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Microsoft 'Hut' Opens Outside Seattle Apple Store
theodp writes "On October 20th, Microsoft will open its 14th store in Seattle's popular University Village shopping center, where it will go head-to-head against an existing Apple Store. To help build buzz for next week's grand opening, Microsoft set up a temporary Kinect-equipped hut within spitting distance of the Apple store, a guerrilla marketing effort designed to catch the attention of the throngs flocking to the Apple Store for the new iPhone 4S. Microsoft will up the marketing ante for next weekend's grand opening, transforming the parking lot between the two stores into a concert venue for performances by The Black Keys and OneRepublic. Any bets on whether the concerts will drum up more business for the Zune Market Place or the iTunes Store?"
Maybe it would be best in consideration of the season and in light of current events for Microsoft's marketing department to reprise this popular event from the launch of Windows Phone.
The free concert series was a big hit for WP7 - it drew big crowds.
Help stamp out iliturcy.
that would be 'chair-throwing distance'. not spit.
Read radical news here
On October 20th, Microsoft will open its 14th store in Seattle's popular University Village shopping center...
Why do they need 14 stores in one shopping center?
buthurt much? who the fuck cares, its not like this one store is going to break MS or Apple.
And by hundreds of miles behind apple, do you mean in the shiny object hipster yuppie market? Because the majority of the real world seems to show otherwise.
And by hundreds of miles behind apple, do you mean in the shiny object hipster yuppie market? Because the majority of the real world seems to show otherwise.
I consider it very humorous on how when something is not in their realm of refinement/etc then it's suddently "hipster" or "yuppie".
The majority of the real world (as opposed to the fake world... wtf?) buys the cheapest shit they can get their hands on without regard to any side effects or lifespan concerns. There are a percentage that want something else.
Which dovetails nicely into our current conversation. Thanks, please continue.
-- This space for lease, low setup fee, inquire within!
Microsoft can have a store at every corner of every street in the world and I'd still avoid them like the plague.
I lost respect for them completely in 1997 (cratered by their previous blunders), so it'd be on par with walking into Walmart.
In fact, both have the same feel.
-- This space for lease, low setup fee, inquire within!
Sure, Kinect is going to make iPhone users want to buy a WP7-based phone...
Very convenent
"monkey jump distance" ? developers sure know the exact measure of that one.
Read radical news here
And xbox live is governed by corporate pigs.
And nothing Apple does is governed by corporate pigs?
Nope. Apple is governed by hipster hogs.
--- Keep the choice with the user..
Microsoft's had a Kinect hut set up on Red Square at the University of Washington for several weeks (since the week before school began). It's been popular - not "waiting in line" popular, but there's always someone playing in there. Well, hold on, there are 35,000 students at UW so maybe it's not all that popular...
In any case, I'm sure they'll get good attendance at the Kinect hut; and if they're selling games in the Microsoft Store I'm sure a goodly number of people will be in there looking. From what I've seen and heard, though, it's unlikely there'll be much crossover success with regards to Windows computers. I know several Mac users who own XBox 360s, but I've never heard any of them say "you know, I think I'll try Windows again because my gaming console is just so great!" People compartmentalize their technology. Most of the Windows admins I know own iPhones (seriously, none of them own an Android or a Windows Mobile phone) - and I've never heard any of them say "I like my phone so much, I think I'll buy a Mac!"
I'm sure a lot of customers will stop by on the way, listen to some music, maybe play a game... and then go on into the Apple Store.
#DeleteChrome
this just proves that Microsoft doesn't get it. For all there R&D dollars and for all their marketing dollars, piggybacking off of Apple places them in a poor light, a "hey look, we are relevant too" kinda light. Apart from the OS space and the occasional Windows phone, Microsoft and Apple are no longer the direct competitors they once were.
Apparently 14 of them now. I don't know how profitable they are though as MS has not divulged or bragged about that aspect. Apple retails stores do seem profitable.
Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
Microsoft is not a "cool" brand. It's the brand that people are forced to use in the office because Microsoft has essentially left no choice. This is not a good reason to buy Microsoft.
But MS does have a cool brand that it controls. It has XBox. It's even managed to give Kinect its own identity. Windows phone 7 may not be able to hook onto those, but Microsoft can create a brand. Relying on the existing brand doesn't make sense if they want to appeal to the trendsetters.
For MS it might not be so much a store but a means to get mind share. Apple has lots of cool gadgets. Microsoft: Xbox 360 and ... no that's it. The rest is productivity stuff, and large corporate software. Sure there are games, there are phones running WinPhone etc.but it won't be nearly the same experience as an Apple store where you go in and see one companies shinny products I think. Where it could help Microsoft is give the brand a "face". "I like Office better than LibreOffice because that nice guy in the store spent an hour showing me how to use it" kind of thing.
Because "Microsoft ghetto" was judged to be too uncomfortably close to the truth.
There's a post in the Seattle PI's "Microsoft Blog" that shows the location for the actual store - it is indeed right across the parking lot from the Apple Store.
I can understand why Microsoft would want to do that, I guess, in terms of symbolism - but I think it's a terrible business mistake. Whatever you think of Microsoft and their products, you can't believe they've got the same cachet that Apple does. People aren't going to be hunting them out - but MS has picked a spot with seriously bad visibility from most of the mall. University Village isn't a big enclosed mall - it's an open-air space where most of the shops are scattered among smaller buildings that open straight onto parking lots. The Apple Store is on a side lot that's set back somewhat, but it at least is visible as people are driving through the lot from the 25th Avenue entrance (plus people are going to be looking for them anyway). Someone coming from that entrance and driving straight in won't even see the Microsoft Store - as they pass that side lot, the MS Store will be behind their left shoulder while the Apple Store will be in front of them.
#DeleteChrome
Since when is single-digit marketshare considered "dominant"?
Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
I completely forgot about their stores and didn't realise any opened. I tried looking on the net and there isn't much being said about them. The only thing I found were these.
http://articles.latimes.com/2010/nov/26/business/la-fi-microsoft-stores-20101126
http://www.tuaw.com/2010/11/26/lost-in-translation-microsoft-retail-stores-not-matching-apple/
http://www.informationweek.com/news/windows/microsoft_news/229401433
The gist of them seem to be that Microsoft is copying Apple so they have the same look but unlike the Apple store the MS stores aren't a good value because they don't carry as much stock and can't compete on price with other shops carrying Windows based computers.
That's always going to be a problem for them. They aren't a hardware company (for the most part) so unlike Apple they don't have a ncie small set of hardware that they can offer at the best price available. Apple computers may cost more than Wintel machines but when you go to an Apple store the price of the Mac is the best price you can get for a mac without a student discount.
You go into a Microsoft store and you see PCs that you can get elsewhere for cheaper. Where's the incentive to buy from Microsoft? Imo, their stores will die out quietly or they'll just sell them to someone who can offer a better deal and probably ask to keep the branding.
Spitting distance? Isn't that "squirting distance"?
It's hard to believe Microsoft would be so willing to show this direct comparison - revealing they haven't had an original thought in ten years.
Most of the stuff on
What original thought did Microsoft have 10 years ago? Even 20 or 30? Microsoft has actually built some good software on occasion, but they have never had an original thought since Bill Gates wrote a BASIC interpreter on paper tape in 1975.
Actually, MSR has plenty of original thoughts, but what just like Vegas, whatever happens in MSR stays in MSR.
You are in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike.
C'mon, I'm sure Ballmer has a nicer car than that.
You are in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike.
...has an Apple store and a Microsoft store very nearly across the same hallway from each other.
I can't stand the Mall of America but on every compulsory trip I've taken there, the Microsoft store is nearly empty. A few people (my 7 year old included) are goofing with a Kinect up front, a few losers are using the demo PCs for Facebook updates and that's it.
The Apple store on the other side of the hallway is packed, with nary a demo iPad or Mac unattended. Lots of people in the store.
In neither case did I count who walked out with stuff, but the interest level in the Apple store was high.
I thought the Microsoft store was generally attractive, but the whole idea seems unfocused. There's Microsoft products like Xbox and Zune (well, not anymore), the phone and then there's...PCs. Laptops, desktops, but they're not really selling them, well, maybe they are. You can't tell.
It felt like they were pushing the whole PC "experience" and not just the Microsoft vision of it, which even Microsoft didn't seem they could explain very well.
For full disclosure, I build my own Windows PCs but have owned more iPods and iPhones than I'd care to admit (every iPhone model from the 3G to the 4S).
You go into a Microsoft store and you see PCs that you can get elsewhere for cheaper. Where's the incentive to buy from Microsoft?.
The reason the computers in Microsoft Stores are more expensive is because they run Windows Signature which does not contain the bloatware that comes on machines bought from the manufacturers, and is also tuned for optimal performance on that machine. To my knowledge, the Microsoft Store is the only place that will sell the machines with Signature, but I could be wrong in that regard.
Disclaimer: I do work for Microsoft. I also expect suddenly everyone on Slashdot will probably try to burn me at the stake now...
Apple has done a remarkable job becoming establishment while maintaining their outsider credibility. It really comes about, I think, from their hippy origins and starting out in a garage. Heck, they flew a pirate flag outside their headquarters for the longest time (they may still, I don't know). When you've been the underdog your entire time in business, and have an anti-establishment culture within the company, that sort of reputation sticks, even when you've got the biggest market cap and everybody and their mother has an iPod.
And, let's face it, Apple has amazing marketing, and a real focus on cool things to do with your devices, not the devices themselves. When you go into an Apple Store, each area is set up for "solutions" not just a long row of computers as you find in most stores. You go to the music area, it's all about music. You go to the video area, it's all about video. You look at their TV ads, and the emphasis is never on specs, it's about usability and what you can do. It makes it a lot less nerdy, and a lot more approachable, to the average consumer. Apple is a huge company, but they have the personality of a scrappy little company that's cool to associate with. People want to Think Different even when everybody else is too. It's remarkable how Apple has gotten the best of both worlds and no doubt business schools will be talking about it for a long time.
We'll see how well it lasts without Steve Jobs, I guess, but I think they'll keep it going. Steve Jobs set up "Apple University" to indoctrinate employees in the culture, and certainly the team he assembled under him during his tenure as CEO are true believers.
-mrxak
Onions Will Kill You
Absolutely. Clearly the serious gamers have given up on Modern Warfare 3 and Gears of War and have moved to Angry Birds.
It's revolutionary!!
Seriously, is it really impossible for an Apple fan to admit that there's one thing that Apple does not do better than Microsoft. So much so that they won't even recognize that playing a game on an XBox360 and high definition TV and surround sound system is maybe a slightly better experience than playing the same game on an iPhone? Or even admit that you cannot play Gears of War or Modern Warfare 3 on the iPhone?
I can hear it already..."Yeah? Yeah? Well, Apple sold more iPhones than Microsoft sold XBox360s so clearly that means Apple is superior in every way. And you can't make a call with your XBox, so that means iPhone is a superior gaming platform."
Hey, I'm getting good at this...
You are welcome on my lawn.
Yes, how else do they keep the stick up there.
> Apple retails stores do seem profitable.
You don't know how right you are. They are, in fact, more profitable per square foot than any other retail store, period. "... more than six times the revenue per square foot at Neiman Marcus, four times that of Best Buy, and about one and a half times that at Tiffany's"
Dear Slashdot: next time you want to mess with the site, add a rich-text editor for comments.
The premise of this article is that Microsoft is putting a store right in Apple's face. Microsoft's first store is in the Bellevue Square mall less than 100 feet from the Apple store, so this is nothing new.
I stop in both stores often to check out the latest. There are some intersting things in the Microsoft store. My iPhone 4 web browser gets very sluggish when displaying complex web pages (mmo champion specifically), as did my three Android phones (AT&T N1, Verizon Droid, Verizon Droid-X). The windows phone is much faster in this regard and quite easy to use. I havent played with enough to determine if it's as usable as an iPhone yet but it is in the same ballpark.
Elsewhere in the store Microsoft has touch screen systems for people to play with, XBox with Kinect, and the commercial Surface device (a 36" multi user touch screen thing marketed at bars). Comparing the two stores Microsoft is more inviting and is way more fun. They're beating Apple here in both product lineup and in the store's handling of customers.
Over the last many years Apple has completely humiliated Microsoft in the consumer market: The ubiquity of the iDevices and coming from behind to overtake Microsoft in market cap. You can see by comparing the two stores that's still happening: Apple's store is packed, Microsoft's is not. But looking at the product lineup, staff attitude, and the improving usability of their products I dont think Apple is leading on merit any longer.
It appears to me Microsoft has figured out what it takes to compete and is giving it the college try. They may still lose despite their merit because of market acceptance or some issues I'm not seeing. I am very curious to see how this will unfold. I do sincerely hope that they do well enough to cause some feirce competition, it would be good for us as consumers.
In other words, Microsoft's sells the same hardware as everyone else, but they mark up the price and remove all of the extras that other computer manufacturer's include for free.
Yes, I know that most of the extras that OEMs add to their computers are crapware, but try explaining that to your average consumer without mentioning that the trial version of MS Office (that probably ships on the Microsoft Signature version) also fits into the same boat.
My guess is that these stores simply drive people right into Apple's arms. Apple's ridiculous prices almost certainly seem less ridiculous when compared to Microsoft's premium prices. The fact of the matter is that most Windows users don't actually want to use Windows. They just can't quite justify buying a Mac. Jacking up the prices on PCs is not likely to help.
Soooo offtopic, and a bit misinformed. The widely-cited ending of Apple's charity program when Steve Jobs returned as CEO was because the company was going under and couldn't afford it anymore. Since they've become profitable, they've done a lot more. Apple's participated in Product Red quite heavily with their iPod lines. Steve Jobs is widely believed to have given a lot of money to cancer research before he died, but simply chose to do so anonymously so we can't be entirely sure. There may have been quite a bit of other philanthropic efforts done that we won't know about because Steve Jobs was a very private person, and nobody cares enough about the other executives there to actually find out about their charitable donations but that's not proof they haven't given anything either.
I actually find it a lot more obnoxious when these rich guys give their money away so publicly. I was raised to give to charity and not make such a big deal out of it, because then you're doing it for the right reasons, and not praise. When you are a billionaire, giving away money is literally the easiest thing you can do. You won't miss it. Let me know when Bill Gates gives up his entire net worth, leaves nothing for his family, and lives as a pauper. Then I'll consider him a saint. Until then, I'm a lot more impressed by the person making minimum wage dropping some dollar bills in the charity bucket and not telling all their friends and the media about it.
-mrxak
Onions Will Kill You
I know it's been a while, but what about Hungarian Notation? Granted, it's been out for a while, but it's indispensable for most non-Web developers.
BTW, since no one has said it before, let me say it now -- DEVELOPERS! DEVELOPERS! DEVELOPERS! Now, we can be within "sweating distance."
"Good, Fast, Cheap: Pick any two" -- RFC 1925