This may be the way to go see and try on the new Apple Watch – a random unplanned visit to Apple.
Today was riddled with good luck. It was a nice spring day and nobody was at the mall. I had to make a quick run into Sears for lawn supplies, so of course my daughter Lauren and I, had to swing by Apple to check out the new Watches. I wasn’t even sure if they had the Watches because I heard not every store was getting them.
We walked up to the store and saw the store windows decked out in Watch advertising.
The store was empty and the newly installed Watch counter was glistening with its glass cover. The Watches are all contained under glass for everyone to gawk at.
Walking around the table there was no way in to actually touch these magical timepieces, but lo and behold there were magical instruments off to the side of the table taht you could actually touch. Well you could touch them but you couldn’t pick them up. They wee mounted to a 100 pound magnetic alarm. While it was a little frustrating, at least there was human contact.
Finally the nice person in the blue shirt asks if we like them and want to try one on. I was like no way! Now? He said sure I’ll take our name and we’ll text you in 20 minutes to come back. I stared at the ceiling for 10 seconds, and then said OK. I gave all my info and then started to look towards the exit. But wait, there was a Watch specialist available for us now. We were going to see the watch right now. This was all to much, happening to fast. Before I knew it the Watch guru had transformed my wrist into a bionic man. I now had special powers for sure.
Now that my ego was inflated and my powers at full strength, I convinced my daughter to try on a couple watches too. They didn’t have the correct sizes for her so the fit was loose, but the expensive walkie talkies were in place.
At the end of the day, we did not walk away with new power bands. No purchase today, but it was great 15 minutes of hype and hope. The bands are certainly works of art and technology. The strange thing is that the Watch specialist did not show us one thing the Watch did. Not one application or screen as to what it looked like. Even when I asked about the number of faces.
I’m not passing judgement on the Watches yet. I think they are cool gadgets, and look fun. The hye alone makes them magical. But they are expensive. and more importantly, I feel like the 2nd version is going to be the one to buy. You know it will be sleeker and more advanced. I hope Apple does well with the Watches and continues offering a unique experience. Time will tell 🙂
UPDATE BEFORE POST:
Early Apple Watch data: Average U.S. pre-order was $707
Slice Intelligence estimates 957,000 people pre-ordered with each person ordering 1.3 watches on average; that would indicate well over one million Apple Watch pre-orders in the U.S. alone on the first day.
Nearly two-thirds of the pre-orders Slice tracked were the less expensive Sport model, which accounted for 62 percent of the total orders. Unfortunately, Space Gray and a black Sport band were also the most popular, explaining why you won’t see that watch until May.