Rumored Houston Retail Store Grand Opening Sparks Speculation of iPad 3 Launch on March 16

ghostface147 said:

Ok so they are opening a new store inside the loop where it is a congested area already with very limited parking, if any at times. Ok...

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+1

This location is a parking disaster waiting to happen. One of the most congested traffic/shopping areas in Houston. And just a hop and skip from the Galeria with it's existing Apple store.

On the plus side, there is a great little cupcake shop right next door so people waiting in the lines won't go hungery. Although at $5 a cupcake they might go broke before the doors open

FWIW
DLM

They should stick with the 17th opening date. It's a Saturday and it's St. Patrick's Day - they could block out the windows with green shades and we can have another story about how "stunning" the storefront is.

pmau said:

And people would start using pencils again ... saying they are so "Retina"

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And snappier!

Who really actually thinks the 'iPad 3' is this big product Apple plans on introducing at the event on March 7th?

For all we know, it could be an iSlate tabletop computer...Apple has not confirmed an iPad 3 even exists, and if such a thing is in development, it could be called like the 'iPad 2s' or 'iPad X HD' and released sometime in the fall when Retina displays are more available.

I think everybody prematurely has their hopes up of an 'iPad 3' product actually being introduced next week, and they will be sad when it doesn't happen.

Being outside of a retail mall is a good thing since you usually don't have to pay a % of sales to the malls management company .

It better come out on the 16th...I go on vacation the 18th.

The 16th definitely seems like the day...about 1.5 weeks after the announcement and it's the perfect work up of hysteria time.

"Pre-orders were not available for the iPad 2, leaving those looking to get their hands on the device as soon as possible to line up for the limited launch stock."

I didn't get my iPad 2 until months later. Did they really not sell preorders online a few days before, with launch day delivery? It hit online the same day it did in stores? Hmm, this complicates my plans a bit...

I think this a clue that a 16" iPad is coming out

hmm.. that works for me.. only if BestBuy have stock.. in the small town USA I will be in.. before I fly out the next day

<sigh>

Right around the corner -- problem is, zero parking.


... and, no, you can't pee in my house during the next iPhone launch.

Darth.Titan said:

A brand new store with a brand new staff, and Apple wants to dump a new product release on them the first day?

Glad I don't work for Apple.

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Do you really think apple would put newbies into a brand new store and throw a launch at them? absolutely not!
they grabbed employees from the surround 5 apple stores (who've already been trained and done multiple launches) and used them as a foundation for the new store's employment.

sincerely-
former apple epmloyee 3years.

uaecasher said:

As an architecture student I find the apple store extremely well designed

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Looks like this Apple store is not very connected to the architectural pattern of neighbor buildings. I like when modern buildings "talk" with historic ones.

That's cool. New store in Austin, PLEASE. There are only two and they are TINY

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Darth.Titan said:

A brand new store with a brand new staff, and Apple wants to dump a new product release on them the first day?

Glad I don't work for Apple.

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I'd feel sorry for those employees. Get a taste of launch day chaos on the very first day.

Bigger news story in Houston…not only a Day 1 Grand Opening but an iPad3 release. That line will be huge and very much talked about. What a better way to show off a new store with a big line than to show off a new store with a massive line of Appletons.

Why does that store look like it's being built on an old western movie set?

Lesser Evets said:

This is a hilarious story.

Yes... Apple is waiting for ONE store. In Houston. Yeah. Hold on world, investors, Wall Street, employees, Chinese manufacturers: we have to wait for someone to install wood floors in Houston.

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You obviously have the cart leading the horse. Apple would be setting the store opening date to coincide with the iPad launch. Personally I would also look towards SXSW as an indicator of when availability will be.

Yes, because Steve Job's dying wish was to ensure iPad 3 launch co-coincided with the Highland Village retail store opening.

Hah! This would be pretty much my perfect possibility for camping out for the iPad. March 16th is spring break for us teachers, so I'd be able to camp out to replace my (now sold) iPad 2! Hoping for a March 16th release now!

i want to wait in line for the iPad, but not on the 16th. That's March Madness Day 2 baby. No way will I wait for an iPad during basketball. Last year it was a Friday evening, but not during March Madness I don't think.

brdeveloper said:

Looks like this Apple store is not very connected to the architectural pattern of neighbor buildings. I like when modern buildings "talk" with historic ones.

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That entire strip of buildings is brand new. Nothing historic about them.

HurtinMinorKey said:

So true.

Houston isn't exactly a hub of innovation.

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It is a hub for jobs though, a lot of people are moving here from California and New York.

dmunz said:

+1

This location is a parking disaster waiting to happen.

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Highland Village already is a parking disaster, it's way too popular for the few spots available. If I ever go there, I park in the neighborhood and walk, but the place kind of attracts the Baby Boomer crowd and not people my age. This store will be cool but I'll probably go once, just to look, because going to this shopping center is kind of a pain, and as mentioned, it's a 2-minute drive from the Apple store in the Galleria.

I would love to see a smaller Apple store in Rice Village.

uaecasher said:

As an architecture student I find the apple store extremely well designed

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Maybe, but if you look in that photo at the buildings next to the Apple store, it seems to me that the architecture is completely inconsistent, especially if those other stores are actually old buildings and not faux re-creations of old buildings.

This Apple store, which looks to be a copy of Apple's NYC Lincoln Center store, is quite beautiful (although intolerably noisy and probably very energy-inefficient, due to the glass and very high ceilings), but I don't think it works adjacent to buildings potentially built before 1930.

Edit: Never mind....someone else posted that those buildings are new buildings with "faux" architecture. In that case, it doesn't matter what Apple builds.

ayala421 said:

I work 5 minutes from this new store!!!

Go Houston TEXANS!!

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I live 5 minutes from there.

I share your enthusiasm.

zoetmb said:

This Apple store, which looks to be a copy of Apple's NYC Lincoln Center store, is quite beautiful (although intolerably noisy and probably very energy-inefficient, due to the glass and very high ceilings),

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Maybe they are going to rent out greenhouse space?