Mac Rumors in Montreal

Pictures of Ste-Catherine Street storefront

2008-02-28T19:28:00.005-05:00

Shrouded in matte black wooden boards, the new Apple store is in the process of being built on St-Catherine street. Nothing too special from the outside - other than the fact that the building itself looks super-stealth.

But wait! What are those giant white doors doing halfway up to the top! What could this be for? Anyone? Anyone?

Well, word on the street is that quite soon, Apple is going to open these doors to reveal it's token glowing white Apple! The rumor is that when they open the doors, it will appear as if the logo is suspended in mid-air. It's going to look so much cooler than a simple painted white logo!

Did you know that there is a new Apple store opening somewhere in the world every nine days?

Opening date for Ste-Catherine Apple Store?

2008-02-14T16:46:00.002-05:00

The word on the street is that the new Apple Store on Ste-Catherine street will be opening not Holiday 2008 - but SUMMER 2008! Of course, this is providing that there are no delays etc.

Anything is possible, but it's worth mentioning that there has been lots of construction going on at the site these days!

Does anyone know something I don't know?

The origins of the iPhone

2008-02-14T13:52:00.005-05:00

Every so often, an article pops up on line that you just HAVE to read. This article is most definitely one of them.

Wired Magazine published this article in early January about the origins of the iPhone that date back to 2002. Have a read, this article has it all - secret meetings, slamming doors, screaming matches, secret prototypes, conflicts of interest...it's really interesting and gives you an insiders perspective of the evolution of the iPhone.

Here's to more secret meetings!

Is it really possible that 1,500,000 hacked iPhones are in use?

2008-02-14T13:26:00.002-05:00

I read this very interesting article on AppleInsider the other day.

The article goes in depth about how so many iPhones have been "hacked" and how people are doing it. Don't think that entire 1.5 million is users who bought them in one country and shipped them to another...this article goes deeper than that. How deep? As deep as the supply chain...

Have a read

Is this a good thing for Apple? Or a bad thing? Discuss.

Apple Store on Ste-Catherine is official!

2008-02-13T20:56:00.003-05:00

I was poking around on the Apple employment opportunities web site tonight and came across this!

I'm not sure what positions they are hiring for at this point, but looks like they're getting a head start on training.

3G iPhone on the way

2008-02-10T19:39:00.000-05:00

As you may have noticed, Apple quietly released a larger iPod Touch (now 32GB) and iPhone (now 16GB)

While this reflects a demand for large capacities, it sounds like more of a move to dropping the lower capacity models in the very near future for both products.

What this could also mean is that the rumored 3G iPhone could finally be on the way.

I read this article from Forbes that seems to indicate that change is on the way.

Stay tuned...

Unlimited Data plan with Rogers = iPhone?

2008-02-05T20:04:00.000-05:00

I read a very interesting article today about a new unlimited data plan that Rogers announced today.

Could this be the first step to the iPhone finally coming to Canada?

Interestingly enough, this new plan does not apply to Blackberry devices.

How could they open an Apple flagship store with no iPhone? Maybe Apple will launch the iPhone pre-Holiday 2008 - just in time for the projected opening.

Stay tuned.

Montreal Apple Store details!

2008-02-04T19:22:00.001-05:00

Lots has happend in the last couple of months. It seems like the rumors are rumors no more.

Last week the official construction and building permits were filed with the City of Montreal. In them, they show what Apple’s future store will look like. Here are the highlights:

A two-story design
A glass staircase
Storefront similar to Chestnut Street (San Francisco) and Fifth Avenue
A white-lit Apple logo suspended inside the glass façade

Should be quite the store!

"Men's" left the location in early-December and ever since then, the demolition has been taking place. In early January front-end loaders were bringing out full loads of concrete and steel debris. It seems like they're taking out everything but the walls.

The exterior of the building is now covered by matte black panels and is very unassuming - very Apple like. And as of today, it was officially revealed who is the general contractor on the job - Montreal-based SAJO . If you check their website, you'll see that they worked on the Apple Store at Carrefour Laval as well. They've put small 3' x 2' vinyl banners on the outside of the hoarding.

Pictures to follow tomorrow.

With the way things are going the rumored Holiday 2008 opening date is a good possibility.

Think Steve will make the trip for the big day? Afterall, it's the first flagship store in Canada.

Any tips? Email me!

Location, Location, Location

2007-09-23T18:00:00.000-04:00

For those who don't already know, the new Apple Store will be located at:

1321 Sainte-Catherine West
It's on the North side of the street right between Crescent and De la Montagne.

Unlike previous reports from Montreal media, Apple did not purchase the building outright - they are only leasing it from Toronto-based Pyxis Real Estate Equities.

Not sure what the terms are like, but I would imagine that it's at least a 10 or 15 year lease in the space. MENS' lease ends at the end of the year and that's when Apple moves in and begins construction.

Expected opening November 2008

Flagship Apple Store in Montreal

2007-09-19T23:30:00.000-04:00

Yes, the rumors are true. Apple is opening a flagship store in downtown Montreal.

Even though front-page stories ran in the Montreal Gazette, Journal de Montreal and La Presse, Apple still has not officially announced that the store will be opening. Well, they might as well have. See, the space that Apple will be moving into is currently occupied by a store called MENS. When MENS found out that Apple was "kicking" them out - they weren't happy. So, instead of moving to their new location without saying a word of who was moving in (which was requested by Apple real estate) the staff at MENS told every customer that walked through the door who the new occupant was going to be.

Even though the store is scheduled to open in over a year from now (November 2008), there are many rumors flying around about the building, it's construction, issues with the city of Montreal and of course the usual Apple super-secrecy.

So why read THIS blog? A few reasons:

1. I work a block from the new store location and walk by it every day
2. I'm a die-hard Apple fan and I've got my ear to the ground. I've watched Apple flagships open from afar ever since they have been in existence.
3. I know a true Apple insider (not just some blogger who likes Apple, but a real insider at Apple in Canada)

The whole point of this blog is to watch and document the progress of the store as its built from day 1. You just know there is going to be some interesting things going on!

Stay tuned.