Apple store not enthusiastic in selling ATV?

[MacBuzz]

I went to one of the three Apple stores in NYC (the one with predictably the least tourists) with hopes of checking out the ATV Take 2.

1. No store staff attending the two demo setups.
2. Firmware still 1.1. Movie, TV show demos same as before the Take 2 release, i.e. grainy SD quality. I a few trailers, "Dark Night", "Atonement" but they were definitely not HD quality.

When I asked about this, a staff member replied, "maybe we'll update them tonight". When I asked about if they were selling much, replied "not very popular".

What kind of attitude is that!! I was on the verge of picking up one today to enjoy a few movies this long weekend, but came home disappointed. Maybe I'll try the 24/7 store later today to see if they have the recent firmware.

Anyone have any idea why Apple isn't even trying to sell this thing?

 

[bbydon]

I think that is just lazy management...

I bet steve would be pissed if he found out.

 

[RumMunkey]

I think a lot of stores need a kick in the pants. I found the same situation in my store (Sherway Gardens, Toronto).

tv was running 1.1, ALL the Macs were running 10.5.1, and just for fun I ran Software Update on one of the MacBooks and they were WAY behind on updates (iTunes was at 7.4 or 7.5).

I try not to speak to the employees much (except for the cutie cashier -yum).

 

[minik]

I was at the Bellevue Square Apple Store yesterday. It was crowded at around 2PM. Since I went to that particular store vert often, I recognized some of the staffs.

I was eyeing for the 40GB model. Found an Apple store staff next to the iMac desk and asked about the Apple TV. He was shocked and whispered something like, we don't make the 40GB anymore. He walked over to the iPod chart and said 'hey, 40GB is like 5 hrs of video storage." Pretty much, he suggested me to get the 160GB model. I asked him how big is the HD movie rental file size. He couldn't answer me and said something like "A quarter worth of SuperBowl footage was huge enough".

I walked back to the iMac and googled myself for answer. He walked away to help other customers. He came back and I put him to the Apple TV demo station. I asked him why it's still showing v1.1 software. He claimed he will update it very soon. He walked away again to the Genius Bar (he's not a Mac Genius as I recalled).

I made up my mind for the 160GB model and approached another staff. At the same time, I grabbed 2 hdmi cables. He was wondering why I need 2 hdmi cables.

I spent an hour in the store and saw a kid trying out the Apple TV and that's it. I think I was the only one asked for an Apple TV.

 

[themanfromvlad]

Please dont tell me you bought Hdmi cables at the Apple store.

FYI for everyone: monoprice.com for your cable needs!

I was at the Bellevue Square Apple Store yesterday. It was crowded at around 2PM. Since I went to that particular store vert often, I recognized some of the staffs.

I was eyeing for the 40GB model. Found an Apple store staff next to the iMac desk and asked about the Apple TV. He was shocked and whispered something like, we don't make the 40GB anymore. He walked over to the iPod chart and said 'hey, 40GB is like 5 hrs of video storage." Pretty much, he suggested me to get the 160GB model. I asked him how big is the HD movie rental file size. He couldn't answer me and said something like "A quarter worth of SuperBowl footage was huge enough".

I walked back to the iMac and googled myself for answer. He walked away to help other customers. He came back and I put him to the Apple TV demo station. I asked him why it's still showing v1.1 software. He claimed he will update it very soon. He walked away again to the Genius Bar (he's not a Mac Genius as I recalled).

I made up my mind for the 160GB model and approached another staff. At the same time, I grabbed 2 hdmi cables. He was wondering why I need 2 hdmi cables.

I spent an hour in the store and saw a kid trying out the Apple TV and that's it. I think I was the only one asked for an Apple TV.

 

[JimmyDreams]

Same thing for me yesterday at the Fashion Valley store in San Diego. The TV was v1.1, and no one was looking at it. I asked the salesguy if they had updated it, he said not yet, that they were going to do that in a day or two (seems like a popular line everywhere).

I asked a different salesdude about Time Capsule and if the 1T unit would allow me to do both backups AND utilize the storage space for audio/video content and that I could stream from it to my TV. He said yes, that's the way it will work. (dunno if I believe him or not)

My TV had it's info transmitted to FedEx at 8:50am (China time) on the 15th, and at 4:38am this morning, it was already in San Diego!! Too bad it didn't make it onto the truck....since Monday is a holiday, I'll have to wait until Tuesday to get it. Oh well....

 

[nippyjun]

This type of service/attitude is very disturbing to a stockholder. It's what I would expect in a big box store but not an apple store.

 

[Cybix]

how about this, In the USA your base model ATV costs $252 australian dollars.

In Australia we pay $449 australian dollars for the same model... almost $200 more.

figure that out? it's stupid.

not to mention in Australia iTunes doesn't have movies or tv shows purchases or rentals... ONLY music.

how on earth is the ATV supposed to sell in this country? it's crazy!

I only bought mine with the intention to hack it, and get an external hard disk full of my movies attached to it... otherwise, I don't see the reason to purchase one in Aus...

 

[cenetti]

thats nothing...lol

last week I went to the store to get my apple tv, I grabbed one but couldnt find the HDD size on the box (doesnt say 40-160 etc), so I asked one of the employees there, he couldnt find it either, he asked to another guy...then they both went to the stock room. After 10mins, he came back and said here it is...40gb...all togther it took about 25mins to get one....

I say thats true they dont sell apple tv at all...nobody even knows if its 40gb or 160gb...lol

 

[Macole]

how about this, In the USA your base model ATV costs $252 australian dollars.

In Australia we pay $449 australian dollars for the same model... almost $200 more.

figure that out? it's stupid.

not to mention in Australia iTunes doesn't have movies or tv shows purchases or rentals... ONLY music.

how on earth is the ATV supposed to sell in this country? it's crazy!

I only bought mine with the intention to hack it, and get an external hard disk full of my movies attached to it... otherwise, I don't see the reason to purchase one in Aus...

I think tha Apple should leave behind the American centric policy ...
Same happens here in Europe ...we pay way more for less ...

 

[filmguy15]

how about this, In the USA your base model ATV costs $252 australian dollars.

In Australia we pay $449 australian dollars for the same model... almost $200 more.

figure that out? it's stupid.

not to mention in Australia iTunes doesn't have movies or tv shows purchases or rentals... ONLY music.

how on earth is the ATV supposed to sell in this country? it's crazy!

I only bought mine with the intention to hack it, and get an external hard disk full of my movies attached to it... otherwise, I don't see the reason to purchase one in Aus...

I could be wrong, but I don't think Apple is providing US-only content intentionally. They have to negotiate separate terms for other countries, etc... with the studios, which I'm sure could take twice as long. Seems like there is no excuse for the price differences though...

 

[John.B]

XtremeMac HDMI Cables at Apple Stores

Please dont tell me you bought Hdmi cables at the Apple store.

At $20, the XtremeMac HDMI cables at Apple stores are *very* competitive for a retail shop (any retail shop). You certainly can't do better at any of the big box stores that only carry Monster cables and a healthy dose of FUD.

Monoprice.com has great prices but you sacrifice that whole instant gratification thing.

 

[minik]

Please dont tell me you bought Hdmi cables at the Apple store.

FYI for everyone: monoprice.com for your cable needs!

Yes! I did buy the XtremeMac brand cables. Sure I can get $2 hdmi cable online, but sometimes I want to grab-N-go.

thats nothing...lol

last week I went to the store to get my apple tv, I grabbed one but couldnt find the HDD size on the box (doesnt say 40-160 etc), so I asked one of the employees there, he couldnt find it either, he asked to another guy...then they both went to the stock room. After 10mins, he came back and said here it is...40gb...all togther it took about 25mins to get one....

I say thats true they dont sell apple tv at all...nobody even knows if its 40gb or 160gb...lol

I sort of agree. The label on the bottom of the box, next to the SKU bar code, it shows the capacity. I think googling the Apple part number on the box should be much faster.

It's sad. One thing that bugs me a lot shopping at the Apple retail store, there is no more 'fixed' cash register. That area is being assigned to One-to-One training. I understand the need of it, but do you guys want my money too? I just had a hard time paying what I wanted. BTW, any staff ask you to buy AppleCare for Apple TV? Not here.

 

[spiderhole]

My experience last week at the apple store was about the same. 3 different sales flunkies couldn't answer any of my questions about the tv, they were running the old software and the remote didn't work. When I asked what the return policy was in case it didn't do the things I was asking about (which they had no idea) I was warned about the 10% "recycling" fee. No thanks...went to best buy and got it there instead.

 

[JimmyDreams]

My experience last week at the apple store was about the same. 3 different sales flunkies couldn't answer any of my questions about the tv, they were running the old software and the remote didn't work. When I asked what the return policy was in case it didn't do the things I was asking about (which they had no idea) I was warned about the 10% "recycling" fee. No thanks...went to best buy and got it there instead.

The day after Take 2 was released, I went to my local Best Buy. The salesdude I stopped and asked about TV told me he was looking for one for another customer! He went on to say that the store never had any units, always showed 1 on order, but that none ever seem to arrive. I told him briefly about Take 2 and said they might want to actually stock a few units as there may be more demand for them. I dunno....2 customers in the store at the same time looking for one. How many people do you think never even ASK...they just give up looking and leave?

Waiting patiently until Tuesday for delivery of my TV.

 

[MikieMikie]

It's my (limited) understanding that all hardware in an Apple store has a special set of software on it. A few months ago, I had wanted something demonstrated on a MacPro and the tech guy explained to me that if the software wasn't already on the "disk image" it could not be added, and that every night the disk images revert to the Apple-controlled content.

This makes some sense as people download, create documents and folders, check email, etc. in the Apple stores, and it would be impossible to keep them clean and neat. There has to be some "mass update" that happens, and it looks like Apple TV has been skipped so far.

I find it hard to believe that, for demo units in the Apple store, these units even can be updated. There was another thread not many days ago about someone who had purchased a demo unit from CompUSA, I believe, and that one had to be wiped clean in order to be updated.

Back in July 2007, when I was in the market, I went by an Apple store and tried to modify the settings on the Apple TV there, and nothing was sticky. The salesguy was a bit surprised and then quickly told me "I guess these settings can't be changed on our demo unit."

In conclusion, I think these salespeople know less than nothing about the Apple TV, and are blowing smoke about "updating the units" soon. Until Apple deliver the updates, I don't think anything is going to happen.

 

[ipoddin]

Bought my TV yesterday at the Topenga Apple Store and the experience defintely wasn't what I'm used to with Apple. They too had that one monitor display with 1.1 and no one around it. No boxes of the unit on shelves anywhere. Only way to actually hold a box is to ask a salesperson to go in the back and bring one out. I don't know about you all, but I like to pick up the box, read it, take a look at it. I asked if he could bring one out so I could take a look at it and he had a puzzled look and said something like, "oh, you want to buy it now?" And I told him I just wanted to look at it, and he couldn't understand why, unless I wanted to buy it.

Needless to say, I ended up buying a 160gb version, but it was still 1.1. Love it though.

 

[minik]

^^
I agree. They don't stock iPod/iPhone on the shelf, I understand. The Apple TV is not really easy to steal. I meant, the box is bigger.

In general, I think many MacRumors' readers did their homework before shopping.

I went to BestBuy afterwards, but the Apple TV was no where in sight.

OT: I see more and more staffs are taken care of people who want to buy a Mac at the store than iPod/iPhone/the rest, which is a good thing.

Meanwhile, is the Apple TV still under the 'hobby' section as Steve Jobs said on day 1.

 

[dbwie]

Apple TV

Browsing the movie section through iTunes on my computer, I don't see many offerings in the movie rentals option. Wondering when the deals with the major movie studios will result in loads of content available for rent. I want an Apple TV, but I plan to wait until the movie offerings expand quite a bit from where they are now. I also think it would be cool if they had one with a BluRay drive in it. Then it would be the one and only movie playing component in my system.

 

[MikieMikie]

Browsing the movie section through iTunes on my computer, I don't see many offerings in the movie rentals option. Wondering when the deals with the major movie studios will result in loads of content available for rent. I want an Apple TV, but I plan to wait until the movie offerings expand quite a bit from where they are now. I also think it would be cool if they had one with a BluRay drive in it. Then it would be the one and only movie playing component in my system.

They're coming, as it suits Apple's interests more than anyone else's.

As for a blu-ray drive, I don't believe that will be coming. The Apple TV is the means by which downloadable media can be viewed on the TV. If you want a B-ray, you should definitely buy one as 1080p won't be downloadable for awhile, and it's my understanding from comparison tests that, although Apple's 720p HD content is good, it ain't no Blu-Ray disc.

As for new features on Apple TV, I'll buy my second one as soon as they include a virtual bottle opener.

 

[minik]

I have a PS3 sits next to the Apple TV and I do have 10, 15 Blu-ray movie titles as well as Netflix subscription.

Last night I decided to rent my first HD movie from Apple TV, it did take a while to download the movie and about 4GB?? (correct me if I was wrong). I haven't started watching it yet, but the preview looks decent to me.

Back then people said Apple TV is like a big screen iPod. Disc-based vs. download delivery is hard to compare. However, if I really like the movie, I will go out and purchase a copy to keep.

Speaking of number of titles, I will give Apple/studio some time to push it out.

FYI, I plan to put my Netflix subscription on hold later this week.

 

[TheQuestion]

I showed my father in law my TakeTwo setup and he was instantly on board. He didn't want to order one and we have no local Apple store, but we do have a best buy. We went there and the salesguy said that Apple TV was "a joke" and "no sane person should spend money on one" and just get bluray player. I told him he just insulted me and he started to back peddle. I got into a debate with him on the Apple TV and it was clear he had no clue what he was talking about. Anyway, after 20 min of re-educating him he came out with a unit from storage. I wonder how many other people have had the same experience. Apple sales execs need to take a hard look at the best buy program.

 

[minik]

I wonder what's the status? I haven't visited the local Apple store for a week now.

 

[LucasLand]

I bought the 160gb model a few days ago. while at store I played with demo which had take 2 for 15 mins. Not a single employee came up to me and asked if i needed help, even though i heard them asking everyone else.

I have a feeling they don't try to sell it because many people may not unnderstand what it is and how to connect it. their employees would be spending lots of time on it.

Word of mouth is best advertising tool. I think apple is just hoping lots of people buy it who understand it and start telling and showing all their friends about.

I also struggled to figure out the size of appletv on boxes sitting on shelves.

 

[harcosparky]

Word of mouth is best advertising tool. I think apple is just hoping lots of people buy it who understand it and start telling and showing all their friends about.

I know Apple has sold two more 160's as a result of me buying mine and showing it off.

Many years ago I took some marketing classes and came away with this belief....

a good product will sell itself and needs only a small advertising budget, however a weak/poor product will require massive spending on advertising to overcome its' shortcomings