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Nokia E70, N93 semi-officially available in US
Besides opening their second flagship store this side of the pond, Nokia had a couple other tricks up their sleeve in preparation for what has turned out to be an exciting weekend for Nokia fanboys of the American persuasion -- namely, the US releases of the E70 and N93. We can personally attest that E70s have been quietly flying off shelves of the Chicago outpost (see picture above) for the past week or so; Nokia's been unable to keep them in stock, in fact, though we don't know whether the release was supposed to have been synched with New York's grand opening today. At any rate, the model being sold is the US-friendly E70-2 variant that swaps out 3G support in favor of a GSM 850 radio, and features a black face that (in our humblest of opinions) looks better than its European counterpart. Meanwhile, the N93 is the same ol' model Europe gets, lacking 850; caveat emptor for peeps with marginal 1900 coverage. Oddly, these handsets are both still listed as "coming soon" on Nokia USA's website, and rumor has it that they may never officially be released here outside the flagship facilities, so book your flights now, folks -- they say the Midwest and the East Coast are nice this time of year.
Reminder: Grandparents contest tomorrow
We've already informed you of the contest and like the tough, determined reader you are, you've no doubt abducted your grandparent of choice from their nursing home or other place of residence and put them on a strict gaming regimen much like that of a fictitious boxer. We know you take these things seriously and look forward to winning those 2 DS Lites and 10 games. But, in case you decide you'd rather disappoint us, you could stop by for the 10% discount on all things purchased. Any of you readers planning on stopping by the event? Take some pictures and send them in. Maybe tell us how the competition went down?
DS Lites invade McDonald's in Times Square
Yesterday, we told you about a series of DS Lite demonstrations being held at various McDonald's joints in New York City. While some of you made the astute observation that the nearby Nintendo World Store made that sort of thing a bit redundant, it didn't stop one of our fellow bloggers, Andrew Yoon, from stopping by and shoving his camera into every available face. The fact that Mr. Yoon writes for PSP Fanboy will be conveniently glossed over.He summed up the event as follows: "The DS guys aren't timely. They arrived half an hour late." "The games playable include New Super Mario Bros, Tetris DS, True Swing Golf, Brain Age and Big Brain Academy." "Every person that plays will get an iced coffee and cool (but useless) frisbee thing." "It seemed like a success: people asked, 'Where's the nearest Toys R Us?' so they can buy these suckers." "A mom seemed completely entranced by Tetris DS." Entranced mothers could likely be taken as a good sign for Nintendo's ongoing Touch Generations campaign, and events such as these are a great way of grabbing the attentions of those who call every single gaming device "a Nintendo." More pictures follow in the second part of the post.
Sample the DS Lite at an NYC McDonald's
If you live in or around New York City and have yet to part with your old DS in order to embrace the Lite, you may want to stop by a McDonald's in the next few days and try the system out for yourself. Several of the burger joints will have demo units to try out and, if you're lucky (or a rampant kleptomaniac), you might just walk away with a free iced coffee, a handful of Nintendo vouchers or even a DS Lite. These are the times and places you need to barge in:Thursday, July 13, 200612:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.McDonald's restaurant at:220 West 42nd StreetNew York, NY 10036Friday, July 14th, 200612:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.McDonald's restaurant at:1560 BroadwayNew York, NY 100364:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.McDonald's restaurant at:427 10th Ave and 34th StreetNew York, NY 10001Wednesday, July 19th, 200612:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.mMcDonald's Restaurant at:946 8th Ave and 56th StreetNew York, NY 10019Just be sure not to get your filthy hamburger grease all over the precious things.[Thanks to Elicia Baker at MWW.]
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]
Apple's 5th avenue store elevator gets stuck
Not all visitors of the NYC 5th Avenue Apple Store are having the retail experience of their lives, as one group of customers were trapped in the glass elevator for 45 minutes. Ultimately, the hydraulic lines had to be leaked in order to lower the elevator down to the store where the NYPD had to pry the doors open. Store employees who were looking for a fix before the boys in blue arrived were able to lower water bottles down into the elevator.I wonder if this is what happens when you leave the Apple Store without purchasing anything?[via UNEASYsilence. Thanks also to everyone who sent this in!]
5th Ave cube scratched, leather case in the works
Ok, so maybe it's just a joke, but it's still funny. Macenstein has written an amusing parody post, stating that the NYC cube (which is made of the same material as the iPod's screen) will don a protective case designed by Incase, after receiving a 30-foot scratch over the weekend. Nice one, Macenstein.
Line to get into the new Apple store .45 miles long
That's right, at the height of the opening madness this blogger, using only Gmaps Pedometer, estimated the line to be .45 miles long. Waiting in a line that long for the privilege of getting into a store, and perhaps getting a free t-shirt? I suppose there are worse things to do with an afternoon (though if the line were that long a Suburban Station I'm not sure I would have waited).So, fess up, how long would you wait in line to get into an Apple Store?[via Gothamist]
Proposal via Apple's website
I don't think this is what Apple had in mind when they decided to put up that website with time lapse photos of the grand opening of the Fifth Avenue Apple store. Some enterprising young geek (I'm assuming he's a geek) took three signs with him down to the store at around 5:30am, and proposed to his girlfriend (see picture to the right).This is either totally awesome, or totally geeky (I think it is both). I wonder if she said yes.Check out another picture after the jump.Update: Jonathan sent in this direct link to the time lapse movie.
Time lapse photos of NYC Apple Store opening
Apple has just updated the Fifth Avenue store's page to show a series of time lapse photographs for each hour of its first 24 hours of being open.Apple really is going all out for this store opening, though when you spend millions of dollars on a glass cube, you want to get your money's worth.
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!
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.
AppleScript Pro sessions edge closer to NYC
AppleScript Pro Sessions is a week long conference and workshop event that very thoroughly covers working with Applescript. Scheduled sessions include: Starting Out With AppleScript AppleScript and Applications Scripting InDesign Graphics, Images and PDF Data, the OS, AppleScript Studio and AutomatorSeveral bonus sessions are also available. The event will take place at the Marriott Courtyard Secaucus Meadowlands (now only six miles from Manhattan!), and registration is currently open. You can get the full details here.My AppleScript skills are so rudimentary, I should really attend something like this. I've often thought, "I should write a script for that," but never seem to get around to it. [Via Automator World]
3rd Apple Store in NYC?
Looks like there may be a third Apple Store opening in Manhattan in the not too distant future. We all know about the SoHo store and the soon-to-open glass-cube-fronted store in the GM building, and now Apple is said to have taken a lease on the entire building located at 21 W. 34th St., which is directly across from the Empire State Building.Recenty, Apple abandoned the idea of opening a mini-store on the ground floor of another NYC landmark building, the Flatiron Building on 23rd St. and Broadway.Apple likes high foot-traffic areas for their stores, and this is definitely one of them. This area and Herald Square is tourist-central since the Empire State Building is once again the tallest building in NYC.
