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Apple Store to go Virtual

gigaom.com — A patent application ’s stated goal is to create an online shopping experience that doesn’t feel “sterile and isolating” like a traditional retail website, and includes a diagram depicting stick figures walking around in a retail store with an Electronics, Books, and Music section, underneath a sun– i.e., MacNN speculates, in a virtual world like

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  • MurphyMac, on 04/20/2008, -3/+23I don't think so. This sounds made up, like Art Vandelay.
    • CoolGoose, on 04/20/2008, -15/+6Knowing Steve Jobs he will make a 1 Kb 2D site and sell it as a 3D site that fits into a manila envelope.
      • Jyaif, on 04/20/2008, -2/+10this doesn't make any sense!
        • championchap, on 04/20/2008, -4/+2Maybe not, but it gave me a good chuckle.
    • jabberwolf, on 04/20/2008, -7/+1HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
      OMFG what a title!!!
      Real title: WE LOSE MONEY ON RETAIL STORE, So we can only make virtual ones.

      Not a big thing, as Dell and gateway figured this out, but what ***** spin from Appletards!
      • Lewiji, on 04/20/2008, -0/+6Yeah... I work in an Apple Retail store. We don't lose money.
      • inane, on 04/20/2008, -0/+6Apple Retail stores have been an overwhelming success. At a time when PC sales are down and the economy is hurting Apple's sales are up. Appletards? Would that make you a Microtard or a Linutard?
        • MurphyMac, on 04/21/2008, -0/+1No store makes as much per square foot of retail space as Apple does. Common knowledge. Not bad for a retail newbie.
      • mrsteveman1, on 04/20/2008, -0/+2I was just in an Apple store 2 days ago, they were so busy the workers were all helping someone, and there were at least 15 of them. So yea, they are doing fine.

        People like going to a physical store, especially for service, and Apple is without question the best in that regard.
  • s1mph0ny, on 04/20/2008, -8/+14Might as well come up with something entertaining, since they can't compete with amazon on usability.
  • kevin.gc, on 04/20/2008, -6/+3Sound's like Sony's PS3 virtual world thing.
  • JerzyBricklayr, on 04/20/2008, -13/+5.... Sits back and waits for hackers to figure out how to 'virtually' mug Apple's FanBoys.
    • energyblue, on 04/20/2008, -2/+6Sits back and waits for Microsoft to over charge you for a crappy operating system. Wait, its happening now.
  • gudiablo, on 04/20/2008, -9/+3I think theyre selling extasy too
  • iddybiddy, on 04/20/2008, -7/+1MS Bob online ?
  • pixelperfect, on 04/20/2008, -7/+4Bill Gates talked about something like this at AllThingsD, in the Steve + Bill + Mossburg interview - virtual online stores with shelves/products laid out before you in 3D. But, I see this coming from Apple before it comes from anything associated with Microsoft.
  • hamstix, on 04/20/2008, -1/+2Non-web2.0-friendly shopping bags, I'm just saying it could be a problem.
  • maexus, on 04/20/2008, -1/+8This is needed about as much as 3d email. What we have works and works well. Moving to a virtual 3d store doesn't make up for the fact I can't physically touch a product, which is the only thing a b&m store has over an online store IMO
    • IEatHamburgers, on 04/20/2008, -0/+2That and you dont have to pay someone to ship the product.
      • maexus, on 04/25/2008, -0/+1True but a 3d virtual store doesn't fix that.
    • node3, on 04/20/2008, -1/+3I want you to imagine the layout of your nearest Fry's. You want a flash drive, or a Wii controller, or a blender. You know exactly where to go.

      Now, imagine Fry's website. Search the menus. Are flash drives under "Hard Drives and Memory"? No. While you're looking at Wii controllers, navigate over to blenders. Then back to controllers.

      I'm not saying that a 3D virtual store is necessarily superior to a 2D webpage, but depending on the situation, I can see where a 3D virtual store would be much more discoverable and less frustrating (and vice versa).
      • colto, on 04/21/2008, -0/+3That's a flawed argument IMHO. Why would anyone know exactly where something is at Fry's unless they had been there before? The signs hanging from the ceiling aren't any better than the titles of the menus on a website. I could argue the reverse argument that I know exactly were to buy something on Frys.com but if I walked into a retail store I wouldn't be able to find it. Are flashdrives under the 'Electronic Components', 'Computer Accessories', or 'Memory' signs?
  • LOVEANDEQUALITY, on 04/20/2008, -3/+1neat!
  • DesdinovaEL, on 04/20/2008, -0/+2I don't believe it.
  • Jyaif, on 04/20/2008, -3/+7Constantly patenting everything that goes through their mind "just in case" somebody tries it and it becomes successfull.
    I hate this mentality.
    • remccain, on 04/20/2008, -1/+6and that is why patent lawyers should be the first up against the wall when the revolution comes.
    • clak, on 04/20/2008, -0/+5I just think that Apple doesn't like to be sued by every tom, dick, and harry who has something similar. In case you didn't know, Apple gets sued by patent holders every day.
    • mrsteveman1, on 04/20/2008, -3/+1If they thought up some complex scheme, and the patent is valid, they have every right to patent it. Thats what patents are for, we invented something and we want to be rewarded.

      Now, if its just a business model patent, thats crap. If it is overly broad, it is also crap.
      • remccain, on 04/21/2008, -0/+11. think up some complex scheme.
        2. patent it.
        3. make lots of money.

        uh, wait.

        1. Actually INVENT something that isn't just some drawings on paper.
        2. patent it.
        3. make lots of money.

        There ya go. Anyone else remember the good ole days when patents required an actual material component instead of this new-age verbal and somatic crap they've been passing around? ;)
  • csimpkins, on 04/20/2008, -2/+1VRML ftw!
  • remccain, on 04/20/2008, -2/+2Morons. People have been shopping using catalogs for generations now. They really don't mind the "sterile and isolating" environment while they find the one item they need, check out and get on with their lives.
  • punkcat, on 04/20/2008, -1/+9bit dumb. part of the beauty of catalogs and web sites are how quickly you can find stuff without hassle.
    adding an additional layer of cuteness were you pretend to travel around isn't helping things.


  • hypertension, on 04/20/2008, -1/+1A virtual world like... eWorld?

    Anyone here old enough to remember that?
  • Duositex, on 04/20/2008, -1/+6Repeat after me: This is not a good way to shop. The browsing through a physical (or virtual) space part is a waste of time and makes it impossible to compare product specs and, more importantly, search for what you're looking for without wandering around. Sure a virtual store could have a search feature, but then all you've accomplished is replacing the convenient list of items on the screen with a 3d representation of a list of items. Who wants this???
  • Blandyman, on 04/20/2008, -1/+10The reason I buy ***** online is so I don't have to traverse the store. Walking around in virtual reality is just annoying.
  • jull1234, on 04/20/2008, -1/+7That's just dumb as hell.
  • JasonCox, on 04/20/2008, -3/+4Let me translate this article:
    Steve Jobs discovers Flash; mandates that Apple Engineers use it to make a virtual Apple Store.
  • jabberwolf, on 04/20/2008, -7/+1HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
    OMFG what a title!!!
    Real title: WE LOSE MONEY ON RETAIL STORE, SO WE ARE CLOSING THEM DOWN!

    Not a big thing, as Dell and gateway figured this out, but what ***** spin from Appletards!
    • dustinhoffman, on 04/20/2008, -0/+4Are they losing money on their retail stores?
    • dmolsen, on 04/20/2008, -0/+5quote: "Apple now derives 20 percent of its revenue from its physical stores. And the number is growing. In the fourth quarter in 2007, which ended Sept. 30, Apple reported that the retail stores accounted for $1.25 billion of Apple’s $6.2 billion in revenues, a 42 percent increase over the fourth quarter in 2006. Apple stores generate sales at the rate of about $4,000 per square foot a year, according to a report last year by Sanford C. Bernstein analysts."

      from:
      http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/27/business/27apple ...
    • virtualball, on 04/20/2008, -0/+2Actually, Apple is making a huge amount of money on their rick-and-mortar stores. This is the exact opposite of what others (like BlockBuster and Dell) are facing.

      A little research goes a long way.
    • inane, on 04/20/2008, -0/+2Didn't you say the same thing up above? And if they're such a failure why is M$ reportedly considering similar stores?
  • mintblogger, on 04/20/2008, -0/+0Can't beat amazon or e-bay. Still it will be interesting to see the results if apple comes out with this virtual store. If we have to browse store walking in it even on our PC, then whats the difference? I think this idea is a flop.
  • Sawta, on 04/20/2008, -0/+4It just doesn't make any sense. When things like this are implemented into games that lots of people play (e.g. Everquest, or WoW) at least there's a big enough audience that users might make use of it while they're there anyway; but if I go to a website with the sole intention of buying a computer or some music, I don't want to wait for a webpage to load up a program so I can have the same result /virtually/.
  • iamanorange, on 04/20/2008, -0/+2useless
  • Camerer, on 04/20/2008, -0/+0Soo does this mean the apple store will be less crowded? I sure hope so. I'm sick of customers getting ***** off and walking out because we are to busy with other customers.
    • fakenameguy, on 04/21/2008, -0/+0This is a very good way to get fired, Brandon. Loren would totally frown on this.
  • HydrogenOxide, on 04/20/2008, -0/+1Blogspam: http://www.macnn.com/blogs/?p=520
  • CrushThemTorg, on 04/20/2008, -0/+1Great. Now I can deal with the confused morons who want a pretty computer and uppity artists 24 hours a day on the internet.
  • LeoGagen, on 04/20/2008, -0/+2Two words: Microsoft Bob !
  • mfingers, on 04/20/2008, -0/+0Steve Ballmer says "Its a work in progress"
  • Wang, on 04/20/2008, -0/+1Someone has too much time on their hands...this idea is a bit hmm...
  • Culyt, on 04/21/2008, -0/+2How the ***** could they patent 3D virtual shopping? How the ***** is that not the most obvious thing since someone though up 3D Internet/Cyberspace/VRML...

    Isn't that basically what SecondLife is anyway (or is there some actual content on there that I missed other than stores selling virtual item, random peoples horrible houses, endless amounts of casino and advertising for them)?

    Anyway I'm off to go patent 3D online porn, 3D online social networks, 3D online *.
  • timusca, on 04/21/2008, -0/+1If you people would stop linking to BLOGSPAM and went to MacNN instead, you'd see that opt-in/out is an option.
    • timusca, on 04/21/2008, -0/+2Nevermind, MacRumors said something about that...

      But its still blogspam.
  • clith, on 04/21/2008, -0/+2Buried for being YAPA (Yet Another Patent Article).
  •  

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