iPad 2 line at Fifth Avenue retail store in Manhattan (Thanks, Leon)
While lines were long for the iPad 2 launch in the United States on Friday of last week, availability has been very scarce in the days since, with hopeful customers lining up outside Apple’s retail stores each morning hoping that stock has arrived. And even when stock has arrived, customers have typically had to be very close to the front of the line to even have a chance at securing one of the hard-to-get devices.
Several MacRumors readers have written in and shared photos of the experiences trying to obtain an iPad 2, and frustration seems to abound as the long lines continue even a week after launch. Readers have reported that the line at Apple’s flagship Fifth Avenue store in Manhattan is essentially a perpetual mass of people numbering in the hundreds, with customers camping out and swapping positions in-and-out day after day as they wait for more stock to arrive. Apple has erected barriers to contain the line, and once the line reaches the end of the barriers each day after stock has been distributed, no new customers are permitted to join the line.
iPad 2 line at The Forum Shops retail store in Las Vegas (Thanks, Danny)
Customers are especially keen on trying to pick up iPad 2 units from in-store sales, as shipping estimates for new online orders were quickly pushed out to 4-5 weeks. We’ve heard that some Apple retail stores are holding iPad 2 shipments received during the day until the following morning, with some stores opening early when they have stock in order to disperse their supplies and customer lines as much as possible before they open for regular business. Some forum readers have also being using inventory tracking features to try to pin down supplies at Target stores around the country.
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Grand Central Terminal’s Main Concourse
A pair of reports from The New York Observer and ifoAppleStore indicate that Apple is looking to open a new retail store, its fifth in Manhattan, at the landmark Grand Central Terminal. The store would reportedly be located inside the busy transportation and tourist hub and would sit less than a mile from the company’s flagship Fifth Avenue store.
Apple has begun a super-secret quest for a store in historic Grand Central Terminal, potentially creating a hive of buzzing techies in the glamorous Beaux Arts landmark.
Reliable sources tell The Observer that the maker of ubiquitous iGadgets – from computers to cell phones – hopes to open a store in the transportation and retail hub, though it has yet to begin the long approval process necessary for opening in a city landmark.
ifoAppleStore notes that Apple is keen to open the store not only for its location in the historic and highly-trafficked building, but also to relieve pressure on the busy Fifth Avenue store that, despite its relatively small size, outsells the company’s other three Manhattan stores combined.
Today, the terminal hosts 700,000 visitors a day, most hurrying to trains and the city’s busiest subway stop. But another 250,000 visitors a day pass through the expansive Vanderbilt Hall, the station’s original waiting room that is now rented out for special events.
The 134,000 square-feet of retail space includes 68 shops and 35 restaurants, some on the main concourse level surrounding Vanderbilt Hall, and others on the balcony level just below. Current major tenants include Banana Republic, Kenneth Cole and a Michael Jordan Steakhouse in about 6,000 square-feet of space each, and many other tenants in less than 1,000 square-feet. The historic Oyster Bar restaurant in on the lower level, along with a fresh food market.
Negotiations appear to still be in the early stages and will likely take quite some time to complete, but the location could provide an interesting opportunity for Apple to fit its brand into one of the most iconic transportation hubs in the world.
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Mac Pro reservations at Fifth Avenue Apple Store
One MacRumors reader has pointed out to us that Apple’s somewhat-hidden Reserve and Pick Up program is currently showing the company’s Mac Pro models as “Unavailable” for reservation at his local retail store in Canada, possibly hinting at an imminent update. According to the tipster, the Mac Pro was seeing full availability for reservations at his store as recently as yesterday.
A quick check of the reservation systems for a handful of Apple retail stores around the United States shows a similar story, with some stores showing complete unavailability of Mac Pro reservations while others continue to offer either the base Quad-Core model or the 8-core model but not both.
Mac Pro reservations at SoHo Apple Store
Apple’s Mac Pro line is overdue for an update according to our Buyer’s Guide tracking. A report earlier this year had claimed that a Mac Pro refresh was due “by June”, but Apple failed to meet that rumored target. More recent claims of chip shortages for Intel’s latest 6-core chips suggested that Apple might not be able push out a Mac Pro update until later this summer.
As for other changes possible in a Mac Pro, evidence of support for several high-end graphics cards from ATI and NVIDIA have appeared in Mac OS X, and one report has pointed to the adoption of USB 3.0 and faster FireWire in the new machines. That report also suggested an “end of summer” timeframe for a release.
Mac Pro reservations at West 14th Street Apple Store
Not all of Apple’s sales channels are seeing constrained supplies of the Mac Pro, however, as the company’s online stores continue to show shipping estimates of “within 24 hours” for both stock models.
Just yesterday, a report indicated that Apple’s iMac stocks are also running low, with third-party distribution channels seeing constrained shipments ahead of a supposed update to that line as well.
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