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New York, Virginia Apple Stores open this weekend
Make way, Quebec, you aren't the the only ones getting an Apple Store this weekend. Apple Store Smith Haven will open in Lake Grove, NY this Saturday, September 9th at 10:00 AM. This store is located at 313 Smith Haven Mall (in the town of Lake Grove) in the Lifestyle Center Wing of the mall. You can find complete travel directions here. Likewise, Apple Store MacArthur Center will open in Norfolk, VA this Saturday at 10:00 AM. This store can be found at MacArthur Center at 300 Monticello Ave, Space #276, on the second floor, next to Harry and David. As usual, the first 1000 visitors to both locations will be rewarded with commemorative t-shirts. Visitors can also enter to win the "Grand Opening Sweepstakes," which will award one winner with an iMac, an iPod nano, a Canon digital camera and camcorder and an HP inkjet printer.If you're going to attend any of these openings, please send us links to your photos and reports! Good luck and have fun.
Giant PSP in New York dismantled
Well, for those people who say the end is near for the PSP, they are certainly right about one in particular. A giant PSP, which was used to display PSP games and videos, that was erected in New York last spring has met its bitter end and has been dismantled.The ol' girl had a good run, though, and this is not the time to be sad. The over-sized system has gone to PSP heaven, which just so happens to be the same place all the bricked PSPs go.There's been no definitive word on why the PSP has been taken down, but the person who submitted the photo to Kotaku said it was barely visible during the day, which may have played a hand in its downfall. I guess Sony should have invested in a giant Logitech case, eh?[Via Kotaku]
September 14: the new "it" day?
So, how 'bout that keynote at Leipzig? Wasn't it exciting to hear about the release date for the Wii, and the pricing, and the ponies ... no, no, that didn't happen at all. The hugely anticipated speech revealed none of the details rabid Nintendo fans have been dying to learn. Y'know, the tough questions, like "when's the console being released, and how much will it cost?" We know. Sometimes it's hard to open up. There, there.So now the hearts and minds of Nintendo fans turn toward September 14, when Nintendo of America's Reggie Fils-Aime will be on hand at a media event in New York. Forget celebration of video games -- Wii want to celebrate some news.
Helio to open flagship store in Santa Monica
Phone-oriented flagship retail locations seem to be all the rage these days, but who would've thought MVNOs would be getting into the action? MySpace-friendly Helio looks to gain some additional visibility when it opens its first of five dedicated stores in Santa Monica this October. If the renderings hold true, we have to admit the place looks pretty nifty -- just add some hot new devices to match the decor and Helio may have a winner on their hands. Additional facilities will be opening in New York, Denver, San Diego, and Palo Alto through late '06 and early '07. Any love for the midwest, guys?
NYC under NuVisions WiFi skies
For those in NYC, get ready to cut loose -- literally. In a city that isn't typically exposed to rollouts of this magnitude, NuVisions is, well, envisioning an ever growing "cloud" of WiFi over the metro areas. Their plan to dominate the airwaves with internet access begins with hardwiring buildings throughout the city with gigabit Ethernet (presumably via fiber), which is then distributed to tenants via short range powerline networking. Then the real fun begins. With every building that is hardwired for internet access, they light another WiFi zone on location. NuVision's CEO refers to it as "a virtual fiber optic network in the air." Pretty bold statement, we'd say, but until WiMAX is no longer a semi-distant fantasy, there isn't anyone who's more ready to see it happen than us. Well, aside from those waiting anxiously for NuVision to invade Chicago and San Francisco, the firm's next two targets. Unlimited access requires residing in a pre-wired building and costs $24.95 per month, not too shabby at all.
Cingular lights up 3G in New York City
Cingular Video, anyone? Just a few weeks after having Samsung ZX10s unceremoniously removed from stores, New Yorkers are getting some HSDPA love now that Cingular's network has officially gone live. Yes, that means you can once again get your hands on the UMTS-only ZX10 -- whether you'd want to is another story -- but more importantly, Cingular's 3G PC cards will keep your notebook clipping along at some reasonably healthy speeds, especially if you're used to dealing with EDGE. Coverage is mainly limited to Manhattan and JFK right now, but a rapid expansion is promised through September of this year.[Via The Wireless Report]
DS Lite launch partay!
Engadget's Paul Miller and Ryan Block dropped by Nintendo's official DS Lite U.S. launch party in New York over the weekend. Their write-up features a few dozen photos of the interior of the Nintendo World Store, including the above picture of Ryan being molested hugged by a giant Mario. They also snapped shots of people in the queue playing with their imported DS Lites (oh, the sweet fanboy irony), the first person to officially purchase a DS Lite in the U.S. and a functional Gulf War-damaged Game Boy.Update: Should have been "Lite", not "lite."
Overheard in New York...
Overheard in New York (City) poster, Everclear, caught this snippet of a conversation on the 2 train near Borough Hall:SAT* prepping kid #1: What's 'hydrolysis'? SAT prepping kid #2: Dude, don't you play Grand Theft Auto? Hydrolysis is what makes the cars bump up and down. SAT prepping kid #3: Um ... Hydrolysis is the splitting of things in water. SAT prepping kid #2: Whatever. Same thing.*standardized test[Thanks Lex!]
Incase releases exclusive New York commemorative case line
iLounge is reporting that Incase has pulled out all their case-making stops and introduced a complete lineup of cases for Apple products that commemorate New York and some of its major landmarks. To top things off, these cases are exclusive to the new 24/7 5th Avenue Apple Store that opened last weekend.The lineup consists of white and black cases for the 5G iPod, iPod nano and MacBook Pro. No word yet on whether Incase has been chosen to create the leather case for the giant glass cube that Dave mentioned yesterday.[image via iLounge]
Apple shows 24x7x365 NYC flagship store
New York City nightlife used to mean hanging out in smoke-filled nightclubs at the edge of town and stumbling home as the sun came up. But, from what we hear, you can't smoke in the clubs anymore (not that we're really too upset about that), the real estate boom has squeezed a lot of them out of town, and there's even been talk of more aggressively enforcing the city's decades-old anti-nightclub statute. So, what's a denizen of the night to do? Well, it looks like Apple's come up with the answer. As previously rumored, the company's new midtown store, which opens tomorrow, will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. The store, which has gotten a lot of buzz for its five-story, glass encased, Jobs-designed, cube-shaped entryway, will feature 4,000 square feet of retail space, most of it underground, and will be able to satisfy those musical and computing urges, day or night. Word is that the store will also be giving away one MacBook an hour to lucky visitors over the next couple of days (starting with tomorrow's 6pm opening), so we expect some pretty sizable crowds to show up. Yo, Steve: Add a dance floor and teach your Geniuses to really tend bar, and we may just drop by one night and pick up one of those pods of yours. [Thanks, Jake]Photo courtesy Dave Thorup.
ifoAppleStore to host Fifth Avenue event
So the Mac web is buzzing with anticipation as we all wait for Apple Store Fifth Avenue in NYC to finally open for business on Friday, May 19. To help you get into the mood, ifoAppleStore will be hosting a camp out on Thursday night outside the store. The first 100 people to show up will receive the cool commemorative pin pictured at right. It should be fun, and please let us know if you attend!
Nokia to open US retail stores, offer high-end phones
Taking a cue from other design-obsessed companies such as Apple and Sony, Nokia has announced plans to open a line of retail locations in the U.S. -- the first ones outside Russia and perhaps Finland that we're aware of -- and even better, will be offering models not available from carriers or traditional channels. The flagship store is set to open in Chicago on June 21, and will sell "virtually anything that could possibly be available in this market," according to a Nokia spokesperson, including such high-end handsets as the recently-launched N93 and N73 3.2 megapixel cameraphones, N91 4GB musicphone, and UMTS-enabled N80 smartphone (which happens to sport a three megapixel CCD as well). PC Mag's article on the upcoming stores, the second of which is scheduled to hit New York before the end of the year, also includes an update on the N91, which will apparently receive a key software upgrade sometime after launch that enables playback of DRM-protected content.Update: Several readers have very kindly pointed out that Nokia has stores in much of Europe and Asia.
Apple store pr0n: a peek at the 5-story Manhattan glass cube
At least one Flickr user, bhaggs, has posted some images that offer a peek at Apple's new commercial monument to itself - the much-anticipated 5-story, all glass, Fifth Avenue Apple Store in Manhattan. As Dave Caolo noted before, construction is still slated to finish in time for the holiday season, so I only have one question: when is Denver going to get their own glass cube, Apple? C'mon, we have like... 1/100th of NY's population![via digg]
Pictures of construction of Apple's new NYC store
Mike Rogers sent us some pictures of the construction of Apple's new store in NYC, you know the one that is going to feature a gigantic glass cube. It is a short trip from Philly to New York City, and I for one can't wait to see the final product.
FreeiPods.com sued by the great state of New York
My mother always told me that there is no such thing as a free iPod in this lifetime, and it looks like she was right about. NY Attorney General Eliot Spitzer is suing the company that runs FreeiPods.com (which I am not going to make into a link because they suck) for sharing millions of people's information with marketing companies despite statements from the company that they would never sell user information.So, dear readers, heed my word and buy your iPod. It might cost more than nothing, but at least you can rest easy that your personal information is fairly secure.
8bit musicians announce world tour
Former cellmates Nullsleep and Bitshifter have announced plans to embark on a world tour, blasting their blend of bleeps, bloops, and blizzasts from Boston to Brussels and back again. If you're not an 8-bit believer yet, nothing will win you over except trying it out for yourself. To that end, here are links (1, 2, 3, 4) to some MP3s these torturers of Gameboys, Famicoms and other old-school video game consoles have kindly provided for downloading. If you like what you hear, check the tour page and maybe even drop a few dollars in the donation bucket to help make it happen.
Local Channels in MPEG-4 HD on DirecTV starting today for New York and LA
It seems DirecTV is getting the MPEG-4 AVC party started a little early. We knew New York and LA were going to get local channels in high definition, but we thought it would take until January, we were wrong. Starting today, both cities can enjoy their local programming via satellite as long as you have the right equipment.Subscribers who already get their local channels in HD via MPEG-2 equipment don't worry, nothing has changed (yet) for you.New York channels: WABC/Channel 7 WNBC/ Channel 4 WCBS/Channel 2 WNYW (FOX)/Channel 5 LA Channels: KABC/Channel 7 KTTV (Fox)/Channel 11 KCBS/Channel 2 KNBC/ Channel 4
