Apple : Apple updates retail experience with new in-store iPads |
| Apple updates retail experience with new in-store iPads Posted: 23 May 2011 05:04 AM PDT  Apple has launched some handy new retail features including an Apple Store app for the UK and iPads at every product point in its Apple Stores. Remember those mysterious parcels that showed up at Apple stores across the globe last week? Remember how exciting it was not knowing what they were and speculating that they could, in fact, be a whole new exciting Apple product to lust after?
iPadding We took a trip down to the Apple Store at Covent Garden to check out the new arrivals, and it looks a little as though the iPads have taken on a life of their own and started breeding; they are everywhere.
Housed in little Perspex boxes, the iPads run special software called Smart Sign and won't do anything but communicate information about the product they're next to; if you hit the home button, nothing happens. So, there's not much point in bringing a chisel along to try and un-house it, slip it under your jumper and walk out nonchalantly, whistling all the while.
It's easy to be flippant about boring old in-store signage, but the iPads offer customers all the info about a product at the swipe of a finger; the iPhone iPad, for example, has a tab about networks and their tariffs, which is pretty useful when you're in the market for an iPhone.
Garcon! By far the best feature of the new iPad signs is the Specialist tab; this allows you to call for a member of Apple Store staff to come over and help you in person should the all-knowing iPad be unable to answer your questions. It's certainly preferable to clicking your fingers and calling "Garcon!", anyway.
Of course, the proliferation of iPads strewn around the store also helps to make customers want one all the more; flicking your way through the bright screen and seeing just how easy it is to read text on it. It's certainly a clever marketing ploy as much as anything else. As well as the iPad invasion, Apple has launched its Apple Store App for iPhone and iPod touch in the UK. It's a fairly standard app that allows users to buy something and pick it up instore, or schedule an appointment at the Genius bar. Finally, Apple have made its instore Personal Setup service standard on all iPad, iPhone, iPod and Mac products, so each customer gets a half-hour one-to-one session of guidance, set-up and advice when they buy a new Apple toy. Business as usual Apple was keen to point out that this isn't a gimmick, or a 'service' as such – "It's just something we do," a spokesperson told us. And it's not an opportunity to encourage further sales. He added, "We never up-sell, we just want to provide the best possible experience for our customers." While it's not quite as exciting as a new secret product to celebrate the stores' tenth anniversary, the new additions to the stores are going to make life easier for anyone who hangs out in Apple Stores or plans to buy an Apple product. For everyone else? Well, we're surprised that you're still reading, to be honest. |
| Updated: iPhone 5 rumours: what you need to know Posted: 23 May 2011 02:48 AM PDT  iPhone 5 (or the iPhone 5G, as some are calling it) rumours are flying thick and fast already. Will the 5th generation iPhone deliver ultra-fast mobile internet? What other specs will it feature? Let's raid the iPhone 5 rumour fridge to find the tomatoes of truth amid the stinky stilton of baseless speculation. But first, our colleagues on T3.com have rounded up the latest rumours in the iPhone 5 video below.
iPhone 5 release date The Apple Worldwide Developers' Conference 2011 date has been announced as 6 June 2011, so it's possible we'll see the iPhone 5 break cover there. However, Jim Dalrymple at The Loop says that this year's WWDC will be about software, not hardware, with Apple focussing on iOS and Mac OS. This fits with Apple's established rhythm of iPhone releases, with new models appearing in late June or early July each year. So it's a safe bet that the iPhone 5 release date (UK and US) will also be late June or early July. The usual July release date was mentioned by Engadget's source too in January 2011 - meaning the standard release cycle looks set to continue. A new report from China later stated that Q3 (which still includes July) is now the earliest we will see the iPhone 5, after the disaster in Japan pushed back supply of key components. On 20 April 2011, it emerged that the iPhone 5 release date may now be September 2011 rather than June/July. This date was cited by three sources who spoke to Reuters. On 17 May, we reported that Phones4U outed the iPhone 5 release date as 21 November 2011. We're not sure how Phones4U would know the release date at this stage, though, so take this particular snippet of information with a pinch of salt. iPhone 5 form factor The Wall Street Journal reported that: "Apple is also developing a new iPhone model, said people briefed on the phone. One person familiar said the fifth-generation iPhone would be a different form factor than those that are currently available… it was unclear how soon that version would be available to Verizon or other carriers." This has since been backed up by reports from Engadget we reported on 17 January 2011, which state the design will be a 'total rethink'. Of course, since the iPhone 3G was followed by the 3GS it's possible the new iPhone won't be a total refresh and we'll see an iPhone 4S (or iPhone 4GS) before an iPhone 5. An iPhone 4S looked more likely on 16 May 2011 after analyst Peter Misek wrote: "According to our industry checks, the device should be called iPhone 4S and include minor cosmetic changes, better cameras, A5 dual-core processor, and HSPA+ support." However, earlier reports from China backed up the larger-screened, metal chassis-sporting iPhone 5 rumours, so the redesign still seems firmly on the cards. On 22 March 2011, China Times also reported that the iPhone 5 will feature a 4-inch display. A rumour we covered on 7 March 2011 suggests that the new iPhone will do away with the glass back and opt instead for a metal back which will act as a new iPhone antenna. And an Apple patent that we reported on on 7 April 2011 suggests that we could see the bezel put to good use on the new iPhone. The patent describes how visual indicators and touch-sensitive buttons could be incorporated to the space around the iPhone screen. Rumours that we covered on 3 May 2011, suggest that there may even be two versions of the new iPhone: a 'standard' iPhone 5 and an iPhone 5 'pro'. Apparently, Apple is buying in components of differing quality, and those parts wouldn't be required for a single phone. A cheaper, smaller iPhone 5 - an iPhone nano A prototype version of a smaller iPhone is said to exist, built to ward off competition from cheap Android handsets. Rumours around an iPhone nano picked up again on 13 February when the Wall Street Journal claimed that the so-called 'iPhone nano' exists and may even be on sale later this year. Those iPhone nano rumours may hold little truth, though. As we reported on 18 February, the New York Times cites an anonymous source who says there will be no smaller iPhone from Apple. "The size of the device would not vary," says the source. A white iPhone 5 The Economic Daily News is reporting that white iPhone 5 glass is being shipped, with a supplier called Wintek being the sole touch panel vendor for the white iPhone. iPhone 5 specs According to the Chinese Economic Daily News (via AppleInsider), with the exception of Qualcomm chipsets - which would replace the current Infineon chipsets in the iPhone 4 - Apple's sticking with the same suppliers for the 2011 iPhone 5G components. We'd expect the basics of the iPhone 5 specs to get a bump - more memory, faster processor, and more storage. The specs? A new antenna, 1.2GHz processor (possibly dual-core) and a larger screen: 3.7" instead of 3.5". The iPhone 5 may also be made from a new kind of alloy, or maybe meat. In other rumours which surfaced on 15 February 2011, Digitimes is reporting on information supposedly leaked from component suppliers that claim the iPhone 5 will feature a larger, 4-inch screen. Digitimes quotes the source as saying that Apple is expanding the screen size "to support the tablet PC market as the vendor only has a 9.7-inch iPad in the market." On 23 May, we reported on rumours that the iPhone 5 could feature a curved glass screen. These rumours also came from Digitimes, which said that Apple has purchased between 200 and 300 special glass cutting machines because they're too costly for the manufacturers to invest in. We're also hearing word of a multi-core design, in keeping with the rest of the mobile world, as Apple looks to improve both battery life and performance. The iPhone 5 will also get a massive graphical boost as it moves to a dual-core GPU - this could herald true 1080p output from the new device, according to our news story on 18 January. UPDATE: On 10 March 2011 it emerged that the A5 chip, found in the new iPad 2, looks to be headed to the iPhone 5, bringing enhanced functionality and dual-core power. iPhone 5 digital wallet There's been some speculation that Apple might include Near Field Communication (NFC) technology in the iPhone 5G, turning it into a kind of credit/debit card. However, as Techeye.net notes, "Apple has looked into NFC before" so this might not be imminent. However, with the tech being inside the Google Nexus S, the time for NFC may finally be here. UPDATE: On 24 February 2011, we reported that an Apple patent has revealed an e-wallet icon on the iPhone homescreen. This adds credence to the rumour that iPhone 5 will feature NFC. However, on 14 March 2011, reports in The Independent cited sources from 'several of the largest mobile operators in the UK', who said that Apple told them not to expect NFC in the iPhone 5. So perhaps we'll have to wait for iPhone 6 for that. But who to believe? On 22 March 2011 China Times reported that the new iPhone will include an NFC chip. LTE support At least one analyst thinks the iPhone 5 will support LTE, super-fast mobile broadband, in the US. That would make the iPhone 5G a 4G phone, which won't be confusing at all. LTE is certainly coming - AT&T plans to roll out its LTE service in 2011 - but an LTE iPhone has been rumoured for a while. USA Today floated the idea of an LTE iPhone on Verizon last year. iPhone 5 camera Speaking at a live Wall Street Journal event, Sony's Sir Howard Stringer was talking about the company's camera image sensor facility in Sendai, a town that was recently ravaged by the recent Japanese earthquake and tsunami. According to 9to5Mac, he said something along the lines of, "Our best sensor technology is built in one of the [tsunami] affected factories. Those go to Apple for their iPhones… or iPads. Isn't that something? They buy our best sensors from us." iPhone 5 price If the iPhone 5 is an evolutionary step like the move from the iPhone 3G to the iPhone 3GS then we'd expect the price to stay more or less the same, although in the UK higher VAT rates may well mean a higher price tag. iPhone 5 pictures A spurious photo of an iPhone 5 front case has been unearthed by a Chinese reseller, suggesting that the next Apple handset will feature an edge-to-edge display. We're not convinced it's a genuine Apple part, though. On 17 March 2011, we reported on another supposed set of leaked iPhone 5 cases, this time looking remarkably similarly to iPhone 4 cases. What do you want to see in the next iPhone? Hit the comments and share your thoughts. |
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