March 16th marked the opening of the first Apple Store in the Middle East. If you’re wondering why there’s been very little hype after the launch, it’s because this is barely an Apple Store. Apple, you should be ashamed of yourself.
If you haven’t been to Virgin Megastore in Dubai’s Mall of the Emirates, it’s worth mentioning that they had a small 10m x 5m (32 ft. x 16 ft.) area allocated for Apple devices and accessories to the left right at the entrance. Well, with the exception of adding a large screen that has a choppy display and the classic wooden tables on which the devices are now placed, nothing has changed.
I had a quick chat with one of the salesmen who wasn’t even glorified enough to be given a Genius t-shirt. He wants one by the way. His response to the disappointing launch was that although nothing has changed, “It’s now an official store”. And we all wish it weren’t. With no sign or schedule of the iPad2 launch, this makes it just like any other kiosk you find in just about any other electronics store.
Apple, thank you for the disappointment.
Visited the Apple Store in Dubai? Got any thoughts? We’d love to hear it.
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