Google Watchers Expect Company-Branded Stores This Year 86
9to5Google cites "an extremely reliable source" in reporting that "Google is in the process of building stand-alone retail stores in the U.S. and hopes to have the first flagship Google Stores open for the holidays in major metropolitan areas. The mission of the stores is to get new Google Nexus, Chrome, and especially upcoming products into the hands of prospective customers. Google feels right now that many potential customers need to get hands-on experience with its products before they are willing to purchase. Google competitors Apple and Microsoft both have retail outlets where customers can try before they buy."
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No, but they have innovated with the concept of a store.
Re:Wonder where they got that idea. (Score:4, Informative)
Re: Wonder where they got that idea. (Score:1)
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The local Gateway store was this dingy place that actually had their computers set up on card tables. It's like they were planning for failure. You also couldn't buy anything there, just sit down at a computer and order it online.
If anything, I would say Sony did it first and Apple copied the "Sony Experience" or whatever the fuck it was called.
Re: Wonder where they got that idea. (Score:2)
Not really, walk into any high-end luxury store on the coasts and you would see the exact same concept in action. I rememberan article where it was Jobs or a high-level apple exec describing a coach store and how they wanted Apple to appeal to that crowd with the more personalized approach.
To be fair I love how Apple operates their stores even if I don't need that personal a relationship with a store. It is how stores should operate, including the healthy pay rates. Google stores are a welcome inclusion
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As with many other things, the key differencee is that Apple did them well. [asymco.com] (Scroll down to the last graph [asymco.com] in the story for the best picture.) Believe me -- Google is hoping to copy Apple, not Gateway. Or Sony. Or Microsoft. If this is even happening at all.
Re:Wonder where they got that idea. (Score:5, Funny)
They innovated with the concept of a store with electronics made by them. There have been other stores before but none with branded electronics. To make the point of copying even more clear, Apple used innovative copper cables throughout the store to ensure proper electrical propagation to both light the space and power devices. They even had to innovate "plug receptacles" in the walls to better distribute the proprietary electrons from the miles of high-tech hipster copper cable! I'm sure we'll see Google stuffing the walls with copper cabling, flowing electrons, and even using those IP infringing electrons to transmit visible light into the space (Google's copying knows no bounds).
Oh, and a door. Google will probably use a door (I'll be here to tell you Google lovers I told you so when it comes true). Just like stealing the swipe to unlock they'll steal the open the door to enter.
Has Google ever done anything new? Doesn't seem like it. Tablet? Apple. Smart phone? Apple. MP3 player? Apple. First GUI? Apple. RAID? Apple. Internet? Apple. Moon rover? Apple. Fusion? Apple. Jesus? Apple.
I think my point is clear.
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It's gotten pretty bad when people frequently have trouble telling the rabid fan posts from the jokes.
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dont forget to buy your Apple iHandbasket for your upcoming trip to hell
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In the University District in Seattle, there is a Sony store about a half block from an Apple establishment. Both in an upscale shopping center. The Sony store is dark and empty. There are TVs everywhere blabbing various videos.
The Apple store is crowded with people playing with all the little Gizmos. People are lined up in front of the Genious bar. They're walking out with product. Say what you will about Apple stuff, their retail stores have really shaken the industry.
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In San Francisco there was a Sony store and a Microsoft store in the Metreon mall before Apple Store was even started, and neither made money. Apple put a store one block away and you can barely get in there because it is so full. That is because Apple really thought out what their customers want and need from a retail store and then they built it and iterated on it until it was better and better. Sony and Microsoft did not do that, they just built what were essentially advertisements you could walk into an
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There have been other stores before but none with branded electronics.
RadioShack always offered their own branded items in their retail outlets. This has been done before, it's nothing new.
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The Web originated on the Apple platform, not the Internet. The rest you have right.
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sony store
disney store
auto dealers where apple got the idea for self branded stores in the first place
history of any new industry is lots of innovation, products and companies with a somewhat open manufacturing process being replaced by fewer companies and products and integrated processes from design to manufacturing to retail
lots of other self branded stores through the decades
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Decades? How about millenia? You've forgotten the Saint Somebodyorother Catholic Church. Rome advances an otherwise forgotten nobody to sainthood, names a church after him/her, then people flock in to make donation and to have sins forgiven. The church sits back, and waits for a "miraculous" healing to take place, or maybe even instigates such a healing, then yet more people flock in to throw money at the altar.
What's worse, I'm sure that the Catholic Church ripped the idea from some pagan religion, whi
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Hopefully Apple doesn't patent this invention. Let every small entrepreneur who wants to open up a location, and we could give Amazon a run for its money.
Just imagine, people shopping in person! You could try things out before buying them, and no need to wait (or pay) for shipping.
I think they're really on to something here.
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Hopefully Apple doesn't patent this invention.
Don't be silly. You can't patent a store.
Apple trademarked [slashdot.org] their stores.
Re:Wonder where they got that idea. (Score:4, Informative)
No. Gateway invented their "Gateway Country" stores back in 2000. And since Apple copied Gateway (minus the cow motif), Google is copying a copy of a copy.
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Apple didn't copy Gateway, it copied Bang & Olufsen. B&O was doing prestige electronics boutiques in the 90's and still has them. Apple steals its design philosophy from much the same sources. It is straight Scandinavian design...uninspired at that. It's also ironic when you consider the reason behind the form originated from an inability to afford anything more.
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The thing is, Apple Store does not look or feel like Gateway stores at all. Not in any way. And Apple Store was made to sell iPod and iPhone and iPad, not PC's like Gateway. And when the first Apple Store opened, people didn't say "wow, that is a copy of a Gateway store!" With Microsoft, the way they cloned Apple Store was disturbing, and Microsoft's stores are not even practical for them. They should have bought Blockbuster and had lower-end stores in lots of neighborhoods where their customers could trans
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So now Apple invented stores?
No. But if Apple (and to a lesser extent, Microsoft) didn't have stores, do you still think Google would see them as necessary?
I doubt it.
Stores for All (Score:2)
If Apple (and to a lesser extent, Microsoft) didn't have stores, do you still think Google would see them as necessary?
I doubt it.
I'm disagree, the need to showcase your *brand* has become more important than electronics themselves, and what better way to showcase the products than having a dedicated shop.
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So now Apple invented stores?
No, the iStore.... and they locked your wallet when you walked in.
--
I Drank what?
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So now Apple invented stores?
That's a non sequitur. There's no way around it that Google (and Microsoft before them) are copying Apple by opening their own stores. The thing to keep it mind is that this isn't a knock against Google (or MS, but MS does get some justified ragging for so blatantly copying Apple).
I suspect (and hope!) these Google stores will have their own unique Google feel to them, and not seem like a bizarro Apple Store, like MS's stores are. And also not so bogglingly "me too!" in their choice of location.
Apple copied
I can hear the screeching already... (Score:2)
"It's a monopoly, it's a monopoly..." screech the Pro-Apple-Anti-Microsoft and Pro-Microsoft-Anti-Apple fanboys
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You left out the Anti-Apple-Anti-Microsoft-Anti-Google folks or the Anti-Google-Pro-Apple... aaargh, there are too many Anti-* and Pro-* permutations to type and I'm tired.
Bottom line, I doubt any resonable person would have a problem with any *-Store as long as they don't stifle local shops. Really your choice of a brand name has less to do with shops and more to do with marketing (though effectively designed shops can add something, which Apple's did), innate appeal (which fanboys already have) and lack o
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I wonder whether Apple has patented the idea?
If not, they really should have. As you have pointed out this another instance of Google flagrantly copying an Apple innovation. Release the lawyers!
Re:Wonder where they got that idea. (Score:5, Funny)
Apple: I will seduce them with Jobsian user experiences!
Microsoft: I will bury them with my usual, cheap second-mover tactics!
Google: I will claim not to be evil, and send Androids to drink both Apple's and Microsoft's milkshakes.
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That's a surprisingly accurate and succinct summation of the three!
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I seriously hope your sarcasm tags were stripped out by slashdot's html filter.
If not, I think you'll find that shops have existed for quite some time. You'll probably also find Google shops are a bit more colorful and, dare I say it, more fun than the Apple Store.
Yes Apple patented their store. *rolls eyes* (Score:2)
I wonder whether Apple has patented the idea?
If not, they really should have. As you have pointed out this another instance of Google flagrantly copying an Apple innovation. Release the lawyers!
http://www.patentlyapple.com/patently-apple/patents-apple-store/ [patentlyapple.com]
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Cheaters Prosper (Score:2)
They are like the kid who cheats in class by looking over the smart kid's shoulder. First it was Yahoo!, then it was Keyhole, Android, YouTube (until they bought them) they tried to copy Facebook, Office, etc...
I think you need to keep up. Apple copied the mp3 player; microsoft copied the console; Facebook copied the phone; Amazon copied the tablet. etc etc. Maybe its not copying at all, but large mega-corporations entering related established markets with near monopoly status, and high barriers of entry [lots and lots of cash], and sometimes its works out really well product.
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In other news, only 2 of the 15 stories on Slashdot's front page have anything to do with Apple, directly or obliquely. In this case, one is about an apple (fruit) store changing its name due to people calling it up thinking it's about Apple (technology). The other is this one, which is a rumor about Google following another of Apple's leads (and quite likely, very wisely so).
ubuntu linux stores next (Score:5, Funny)
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Sir, you deserve a medal! How did you managed to get up moderated with this wonderful piece of Astroturfing?
Never fear!, UnderGNU is here.... (Score:2)
RMS, waving his katana, will lead the HURD in the counter assault.
Re:This will become known as the store (Score:5, Funny)
"So...."? Not "Did you mean" [google.com]?
Who is "9to5Google"? (Score:1)
Looks to me that this is a phony account and journal spam (which, by the way is averaging over 250 adverts a day) is spilling over onto the front page..
A recent retail experience (Score:3, Insightful)
I went to Northgate Mall in Seattle three weeks ago looking to get either a Nexus 4 or a Samsung galaxy s3.
Samsung products were everywhere.
The only place I could find a Nexus 4 was the Tmobile store, and yes, what tipped me to the Nexus was trying it out.
There was an unaffiliated tablet/phone store elsewhere in the mall that had a Nexus 7 and maybe a 10, but you had to look hard for them.
It still seems weird that you would need to open a whole store as opposed to striking deals for retail space for your stuff, though.
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There is almost no consumer demand for Nexus devices, therefore there is almost no retailer demand for Nexus devices, therefore you can't find Nexus devices at retail very easily. The idea with Google opening its own store is apparently to stimulate consumer demand by showing them the devices and enabling them to try them out.
Another problem with Nexus devices at retail is that Google is not a phone maker or seller, or a consumer electronics company. They did not know what they were doing when it came to ma
It had better be quick (Score:4, Funny)
If I can't find what I'm looking for in 0.254 seconds, I'm out of that store again.
Bert
Spoiled brat
Who bets that there are ads in the store
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It should be quick - they only have five products.
Google Car Dealerships? (Score:3, Insightful)
Google sees self-driving cars in 3-5 years; Washington, insurers not so sure [autoblog.com]:
sheep to the slaughter (Score:1)
This is suicide for google, and a traditional play by managers with no imagination who want to show that they can do things in an environment which is dominated by technical types that they can't and won't understand. This is money better spent by infiltrating the educational space or keeping margins lower. Please Google, keep the list of names of the people who support this initiative so that is can be a permanent blemish on their reconds. I for one won't be employing them.
Will it work like google search? (Score:1)
You walk into the store, which unexplainably changes its facade for every random holiday far after the novelty has worn off.
You go up to a sale person and tell him you want to buy a Television and before he can respond, you get 3 other sales people from other stores that jump in front and shove ads in your hands. You stare, dumbfounded, at the sale person and he says, "did you mean Telephones?" and then shows you 6 phones, none of which are what you wanted. And then he shows you 10 other boxes of phones th
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As with Microsoft - it's hard to see this working (Score:2)
Google has a very small product line - it's hard to see how they can fill a store, unless they're going to be carrying a lot of "partner" (competitor's) Android phones. And, at this point in time, most of those partners are probably not that comfortable in their relationship with Google.
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Not at first, no. But when the Nexus 27 smartphone is launched at Google I/O this year, the need for a full retail space will make more sense.
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The Nexus devices sell in extremely small numbers, and mostly to computer nerds who decided to buy them before they even shipped, and who will almost certainly just order them online whenever they become available. That's the exact opposite of why you open a store.
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I may have been too subtle (or just unfunny, which is often the same thing). A Nexus 27 would take up a lot of space. Android phones are getting humorously large (Note II). 93 Escort Wagon was wondering how they would fill a store with so few products...
So, nothing?
I wonder if I should go there when I am shopping? (Score:3)
Google is a search service. They provide a lot of useful information. I wonder if I should go there seeking anything and everything? I ask Google for things of all sorts not the least of which is how to hack my nexus 4 and nexus 7 devices. I wonder, then if I should go to those brick and mortar sites for the same sort of service? :)
Perhaps this is my clever way of wondering if Google isn't exceeding itself a bit too much. I can see Google "guiding" the Android user experience with their own, ostensibly non-competing devices and I was prepared to let it slide. But the idea that they would open a brick and mortar shop? To sell something? I'm a little confused.
On one hand, I would be more inclined to buy Google devices from local Google stores than I would to buy them online. But that's just me. This all leaves me curious... and maybe a little suspicious.
Auction site next please, Google (Score:4, Insightful)
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And trying to find electronic components if you know the first few digits of a range of compatable parts/revisions is almost impossible without wildcard searc
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eBay is beyond incompetence. My favorite recent interface fuckup is price ranges. Last I checked you can no longer search on items under or over a price, you have to search on a price range. But you can remove one bound or the other from the URL to get an under/over search. So the functionality is still there, but they've removed it from the GUI. Netflix does the same stupid bitchy shit. List views are still there; just add vt=tl to the URL. But you can no longer get them via the GUI...
Mega super source - yeah! (Score:1)
"an extremely reliable source" - sounds like teenager chatter to me
Google opens first retail store (Score:2)
COURT ROAD, Tottenham, Friday (NTN) — Internet advertising agency Google [newstechnica.com] is opening its first retail store, selling the Internet-only Chromebook.
"We've put a lot of effort into making it feel welcoming, homely and, dare I say it, 'Googley'," said Arvind Desikan, head of consumer marketing. The revolutionary shopping experience leverages Google's famous abilities in customer service, having no staff. Customers seeking advice on a product can simply log in with their Google account to the in-store foru
Google Watchers? (Score:2)
Now I'm on Google Watchers and I've gained 20 pounds in 2 weeks.
Today at Friendly's Restaurant, Saw "Order Online" (Score:2)
When? (Score:1)
hopes to have the first flagship Google Stores open for the holidays
Why would they care about being open for Earth Day? I know companies like to be 'green' nowadays but what is so special about opening on April 22?
The Google Store would be a vending machine... (Score:1)
This keeps in practice with their policy of never allowing any human contact with a Google employee.
The staff will shake you down for personal data (Score:2)
and then give you a virus.