02/08, 1:25pm
Chinese supplier standards at stake
Over 250,000 signatures from petitions on Change.org and SumOfUs.org will be delivered to New York City's Grand Central Apple Store on Thursday morning, according to an announcement. The effort is part of a campaign to push Apple to develop a "worker protection strategy," in light of stories of poor labor conditions at Chinese Apple suppliers like Foxconn. Employees are known to often work extreme amount of overtime for little pay, sometimes in dangerous conditions.
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01/18, 1:20am
Would be second NYC store outside Manhattan
The New York Daily News is reporting that Heskel Group Chairman Yeheskel Elias is in "preliminary talks" with Apple about a store in the Queens section of New York City after a broker from Apple reached out several months ago. The developer, who is quoted as saying he will "do anything I can to bring Apple in," may have sabotaged the deal by speaking of it with the press. Apple generally requires participants to stay mum about future stores.
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12/19, 9:55am
Businesses, buyers snared
A sting operation involving undercover New York Police Department officers resulted in 141 arrests last week, according to an announcement. The NYPD say that having identified a number businesses throughout New York City -- including some thought to have received stolen goods before -- the undercover officers went out to sell iPhone 4s and iPad 2s with the claim that they were stolen. Devices were offered at prices between $50 and $200.
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12/09, 11:30am
Terminal jammed with visitors
The public launch of the Grand Central Apple Store in New York City has drawn hundreds of people, accounts and photos show. The outlet opened at 10AM local time, by which point many people had been waiting line. Those towards the front of the line reportedly waited overnight with sleeping bags; Apple workers distributed Smartwater bottles.
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12/07, 12:20pm
Photo shows completed interior
Apple today held a special press preview event for the Grand Central Apple Store, which opens to the public December 9th at 10AM. An accompanying press release mostly reiterates existing details, but does reveal some facts. The store will play host to 315 workers, for instance, and use not one but two Genius Bars.
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12/05, 9:35am
Premiere scheduled for 10AM Friday
Having just recently confirmed a December 9th opening, Apple has now posted an official webpage for the Grand Central Apple Store in New York City. The shop is technically located at 45 Grand Central Terminal, and on the 9th will launch at 10AM. Regular weekday hours will begin at an unusually early 7AM, just an hour after the terminal itself usually opens.
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12/02, 1:30pm
'Bring it on,' claims official press release
New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority has issued a press release claiming it doesn't feel threatened by the state comptroller investigation into the lease terms for the Grand Central Apple Store. "Bring it on," the release reads. "This is the best possible deal for the MTA, quadrupling the rent we receive and bringing foot traffic to Grand Central Terminal that will increase revenue from all of our retailers. We look forward to explaining the details of this competitively bid transaction to anyone who is interested."
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12/01, 9:30pm
Users report new 4G connectivity
AT&T is reportedly quietly rolling out its LTE network in certain areas around New York City, though the move has yet to be officially confirmed. Attendees at LG's special event, where the Nitro HD was unveiled, are said to have noticed that the prerelease devices were able to connect to AT&T's LTE network.
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12/01, 11:40am
Shop mired in controversy
The Grand Central Apple Store will officially open on December 9th, Apple has revealed. The digital ticker in front of the store has changed, with the "arriving soon" portion of the scroll now reading "arriving Friday, December 9." Reports initially indicated that the outlet might be open by Black Friday, Apple's usual retail deadline, but construction workers disclosed that there was too much work left to be done.
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12/01, 10:45am
Terms may have been too generous
New York state comptroller Thomas DiNapoli has started an investigation into the lease behind the Grand Central Terminal Apple Store, says the New York Post. The paper recently revealed that New York City's Metropolitan Transportation Authority gave Apple extremely generous terms, including a much lower price per square foot, and a rare exemption on revenue sharing. The only other business in the GCT with the exemption is a Chase ATM branch.
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11/30, 12:00pm
Apple thought be paying substandard rent
Apple has managed to secure an unusually beneficially real estate deal for its upcoming Grand Central Terminal store, according to the New York Post. The paper says it has obtained copies of leases showing that Apple will be paying just $60 per square foot, "well below" what many other GCT tenants are paying. A future Shake Shack, for instance, is expected to pay over $200 per square foot.
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11/23, 3:55pm
Station officials prep for press, large crowds
Apple will officially unveil its Grand Central Terminal store on December 9th, the New York Post claims to have learned. Apple and railroad officials are said to be preparing a "splashy media event" for the premiere. The latter party is "making plans for a lot of press and accommodating Apple’s own people," a source says, while the Post elaborates that officials are preparing for swarms of Apple fans that will only compound problems caused by the terminal's normal high traffic.
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11/23, 11:00am
Outlet closer to launch, may still take time
The still-unopened Grand Central Terminal Apple Store has gained a new display advertising its imminent opening, photos and video show. Unlike most similar displays by Apple, the one for Grand Central uses a series of screens, designed to resemble the flipping tiles the station used to rely on for timetables. "Apple Store, Grand Central. Arriving soon," the ticker's main message says.
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11/22, 5:00pm
Outlet likely to miss Black Friday
Apple's new Grand Central Terminal store in New York City will actually miss Black Friday, contrary to rumors, construction workers on the project suggest. "It won’t be any time too soon," one of them is quoted as saying. "We still have a lot to do, so my guess is that it will be ready in December."
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11/21, 6:55pm
Additional rollout in GA, NH, NY
Verizon has expanded the list of cities that will be included in a mid-December LTE network rollout across several regions. Additional locations in the Northeast will include Dover, Deleware; Greater Manchester and Nashua, New Hampshire; Fitchburg, Leominster, Lunenburg and Townsend, Massachusetts; and Clintondale, Fishkill, Hyde Park, Kingston, New Paltz, Platekill, Poughkeepsie, Red Hook, Rhinebeck, Saugerties and Wappingers Falls, New York.
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11/04, 10:20am
Final cost of cosmetic changes unknown
As planned, Apple has formally unveiled the updated cube sitting on top of its Fifth Avenue store in New York City. The revised structure uses just 15 panes of glass, rather than the 90 originally installed. Crews hired by Apple have also made changes to the surrounding plaza, removing bollards and upgrading or installing new water drains and pavers.
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10/31, 12:05pm
Checkout option would be limited to shelf items
Apple may be ready to unveil its overhauled Fifth Avenue cube on November 4th, sources for MacRumors claim. Work on replacing the original cube has been in progress since June, with special accommodations made to allow shoppers to continue entering the store below. The project is estimated to be costing Apple at least $6.6 million, and has seen an original 90 glass panels reduced to just 15.
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10/20, 4:10pm
Revives Tech Talk concept
Apple has unveiled plans for an iOS 5 Tech Talk World Tour. Apple experts are scheduled to visit nine cities during the tour, including Berlin, London, Rome, Beijing, Seoul, São Paolo, New York City, Seattle, and Austin. Events will start in Berlin on November 2nd and end in Austin on January 23rd. Registration for January 13th's New York City event is already full.
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09/20, 4:15pm
Replacement work still distance from completion
Apple has entered into a new phase in replacing the cube over its Fifth Avenue store, an observer notes. On Tuesday morning construction workers were spotted removing parts of the wooden support frame covering the upgraded cube's glass. The panes are still masked with a protective film, the witness remarks. Access to the store remains open; as in past weeks, people must simply enter through a temporary hallway.
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08/19, 12:50pm
Complaints kept quiet to allow confiscation
Apple is suing the operators of two stores in New York City accused of selling counterfeit accessories, Reuters reports. Although the trademark infringement case was originally filed on July 25th, it was only unsealed yesterday after a Reuters request. US laws allow a company to file a trademark infringement suit under seal so that counterfeiters can't thwart seizure operations.
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08/15, 3:50pm
May be finished in time for holidays
Construction crews have begun work related to Apple's upcoming Grand Central Terminal store in New York City, photos obtained by AppleInsider show. New scaffolding has appeared on the second floor, spanning a considerable area. The images are consistent with Apple's plans, which involve establishing a 23,000 foot storefront in one of the city's busiest hubs.
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08/09, 10:50am
New look to use fewer panes, no reason given
[Update: added official rendering of new look] Apple has finally revealed what it intends to do with the glass cube over its Fifth Avenue store in New York City. A photo shows a new sign plastered on the barrier around the store, which is in place while the cube is being replaced. "We're simplifying the Fifth Avenue cube," the message reads. "By using larger, seamless pieces of glass, we're using just 15 panes instead of 90." A diagram shows that each side of the cube will have three vertically-aligned panes.
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08/08, 2:40pm
Rare free content from Conde Nast
The New Yorker and publisher Condé Nast have released a new iPhone app, Goings On. Unlike the magazine's flagship iPad app, Goings On is completely free, primarily serving as a source of arts and entertainment listings for New York City. Users can sort events by category, date and location, and check New Yorker restaurant reviews as well as maps and venues' overall schedules.
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08/04, 5:35pm
Sealed lawsuit may target Chinese knockoff stores
Apple has filed a lawsuit against a list of companies that currently run retail stores designed to look like Apple's own brick-and-mortar outlets. Although the complaint is sealed, the few details that are available suggest the company is going after a large number of defendants. The lawsuit, which was filed at the US District Court in the Eastern District of New York, lists at least 50 John Does and unnamed businesses.
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08/04, 1:50pm
Customers affected in all boroughs
AT&T claims to have resolved a software problem that had caused voice outages for many wireless customers in New York City. The bug, which reportedly turned up during "routine" maintenance, affected the carrier's voice service in Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan and Long Island.
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07/26, 2:50pm
Total 4G cities to total 116 after additions
Verizon is reportedly preparing to launch its 4G network in at least 11 new cities by August 18, continuing the company's trend of monthly LTE rollouts across the country. New cities are expected to include Council Bluffs, Iowa; Ithaca, Syracuse and Albany, New York; Fort Collins, Colorado; Provo/Orem, Utah; Salinas/Monterey and Bakersfield, California; Omaha, Nebraska; and Altoona and Johnstown, Pennsylvania. Expansion of 4G coverage is also expected in Cincinnati and Columbus, Ohio and Rockland County, New York.
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07/25, 5:30pm
Deadline for SoHo project still unknown
Both the cost of Apple's SoHo expansion in New York City and the location of a temporary replacement store have been identified, says AppleInsider. An anonymous source claims to have been told by construction workers that an Apple Store being built at 72 Greene St. will handle SoHo's traffic while the original SoHo site, at 103 Prince, undergoes improvements. It is still unclear when Apple might move into 72 Greene, or when 103 Prince will return to normal operations.
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07/20, 5:15pm
Store fate to be decided at monthly board meeting
Grand Central Terminal management is reportedly ready to approve Apple's proposal for a retail outlet in the 42nd Street terminal station. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which handles the leasing arrangements for the building, is expected to allow an Apple Store to be added on the balcony overlooking the main hall, unnamed sources have told The New York Times.
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06/30, 4:25pm
Temporary location to handle traffic
Apple's SoHo store in New York City should close sometime during the next three months to accommodate planned renovations, a report says. The company will be taking over ground floor space behind its current SoHo property; the space was once operated by the US Postal Service, but was emptied in 2009. Building permits are said to show that the existing first floor of the SoHo store will be undergoing changes of its own, although Apple's first-ever glass staircase will remain.
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06/16, 9:35am
Effort will cost over $6.6 million
Apple has begun the process of dismantling and replacing the glass cube over top its flagship Fifth Avenue store in New York City. The first construction crews reportedly appeared on Wednesday evening, setting up plywood walls around the structure. The next step is expected to be scaffolding; building permits also indicate that crews will have to do work on the plaza itself, removing bollards, installing new pavers and removing and reinstalling nearby water drains.
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05/25, 1:45pm
Incident recorded on cellphones
Workers at Apple's Upper West Side store in New York City recently engaged in racial discrimination, a new lawsuit complains. The plaintiffs, Brian Johnston and Nile Charles, say that on December 9th, they went into to the store to buy headphones. Both Johnston and Charles are black, and are described as having worn "baggy jeans and large sweaters with hoods" when they entered the store at 3:20 in the afternoon.
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05/23, 5:05pm
Revives outlet's potential
In spite of rumors, New York City's Metropolitan Transportation Authority has talked with Apple about a possible store in Grand Central Terminal, according to MTA spokesman Jeremy Soffin. Although an Apple spokesman has refused to comment, Soffin adds that he hopes the company will bid on a space that's become available for rent. Other businesses may choose to compete for the location.
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03/15, 4:05pm
Resupplies much lower than original shipments
Lineups for the iPad 2 once again formed today at stores in New York City and San Francisco, notes Ticonderoga Securities' Brian White. The analyst claims however that in both cities, checks with shops indicated that resupplies were much lower than the quantities originally available on Friday. Apple's flagship San Francisco store is said to have opened an hour early with about 400 people in line, but people towards the end of the line were being told they might come away empty-handed.
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03/15, 11:00am
Half of Fifth Avenue stock sold to exporters?
Many of the iPad 2s sold since Friday's launch have been bought by gray-market dealers planning to resell overseas, Fortune reports. Quantities could be significant, as staff at the Fifth Avenue Apple Store in New York City, for instance, estimate that as many as half of the iPads sold there on Friday were bought for foreign markets. Total Friday sales at Fifth Avenue are thought to have been about 7,200 units.
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03/01, 10:45am
Wauwatosa, NYC SoHo stores evolve
Two more Apple Stores are confirmed for Europe, reports say. The first is coming to Madrid, Spain, where a shop will open by the end of the year in the Parquesur mall, located within the city's southern suburbs. The mall is said to be one of the largest in Europe, with over 230 vendors. The new outlet will be roughly 10 miles away from the Xanadu Apple Store, and only 7 miles away from the upcoming Puerta del Sol location downtown.
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02/17, 6:35pm
Project now said to be finalized
Apple has reportedly settled on plans to build a new flagship retail location within Grand Central Terminal in New York City. Recent reports suggested the company was considering the new location, but unnamed sources have allegedly told Cult of Mac that the decision has been made and application process has begun.
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02/08, 12:25pm
Apple looking at Grand Central location
Apple is working towards building yet more retail stores in New York City and around the French town of Versailles, reports say. In New York City Apple is said to be scouting a space in Manhattan, particularly within Grand Central Terminal at Park and East 42nd. An outlet there would be less than a mile from Apple's flagship Fifth Avenue store, allegedly by design, in order to reduce the intense amount of foot traffic the latter generates.
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02/04, 10:50am
Apple gear bought using stolen credit info
The US government has indicted 27 people suspected of belonging to a fraud ring targeting Apple Stores, reports say. The group is accused of making fake credit cards using stolen data bought from the Internet, and in turn fraudulently buying $1 million or more in goods from Apple Stores in 13 states. Products like Macs and gift cards were fenced to bring in cash.
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01/12, 3:15pm
Carrier sidesteps iPhone connection
Verizon has officially switched on 16 new cellular sites in the New York Metro area. Five of these are in Rockland County, namely in Monsey, Spring Valley, Suffern, Suffern Park and Palisades. Another five have been assigned to Suffolk County, within East Islip, Blue Point, Medford, Wading River and Village of the Branch.
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01/12, 12:15pm
Includes more German, Italian, American shops
A bevy of new Apple Stores are in the works for 2011, a report says. At least several of these are forecast to open in Italy by the middle of the year, including one in Bologna, a previously unexpected outlet in Florence, and a second Milan location. Possible addresses for the Milan and Florence stores remain unknown.
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01/05, 10:40am
Part of national trend
The New York City public school system has ordered over 2,000 iPads, the New York Times reveals. The total cost of the arrangement is valued at $1.3 million. As an example of the distribution, 300 of the tablets are reported to have gone to Kingsbridge International High School, located in the Bronx. The Times suggests that the number is "enough for all 23 teachers and half of the students to use at the same time."
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12/29, 12:40pm
Store worker says jobs denied based on suspicions
A former worker at Apple's SoHo retail store in New York City has filed suit against the company, claiming discrimination on the basis of mental illness. The woman first began a job at SoHo in 2008, but in April 2009 took a four-month leave of absence because of a nervous disorder, seeking help from a psychiatrist. The leave was handled by a third-party company, alleged to have assured her that Apple wouldn't learn the details of her condition. On returning though the woman says it was "obvious" that other workers, "especially" the human resources director, had learned about her problem.
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12/06, 10:25am
Rare retail giveaway
Bloomingdale's flagship store, in Manhattan at the corner of 59th and Lexington, is reportedly giving away iPads in order to lure holiday shoppers. The clothing retailer published a full-page ad in Sunday's New York Times, noting that next weekend people will be able to get an iPad after "almost any $1500 purchase in Y.E.S." People are restricted to "one each," according to fine print, and the number of units in stock is described as "definitely limited."
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11/18, 4:45pm
Well below normal retail price
At least some TJ Maxx outlets are now selling iPads, accounts say. Although a number of stores across the US have denied carrying any, some in Ohio, New Jersey and New York are claiming to have stock. One in Vernon, New York is said to be selling units for as little as $400, just shy of $100 below the standard price for a 16GB Wi-Fi model.
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11/04, 12:30pm
Current SoHo offices said to be too small
Apple is setting up a new Manhattan office for its iAd sales team, several sources claim. The space is said to be located near Union Square, and should replace or complement an existing office in SoHo. The latter is actually a former home of Quattro Wireless, which Apple acquired for $275 million in order to found iAd. The SoHo office is believed to be too small, however, never meant to hold more than 30 people.
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11/01, 4:35pm
WiMAX reaches Hartford, New Haven, other cities
As expected, Sprint and Clearwire have activated 4G service in New York City and several additional regions. Service in New York now extends to all five boroughs: Manhattan, Brooklyn, The Bronx, Queens and Staten Island. Other markets include Hartford and New Haven, Connecticut; Trenton and New Brunswick, New Jersey; and Tampa, Florida.
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09/23, 11:50am
Removes need for separate cards
New York City Transit, New Jersey Transit and the Port Authorities of both New Jersey and New York have begun a phone-based payment program, run in cooperation with Visa. The pilot initiative allows people with Visa payWave-equipped smartphones -- including iPhones -- to wave them in front of a special reader in order to pay for a bus, subway or train ride. Normally, people would have to buy and refill separate cards for similar convenience.
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07/15, 1:25pm
Apple responses so far 'insufficient'
A Democratic senator from New York, Charles Schumer, has taken the unusual step of writing an open letter to Apple CEO Steve Jobs. The company should explain the real reason the iPhone 4 is having reception problems, according to the senator. Apple's proposed solutions, such as a case or a different grip, are so far said to be "insufficient." Schumer in fact disputes an earlier claim that the issue is software-based, citing Consumer Reports' recent hardware test of the device.
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06/03, 1:35pm
Use feeds Apple publicity
Apple's iPad marketing efforts are being helped through two different public exposures, reports note. In Tampa Bay, Florida, Watergrass Elementary School has given away 16GB Wi-Fi iPads to 13 fifth-graders, a gift for the students as they graduate to the sixth grade. The tablets are also meant to help with future homework and research. An Apple saleswoman who has worked with Watergrass, Andrea Barr, says a photo from the giveaway may be used in an upcoming ad.
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05/25, 12:45pm
Cites 'security and safety' concerns
Officials at Yankee Stadium in New York City are now preventing people from carrying iPads into Yankees games, the Associated Press writes. The policy is an extension of one affecting notebooks, and MLB Advanced Media CEO Bob Bowman claims it was put in place to prevent people from becoming "distracted and getting hit in the face with a ball." Anecdotes suggest that it may still be possible to smuggle one in at personal risk.
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