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NYC's subway wireless will soon reach Grand Central Terminal and Queens
New Yorkers won't have to wait long to get internet access at some of the biggest commuting hubs in their fair city -- Transit Wireless has started the second phase of its subway wireless rollout. The initial construction will bring cellular and WiFi access to 11 subway stations in midtown Manhattan, including the all-important Grand Central Terminal. Those in the borough of Queens, meanwhile, should start seeing underground coverage in March. When the current phase wraps up in June, the expanded service should give internet access to about 250 million riders per year. That's no mean feat when even some of the bigger public WiFi projects have much smaller potential audiences.
Apple Store employees accept petitions from protesters
Slightly over a dozen protesters from Change.org and SumofUS delivered a petition signed by more than 250,000 people to the Grand Central Terminal Apple Store today. Both organizations are urging Apple to improve working conditions at factories run by its overseas suppliers, particularly Foxconn's massive facility in China. CNET reports the event was relatively low-key -- there were more people present covering the event for the media than the number of protesters who showed up -- and Apple Store employees seemed well-prepared when they accepted the big box of signatures. The group claims the same petition will be delivered to Apple's San Francisco store later today as one part of a global action also involving stores in Bangalore, London, and Sydney. At press time, it was unclear if the protesters were wearing clothing manufactured in the USA, or if they plan similar protests at Best Buys, Walmarts, Gamestops, or the headquarters of Microsoft, Nintendo, Sony, HP, Dell, or any of the other retail outlets and consumer electronics companies who also heavily employ Chinese labor to build their products.
Apple's Grand Central neighbor sees sales increase
Apple and the New York City Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) both received criticism last year for a sweetheart deal in which Apple paid less rent per square foot for the Grand Central Terminal retail store space than other tenants in the facility. Well, the deal is starting to pay off for the MTA as expected, since the popularity of the Apple Store at Grand Central Terminal appears to be improving sales for other retailers. While the trend is based on data from only one nearby restaurant, it's expected that the Apple Store is attracting business to other stores and restaurants in Grand Central Terminal as well. Crain's New York Business says that sales at Michael Jordan's The Steakhouse N.Y.C. have increased by 7 percent in the last seven weeks. A co-owner of the restaurant, Peter Glazier, says the improvement in sales isn't just because Apple displaced another high-end restaurant, Metrazur. "The jump only happened after Apple opened," according to Mr. Glazier. Apple not only pays less rent than other tenants, but does not contribute to a revenue sharing agreement that most of the other tenants of Grand Central do. The MTA believed that the flagship Apple Store would attract significant numbers of new customers that would benefit the other tenants and the entire facility as well. For every 1 percent increase in sales for the terminal's retailers, the MTA stands to gain $500,000 in rent due to the revenue sharing agreement. If the experience of Michael Jordan's The Steakhouse is an indication of increased sales across the board, then the Apple agreement will certainly pay off dividends to the MTA.
Apple posts photos of Grand Central Terminal store opening
We've already seen some great shots of the Apple Store opening held in Grand Central Terminal in New York last week thanks to our own Mike Rose, but Apple now has the store's official page posted on its website, with additional photos and information about the big setup. It looks very impressive -- as promised way back when, the store is pretty seamlessly integrated into the big GCT lobby, and some really excellent lighting makes the whole place really stand out at night. I'm impressed. Obviously Apple always does a nice job with its retail spaces, but this is such great design -- looks like I've got one more destination to add to the tourist list next time I visit the Big Apple. [via CNN]
Grand Central Terminal Apple Store previewed for media, opens Friday
Apple previewed its latest retail development for the press today. The Grand Central Terminal store in New York City, opening Friday, will be among the largest Apple stores in the world; it overlooks the Main Concourse from the East and North East balconies of Grand Central Terminal. %Gallery-141279% Check out the gallery of inside shots above, courtesy of NPD's Ross Rubin. He reports that the store includes an "express checkout" area ("like an Apple Store inside the Apple Store") and dual Genius Bars. Business Insider posted some nice shots of what the store looks like on the inside and Fortune has a video walkthrough, embedded below. As an extra bonus to commuters, Apple is providing free Wi-Fi throughout the terminal. Also, the store will be the first to offer 15-minute Express Workshops of "tips and tricks in a streamlined format to serve customers on a tight schedule," according to a press release issued by Apple this morning. The Grand Central Terminal store opens to the public this Friday, December 9, at 10 AM. Over three hundred Apple employees will be on hand to help the expected rush of holiday shoppers. Normal business hours will be from 7 AM to 9 PM, Monday through Friday; Saturday 10 AM to 7 PM, and Sunday 11 AM to 6 PM. Our own Mike Rose will be scoping out the opening; if you see him on Friday, say hello (he'll be the guy in the TUAW t-shirt).
Grand Central Apple Store opening December 9th, giving New Yorkers eight billionth way to buy an iPad
It's been a long time coming, but it looks like Apple's finally ready to take the wraps off its latest store. The company's latest New York City outpost is set to get its grand opening in landmark Grand Central Terminal on December 9th, leaving only a few weeks for some combative holiday shopping amidst tourists, fellow commuters and kids from the suburbs. According to an email sent to customers, the store will open its doors for the first time on Friday at 10AM, so you should probably start lining up in an hour or two -- after all, nothing beats claustrophobia, a little elbowing and that new Apple Store smell, right? [Thanks, David]
Daily Update for December 1, 2011
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen.
NYC Grand Central Apple Store to be ready for "Black Friday"
The huge new Apple Store that's going into the NYC Grand Central Terminal is set to be open before "Black Friday", November 25th. That's the Friday after Thanksgiving, marking the official beginning of the holiday gift-purchasing season. The Grand Central Apple Store is being built in the former location of the Metrazur restaurant and covers a 15,230 square foot expanse of very expensive retail space. Employees for the new location have been hired and are currently receiving training at a "hotel in Times Square," according to PhoneArena. That training will continue until November 11th, at which time the new employees will most likely be involved in stocking and prepping the new store for the crush -- not only of Black Friday, but also the craziness that accompanies any new Apple Store opening. In related news, 9to5Mac has posted a photo from an MTA employee (see above) that shows that there is still a considerable amount of construction work to be completed before the flagship store is opened to the public.
Grand Central Terminal Apple Store under construction now
As you can see from the pictures above, the new Apple Store being put into New York's Grand Central Terminal is now under construction. The whole store will be encased in glass, and despite locals' concerns about the project, Apple's plan (which AppleInsider says was delivered to the MTA in specially-designed "linen-lined boxes" -- sounds about right) is being put into motion. The whole operation wasn't cheap -- Apple not only is paying through the nose for the space, but had to pay the previous tenant, a restaurant, to move out of the lease early. Not that it matters much; Apple's got the cash. And they'll probably make a few truckloads as well -- the store is supposed to be even bigger than most of the company's flagship retail stores, encompassing 23,000 square feet, and being right in the middle of one of the most-trafficked pedestrian areas in the world won't hurt either. Depending on how construction goes, the new store could open as early as later on this year.
Grand Central retail store lease is signed, could be approved next week
The possibility of an Apple retail store gracing New York's busy Grand Central Terminal has been rumored, reported and bandied about for months now; in February, it looked like a deal was in motion, but in March reports suggested the plan had run off the rails. Now it's close to being reality, again. Today the New York Post reports that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (which manages GCT) and Apple have signed a 10-year lease worth US$8 million to put the world's largest Apple retail outlet on the terminal's north and northeast balconies, looking down at the iconic clock in the central waiting area. The 23,000 ft2 (2137 m2) site is currently occupied by the Metrazur restaurant. With approval by the MTA's finance committee and full board expected later this week, the deal looks to be locked in. [As pointed out by Apple 2.0, the store will actually be slightly smaller than two of the UK Apple Stores.] A train station might seem to be an odd location for a high-end retail outlet like an Apple store, but Grand Central is not exactly an ordinary railway terminal. As the commuter hub for New York City's affluent northern suburbs, it hosts hundreds of thousands of passengers and visitors every day and features a wide array of shops and restaurants. Considering that almost every Apple product can be wrangled onto a train pretty easily -- except a Mac Pro, larger iMacs and possibly the two 27" displays -- the new store could see tremendous business during the afternoon rush. It could also take some of the customer load off of the 5th Avenue store, which is now as much a tourist hot zone as it is an actual retail operation. If this store does get built out, it will be the city's sixth; Manhattan already features four Apple stores (W14, Lincoln Center, 5th Ave and Soho) and Staten Island has one. Brooklyn's borough president made a play for a store last year, and there are rumors that Apple's retail team is looking at space in the upcoming Atlantic Yards arena/retail center. [hat tip MacStories]
Apple Store may be coming to NYC's Grand Central Terminal
As if it wasn't busy enough already, Apple may be looking to build a retail store right in the middle of New York's Grand Central Terminal, according to reports. There hasn't been any public sign that the company wants to open a new store there yet (and there is a public process companies have to go through to submit proposals and gain approval), but "reliable sources" are apparently saying Apple wants to start the process. It might sound like a strange idea to put an Apple Store in a train station, especially one that's fairly close to several existing Apple Stores. But the Fifth Ave. store is reportedly overcrowded already (even though it's Apple's only 24-hour location), and obviously Grand Central Terminal is prime real estate for well-heeled shoppers, considering all of the commuters that come through from Westchester, Connecticut and other suburbs every day. I doubt the space will be cheap, but Apple's got some of the deepest pockets around. No word yet on how long it would take for an Apple Store to get approved and built, if indeed the rumors are true and Apple is trying to get in there at all. We'll stay tuned. If the store does come, it would join the five existing (plus one hypothetical) stores in the five boroughs of New York City, continuing the Big Apple's dominance as the densest urban concentration of Apple retail. [via MacRumors]
