This post serves 2 purposes

1. A verification for Empire Avenue to upgrade an RSS feed to  a blog (more below)
2. A 24 hour review of Empire Avenue

After being frustrated all day with the lack of a Google Plus invite, I get an email about how those already in the service could invite others to come take a look. Google shutdown the invitations due to “insane demand”, but people can still invite others by just sharing a post with them (so its all good for now). Pretty soon my SMSes, Facebook and Twitter were all about Google Plus. Here are my first impressions.

Google Plus’s design is super elegant. However, it wasn’t as intuitive as they made it out to be. I had to do a fair amount of tinkering and moving around to try to see how to get things to work and where every thing fit (but this is to be expected). I love Circles as it helps you create different “groups” and you can share with specific groups and individual people (Say you want to share a status or a link with your Friends circle AND the other person whose email you have? Go for it!) Hangout is the feature with the most “wow” to me cause in a matter of 3 minutes I had friends from 2 countries (some who have never met before) seeing each other in real time. Introduction were done and we go to watching the same youtube video on the screen and we had the option of commenting (the applications of this feature are astounding!). There is also a big push on the Google Profile front as there are few new elements used to capture more specific details about you and help you share. But truth be told, every element does have a “privacy” setting that is not deeply buried like it is in Facebook. Haven’t tested out the option to share Photos just yet but Picasa integration looks like it’ll make life easy. The only feature I wasn’t too impressed with was “Sparks”. Sparks is a “content discoverer for subjects that interest you” and my concern with it is the fact that there is considerable overlap with Google Reader. Think of sparks as Google News for subjects that interest you AND you can “pin” a certain subject so it appears all the time (like in your Google Reader once you have a feed). I do see some applications for it but then again not sold on that one just yet. And then there is Huddle which you can find in the Google + Android phone application which from the looks of things helps you send group messages

For first impression this certainly looks like a product that I’ll use now Google Plus makes the Google Ecosystem complete. However this might depend on how many people end up using the service cause at the end of the day its all about the “network effect”. But from the looks of thing here are a bunch of services that need to be concerned

• Facebook (and other social media sites) – clearly this is Google’s forray into the social media space and unlike their previous failures this just might be their “3rd times a charm”
• Skype (and other video conferencing services) – with hangout you no longer need to go to a different application to communicate with friends. Yes you did have google video chat but somehow this just feels more “Skype”ier
• GroupMe (and other group communication services) – one of the biggest gaps in Android was group messaging. Now you no longer need a 3rd party application to group communicate. As a further step, a little more integration with the default messaging app and thats all you need

Perhaps if there are more thoughts, a different post is warranted. But for now it looks like I’ll be using Google + for a few more weeks before any decision on “platform of choice” is made. But excellent job so far Google, you have my vote.

Just because you have an Apple logo in your store doesn’t make it a real Apple Store.

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(Note: Jumbo is a large electronics store that sell a variety of products from different consumer electronics manufacturers all over the world. This would be a store like Best Buy in the United States of America)

Having an Apple store in your town is like  a celebrity deciding to buy a house in your neighborhood and letting you play with all the cool and expensive toys. I used to love going to the Apple store – playing with all the cool Apple products or the occasional appointment with the folks at the Genius Bar.

There are a few elements that make an Apple store an Apple store

1. Only Apple and related Products: The reason why its called an Apple store, is because it retails ONLY the Apple product line which means – iPods, iPads, IPhones, Macbooks, MacBook Pros, iMacs, Apple Display, and related software and accessories. If you have products from other manufacturers, I’m sorry, but you are NOT an Apple Store
2. Apple Sales Force: All Apple Retail Stores have Apple sales folk – those awesome blue t-shirt wielding Apple product connoisseurs, understanding all your needs and prescribing the best solution. If you don’t have these great people, you are NOT an Apple Store
3. Genius Bar: This is one of the critical elements to the Apple Store Experience. As an Apple product owner, you have the option of scheduling an appointment with the Geniuses and having them explain technical questions regarding your Apple product. I have had to interact with them on more than one occasion and they were absolutely helpful. Thank you. If you don’t have a Genius Bar, you are NOT an Apple Store
4. One-to-One: Another wonderful element of the Apple Retail Store is the One-to-One. When you purchase a new Apple product you can sign up (if I recall correctly) for sessions from knowledgable folks on how to use your product. It also applies for software (I recall once during my Genius Bar visit, there was an Apple folk explaining the intricacies of some big software like Final Cut Pro or something). If you don’t have this, you are NOT an Apple Store
5. Others: Apple Stores regularly conduct workshop and other programs (sometimes even get artists to come in an join in the fun) to enhance the Apple product and store experience. If you have no such programs, you are NOT an Apple Store
6. The Official Apple Store List: If you are not featured on this official Apple Store List, you are NOT an Apple Store

A couple of weeks ago there was an email floating around Dubai regarding Apple’s first store in the city. It later turned out to be a Virgin Store with a desk bearing the Apple Logo (as heard on Virgin Radio). The good RJ from the show then proceeded to use this definition to launch the “second Apple store” in the region on air.

As all Apple fans around the world know, its more than just the logo that makes an Apple store – its about the whole experience. There is no official Apple store in Dubai and the entire region for that matter, I believe, and while these electronic stores get the Apple products into the hands of new customers, it is just not fair to label them Apple Stores. They are just regular electronics retailers that have, amongst others, a small subsection of the Apple product lineup. So please, in the name of all that Apple, stop calling yourselves Apple Stores.