Microsoft opens first flagship store: Vibrant space showcases best in innovation

Microsoft News Center ^ | Oct 25, 2015 | Vanessa Ho

[dayglored]

Microsoft is opening its first-ever flagship store in New York City on Monday, with a vibrant retail space that showcases the best of Microsoft products and services.

An opening six years in the making, the Microsoft Flagship Store blends the world-famous retail experience of Fifth Avenue with innovative technology that is part of Microsoft’s DNA.

“One of our goals, since we started the stores in 2009, was to have a real marquee location where we could bring an expanded retail presence,” said Kelly Soligon, general manager, Worldwide Marketing, Microsoft Retail and Online Stores.

The flagship store, at 677 Fifth Ave., is one of more than 110 retail stores across the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. It is the first Microsoft Store to extend two stories, and at 22,269 square feet, is the largest to date.

The extensive footage allows the store to showcase a wide array of best-in-class products that take advantage of powerful and versatile hardware to unlock new Windows 10 experiences, including new Surface, Lumia and Microsoft Band devices, Signature Edition PCs, Xbox One, Office, a variety of accessories and more. The flagship store is the only location to showcase Microsoft Surface Hub.

The store’s Answer Desk—which offers expert support for PCs and phones regardless of where a customer bought the device—is larger than that of other Microsoft Stores. Its two community theaters offer roomy event space for free community and educational programs. And on Monday evening, the store will host eager fans awaiting the launch of “Halo 5: Guardians,” with opportunities to meet developers from 343 Industries, the game’s creator.

Team members at the flagship store team speak a total of 19 languages, including Spanish, Hindi, Mandarin, Arabic and Russian, to help customers from New York and around the world.

[John O]

if it doesn’t have “halo 3” for the PC then it’s not worth even looking at

[Fresh Wind]

Maybe it's just me, but the storefront with the Microsoft logo flying up in a framework of glass looks an awful lot like an Apple store.

Do you think Apple is the first company to realize that visually attractive stores lure in customers? Big hanging logos? Jeez, retailers have been doing that for well over a century.

It's interesting to look on Google Maps to see that location, which happens to show it before Microsoft moved in. It was a clothing store. They completely redid the facade but I suspect the basic structure of the building remained intact.

I also notice that Microsoft cleverly edited out the names of the other stores visible in their picture, which is sort of interesting.

[Marko413]

One thing I’ve been noticing a lot with Microsoft is all their products being plugged in movies and tv shows in the last decade. It used to be Apple every time. Now, I see very deliberate uses of Microsoft projects in various movies and tv shows. Some of the more intentional ones I’ve seen have been in the tv shows like Burn Notice, Leverage, and Arrow.

[Swordmaker]

Much like their sexual desires, they have their fag flag pointed in the wrong direction. The Hoist goes to the Left and the Fly to the right.

Stupid Homos!

No, they are LIBERALS. . . They have it right, er, correct, from their viewpoint, every thing has to go from RIGHT to LEFT! Haven't you ever tried to drive in either San Francisco or Seattle, Washington? They don't even allow LEFT turns in those towns. . . because they know that you cannot go any farther LEFT!

[Swordmaker]

OBTW, the reason for my comment #4 above about GLEAM was that I made a somewhat obscure reference in comment #3 to Microsoft having flown the gay rainbow flag over its building, and thought it would be useful to give the reference, for the folks who didn't know about it and might question it.

When it was flying above Microsoft's headquarters, dayglored, did it fly INTO the wind, or did it fly with the wind? Might tell us which way the political hot air is blowing. . . LOL!

[NorthMountain]

It’s a Fag Flag, dude. It just plain blows.

[Swordmaker]

IPad pro with pen support.

I bought an electronic pen for my iPad—which has had pen support for the last five years—at the last MacWorld in San Francisco in 2013 and which I have been using for two years. I just threw away a magnetic keyboard with full stroke keys for the original iPad last week, which I long ago passed down to my daughter, which she no longer has. I found physical key covers awkward to use as I had to find a flat surface to place them on and they did not really work as a laptop. . . and I've tried several, some with built in kick-stands that pre-dated the Microsoft kick-stand. /Case Closed.

[Swordmaker]

It’s a Fag Flag, dude. It just plain blows.

Now that is funny, but I thought it sucks. . .

[for-q-clinton]

Clearly you don’t understand the technology behind the pen/pencil support ;-)

Also that pen you bought for the iPad was that an Apple pen? Or 3rd party? Plus it didn’t work with a digitizer (like the iPad pro has...which is really a copy of the tablet PC (windows XP) if you really want to go out school. But reality is they added the pencil to compete with the surface. How long until they create a tablet MacBook with touch support? I think it will be about 3 years before Apple catches up with the surface book.

But honestly I like the copying of each other...it makes things better.

[for-q-clinton]

Show me a link where an APPLE tablet has a kickstand.

[roadcat]

Lol.... You’re ignoring Steve jobs comments in the modern touch era.

Yes, I am. I was commenting on Apple, not Steve Jobs. Jobs was against using a stylus, in favor of using what nature gave us in the way of our hands and fingers. For some to say Microsoft has a major invention in the way of a pen for their Surface ignores the many cases of use of pens and stylus for decades. It's not new. I was using a stylus and drawing pad on my Apple II in the early 1980s (Chalkboard, which I still have). I've used a stylus on my iPad 1 for finer drawing than with my finger. And prior to the iPad have used a Wacom Bamboo Fun with pen to draw on my Mac. These things have been around for a while, very useful for precise drawing.

[roadcat]

Show me a link where an APPLE tablet has a kickstand.

I bought my iPad with an Apple cover that doubles as a kickstand. You flip the cover open and it folds to operate as a kickstand. It will hold it in either portrait or landscape positions.

[Swordmaker]

Show me a link where an APPLE tablet has a kickstand.

Zagg Apple iPad Keyboard cover with kickstand circa 2012

iLuv iKick Apple iPad 2 keyboard cover with kickstand circa 2011

Portfolio Kickstand Apple iPad Leather Keyboard Case circa 2011

Keyboard kickstand leather case for Apple iPad 234 circa 2010

Apple iPad mini keyboard case with kickstand circa 2012

There are a lot more, all concepts pre-dating the Microsoft Surface. . . and every one of these are licensed by Apple as an approved product for the iPad. I told you, which for some reason you REFUSED TO BELIEVE, that I threw away a keyboard cover with a kickstand for my original iPad that I no longer had. . . It was in our trash bin until about an hour ago when the waste company emptied it. You just cannot think beyond your Apple hate blinders.

[Swordmaker]

Clearly you don’t understand the technology behind the pen/pencil support ;-)

I understand it very well, for-q-clinton.

The digitizing already built-in to the iPad can handle it quite well. . . and does. The 3rd party pen I bought almost three years ago still works as well as the Microsoft pen, doing exactly the same things as the stylus that comes with your Microsoft Surface. It does NOT do the far more functional things the Apple Pencil does, but neither does the MS stylus.

There is no way that Apple created the pencil to compete with a product that sold so abysmally last year. In fact, Microsoft just reported that they sold a measly $672 million of Microsoft Surfaces in the last quarter, down from $902 million in the same quarter of 2014! Apple is not worried about the Surface or even the Surface Book. If you think that they are, you are delusional.

[for-q-clinton]

Uh those are cases and they are third party.

[AFreeBird]

Yea, a pen for fine detail work, art, photo, CAD... Not for basic functionality of the device itself.

[CodeToad]

“Just like Microsoft to copy everything Apple does, just extremely late to the party. No originality whatsoever! Every “

Typical left-wing propaganda. Apple was never first to much of anything, liberals just claim they were because they are always so ignorant of computers and technology.

[CodeToad]

“Why post this here on a conservative political forum”

Same reason Swordmaker posts 1-5 Apple press releases every single day.

[CodeToad]

“I also notice that Microsoft cleverly edited out the names of the other stores visible in their picture, which is sort of interesting. “

That would be expected. Same reason all media outlets do not mention other companies; associating anyone to your company’s marketing can cause them to sue you.

[for-q-clinton]

Exactly! Just like surface.