMac on there, I believe) up to the Tiger release (at least those are all the ones I recognize). And they do seem like official store t-shirts, which means whoever made the quilt probably is or knows an Apple employee.

If you can get over the fact that someone probably once wore your quilt, it might be a nice Apple-themed bedspread to grab. I've been looking for a good quilt lately, and while this is a little too patched together for my interests, maybe Apple is missing something here. What would an Ive-designed quilt end up looking like?

Tags: apple, apple-store, apple-stores, genius, handmade, imac, quilt, retail, stores, tiger, tshirts

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Retail, Apple Financial, Deals, iPhone

Analyst: Walmart will sell 4.5 million iPhones in 2009

by Mike Schramm on Dec 12th 2008 at 6:30PM

Which hardly seems believable, but you never know. Yes, Walmart, that bastion of crass commercialism, is going to be carrying the iPhone, that symbol of elegant commercialism, and what we're going to get is a whole lot of commercialism. Analyst Gene Munster (our favorite prognosticator other than the Groundhog himself) says that not only will Apple sell a whopping 45 million iPhones next year, but a tenth of them will be sold right here in America at good ol' Walmart.

Apparently he didn't change his numbers from before the announcement of the Walmart deal, since he had already planned on Apple finding other ways to sell the iPhone. But man, that's a lot of iPhones – enough to give everyone in my current city of Chicago an iPhone, and then some to spare (we'd send them to St. Louis, if we actually had a Walmart here to buy them from).

But no one's ever been proven wrong overestimating Apple sales we guess. If you think iPhones are commonplace now, wait until you see them at Walmart.

[via MacBytes]

Tags: 4.5-million, analyst, commercialism, falling-prices, gene-munster, money, sales, walmart

Filed under: Retail, Software, Deals

Mac Update offers holiday bundle

by Cory Bohon on Dec 9th 2008 at 8:00AM

In the midst of the holiday shopping season, MacUpdate is in the process of offering their Holiday Bundle. MacUpdate tells us that their new purchasing system now allows purchases to be gifted, and in this particular bundle if you purchase three copies, you'll receive a fourth free.

The bundle is selling for $49.99US, and includes the following applications at a hefty discount:
If you're looking for a last minute holiday gift idea for the Mac user in your life, consider MacUpdate's Holiday Promo. The deal runs through December 18, and can be purchased/gifted through the MU Promo website.


Thanks to everyone who sent this in!

Tags: Bundle, Holiday, Mac Update, MacUpdate, Promo, software bundle, SoftwareBundle

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