[wizwor]

Originally Posted by david_e

The first thing I thought after reading your post was 'Who the hell goes to the mall on a Saturday night?' (Not directing this ? at you personally, just in general.) Tweens and teens too young to drive, the poor parents of same, and people out for some free entertainment, such as people watching? Certainly not the younger, social (probably what most around here would call 'hip'), and creative types who have always been pegged as the core Apple customer (happy accident, not intended).

Its also worth mentioning (to me, anyway) that with all the different activities you noticed at the Windows shop you never mentioned anyone actually buying anything.

It's just the idea that with an Apple Store and a Microsoft Store under the same roof, people chose to be at the Microsoft Store.

I was surprised to find people at either store in February -- not Christmas, not back to school -- but I would have expected to see people at the Apple Store with the launch of the 128g Retina iPad only days away.

I was at the customer service desk which is where people pay for stuff and I did have to wait for assistance. The BB-hater was getting a Dell laptop serviced and someone was buying something -- I don't know what because it was in a box I did not recognize.

I wasn't there to buy. I was shopping. Happened to be in the mall for another reason and stopped in with my youngest to put hands on hardware. I would speculate most of the people in the store were there for the same reason. That translates into interest and, usually, eventually, to sales. If you want to touch a hundred laptops, the Microsoft Store is the only place to do it. Ditto on the tabs.

So, maybe people will not wait in line for a 128g Retina iPad?

The new 128GB versions of the fourth generation iPad will be available starting Tuesday, February 5, in black or white, for a suggested retail price of $799 (US) for the iPad with Wi-Fi model and $929 (US) for the iPad with Wi-Fi + Cellular model. All versions of the 128GB iPad will be sold through the Apple Online Store (www.apple.com), Apple retail stores and select Apple Authorized Resellers.