Take A Tour Of Microsoft’s Flagship 5th Ave Store In New York City
Microsoft just opened a brand new, flagship store at 677 5th Avenue, in New York City. And since we’re just a short drive away, and were already spending some time in Manhattan today with the folks from Motorola and Verizon, we thought we’d pop in and take a look around.
Microsoft's New Flagship Store On 5th Ave.
Before you even get close to the front doors, there is no mistaking that this new store is all about Microsoft. Multiple logos are visible from across the road and a ton of product is front-and-center for all to see, behind the giant wall of glass out front. The store is comprised of multiple stories—an elevator has buttons for floors 1 – 4, but only the first three floors are open to the public. I tried to see what was happening on the 4th floor, but the elevator just took me back down to the lobby.
First Floor...
As soon as you walk in, there are multiple tables running down the center of the store, featuring Microsoft’s own Surface-branded products, including the new Surface Book and Surface Pro 4, products like the Microsoft Band and Hololens, in addition to mobile devices from partners like ASUS and Lenovo, among others. The walls that flank the tables on either side are loaded up with various Windows systems (both desktop and mobile), Xbox Ones, Windows Phones, and tons of accessories for all of the devices sold in the store. There are plenty of games up and running too, to encourage people to grab an Xbox controller and have some fun while waiting.
The store was absolutely jammed when we arrived and customers appeared to be enamored with the latest Surface devices, especially the Surface Book. There were numerous people looking to get their hands on it and each table was staffed with multiple representatives that were ready to help at a moment’s notice. Despite the store being packed when we arrived, it was only a matter of seconds before someone asked if we wanted help.
We noticed a particularly interesting thing when poking around one of the Lumia 950XLs that was on display. The very first photo in the phone’s gallery app was taken a couple of weeks back (on October 6 to be exact), and was of Microsoft’s CEO, Satya Nadella. We wonder how many people have manhandled this phone over the last couple of days oblivious to the fact that a pic of Microsoft’s current CEO was on the device.
The second floor in the new Microsoft flagship store revolved mostly around gaming, multimedia, and video. There were a number of Xbox One systems up and running, along with a ton of games and gaming accessories. There were multiple gaming PCs on display, graphics cards, and numerous gaming and multi-media related accessories, like headsets, and input devices, and the like.
Microsoft's New Flagship Store On 5th Ave.
Before you even get close to the front doors, there is no mistaking that this new store is all about Microsoft. Multiple logos are visible from across the road and a ton of product is front-and-center for all to see, behind the giant wall of glass out front. The store is comprised of multiple stories—an elevator has buttons for floors 1 – 4, but only the first three floors are open to the public. I tried to see what was happening on the 4th floor, but the elevator just took me back down to the lobby.
First Floor...
As soon as you walk in, there are multiple tables running down the center of the store, featuring Microsoft’s own Surface-branded products, including the new Surface Book and Surface Pro 4, products like the Microsoft Band and Hololens, in addition to mobile devices from partners like ASUS and Lenovo, among others. The walls that flank the tables on either side are loaded up with various Windows systems (both desktop and mobile), Xbox Ones, Windows Phones, and tons of accessories for all of the devices sold in the store. There are plenty of games up and running too, to encourage people to grab an Xbox controller and have some fun while waiting.
The store was absolutely jammed when we arrived and customers appeared to be enamored with the latest Surface devices, especially the Surface Book. There were numerous people looking to get their hands on it and each table was staffed with multiple representatives that were ready to help at a moment’s notice. Despite the store being packed when we arrived, it was only a matter of seconds before someone asked if we wanted help.
We noticed a particularly interesting thing when poking around one of the Lumia 950XLs that was on display. The very first photo in the phone’s gallery app was taken a couple of weeks back (on October 6 to be exact), and was of Microsoft’s CEO, Satya Nadella. We wonder how many people have manhandled this phone over the last couple of days oblivious to the fact that a pic of Microsoft’s current CEO was on the device.
The second floor in the new Microsoft flagship store revolved mostly around gaming, multimedia, and video. There were a number of Xbox One systems up and running, along with a ton of games and gaming accessories. There were multiple gaming PCs on display, graphics cards, and numerous gaming and multi-media related accessories, like headsets, and input devices, and the like.
The second floor has a similar aesthetic feel to the first, with tables by the front windows and walls loaded up with various items and demos. The third floor was somewhat different, however.
For a company that was deemed irrelevant by some naysayers not too long ago, it seems Microsoft has done a complete turnaround. Their latest products have generated a ton of buzz and the new store was hopping. It’s going to be an interesting holiday shopping season, to say the least.
Up on the third floor was Dell’s Experience Zone. It was loaded up with products from Dell and Alienware, including XPS and Precision laptops, and numerous Alienware notebooks and gaming systems. There was a tri-monitor NVIDIA Surround setup running, along with multiple single-monitor systems loaded up with various games. Arguably the coolest thing on the third floor, however, adorned one of the walls. Of course, we could be a little biased around here, but seeing a quote and the HotHardware.Com URL up on the wall was pretty bad ass. It appears Dell and Microsoft know where it’s at!
For a company that was deemed irrelevant by some naysayers not too long ago, it seems Microsoft has done a complete turnaround. Their latest products have generated a ton of buzz and the new store was hopping. It’s going to be an interesting holiday shopping season, to say the least.
