Getting an iPad the Apple way

A lot of people were wondering why I looked like someone had seriously annoyed me on the photo I tweeted from the Apple Store.

Well, firstly I rarely tend to smile in photos — if I do, I feel I look like an Estate Agent. Second, I was mildly irritated.

I didn’t bother with the queue. I walked straight into the Apple Store via the main entrance to have a look around.

Then I asked a chap where I bought one. He explained that I needed to join the queue, gesturing to the side entrance of the Regent Street Store. There were a few security folk in high-vis vests standing about, along with some Apple Store folk. Metal barriers were in place.

But there was no queue.

“You need to queue up and get a ticket, sir,” the chap explained.

“There isn’t a queue?” I said.

(There was a small one inside the store but not outside)

We both turned to stare at the queue-less door.
The chap continued:

“Er yes but there’s a process and some people have queued up.”

“Can’t I just walk over there and get a ticket from that guy standing at the side entrance?” I asked. ”

“No, you need to go outside then come in that door,” the chap replied, indicating with his palm.

I thought I’d get some clarity.

“So you want me to go OUTSIDE to come in again?”

“Yes sir.”

And that’s what I did.

This is how it goes with Apple isn’t it. You’re either IN or you’re out. There’s no half measures.

So I walked out, around two security barriers and immediately back in again.

An beaming Apple lady began to ask me what model I wanted. I cut in half way with the spec.
“Oh, you’re organised!” she said, passing me to another guy who gave me a ticket for the 32GB “4G” version.

(Laughable isn’t it, buying a 4G iPad in the UK)

And so I queued for about 10 minutes and then got the iPad and walked out.

I should probably have just ordered online. A lot of folk were getting a ton of value out of the experience, interacting excitedly with the cheery Apple staff.

I can’t fault the experience. It’s Apple and beyond the door/queue thing, it was perfect 😉

Recently Published

Question: When is the only time a traffic jam is good news in the UK?

Answer: When you're sitting in the back of an Uber and you need reliable mobile signal. Boom! Sad, isn't it, dear reader? Travel all around...

Ah yes, an S23 with a BlackBerry Bold Keyboard: Exactly what I (think) I need

I was playing with Midjourney, the AI/photo generation service and I asked it to show me what a Samsung S23 would look like with...

It’s ok, your moon photos aren’t fake, they are just enhanced – quite a bit

Have you taken a photo of the moon recently? I almost did, the other day, when I spotted a fabulous moment here in Dubai....

Don’t move! You’ll jinx it! This looks like a tiny bit of innovation in the mobile world

It has been quite a while since I’ve seen anything in the mobile industry that’s caused me to want to write much. Just look...

The new BlackBerry movie trailer is here

Were you a BlackBerry fan? Of course you were. At some point, almost everyone was. I still remember the days and the joy that...

Airalo: The easy way to roam globally with a data eSIM

Shortly before I began my FinTech & Banking Tour around the GCC, I popped into the Apple AppStore and searched ‘eSim’. I wondered if...