Apple Store Shopping Experience

Last Saturday I dropped my son off at a library in Uptown in Minneapolis for a video game class. A few hours and what to do? Well I knew that a new Apple Store had opened one week ago in this neighborhood so I set off to take a look.

In the back of my mind this was also a chance to order the new iPhone4. My current iPhone is the original version and it has been my companion for over two and a half years. It's been starting to show it's age as the battery capacity seems to be getting less and less with each passing week.

I walk in the store and I'm not five feet in the door when a salesperson approaches me and asks how he can help. That was prompt customer service and as I look around the store I see plenty of sales team members and customers and everyone seems quite happy - it is a fun time I'm sure to work for Apple and certainly an exciting time for a customer given the recent release of the iPad and this next gen iPhone.

I get some of the specifics of the new iPhone4 - the video camera - how easy that is to edit, the improved camera with front and back capabilities, photo flash and yes improved battery life. Just then I realized that not one mention was mad of the phone's primary responsiblitiy - it's a cell phone. It's amazing isn't it that the smartphones are all about the other stuff beside the original use of it being a cell phone. Heck that's a given - it's all the bells and whistles that truly matter when you buy a smartphone.

So after five minutes of not so hard sales talk - I'm ready to buy and my order is taken on an iPad. Smart job by Apple to order it this way and then show me how cool the iPad is and don't you want one of those. Well I'm going to wait on the iPad.

I'm really looking forward to getting the new iPhone4 and seeing how it works. I'm sure the phone will work great but I'm looking forward to the camera and video camera and of course all those apps that I enjoy.

It is an easy shopping experience at Apple. I just hope that they don't disappoint me in terms of how long it will now take to get the iPhone4. It's already been three days and I don't have it yet.