Misc.

Apple closes 24/7 store; 3G iPhone commercial?

By Max Murphy ⋅ June 2, 2008 ⋅  Email This Post ⋅  Print This Post ⋅ Post a comment

It was a warm, humid, and sticky night. Besides some atmospheric moisture in the air, there was one thing that could only be seen by those in the Apple community: mystery. The mystery arose when Apple’s 24/7 “cube” retail store on Fifth Avenue, in the heart of New York City, closed for a short amount of time last Thursday evening. The store has only been closed twice before in its relatively short lifetime, iPhone release and Leopard release, both entirely solid reasons. However, the reasoning last week was on the shady side, to say the least. Apple did not give a strong reason this time. Instead, they posted a message on their website: 

Please note we will be temporarily closed Thursday, May 29 at 3:00 p.m. and will reopen Friday, May 30 at 9:00 a.m. During this time, please visit one of our other two Manhattan locations.

Some brave Apple store employees secretly told visitors that a 3G iPhone commercial was being shot here. If it was a 3G iPhone commercial, we wouldn’t find out for a few more weeks. But, something was shot here. Trucks brought in lights, cameras, and booms in by the dozens. Some bystanders who were lucky enough to somehow snap a picture noted that inside the Apple store, there were cardboard boxes covering a table. Could these be the next generation iPhone under-wraps?  

Gizmodo notes that director David Fincher was hired for the job. Mr. Fincher, the director of movies like “Se7ven”,”Fight Club”, and “Panic Room”, is Final Cut Pro user.  

AppleInisder points out that that last week in Los Angeles, a fake Apple Store set was built. It was a regular production until an unnamed product came out. At this point, only essential staff were permitted to be on set. The latest filming in New York city may very well be a continuation of the last shooting.

As always, there are some out-of-this-world speculation around events like this. Multiple people said that they saw a case marked “5+4″. A few hours later, this showed up, saying that Steve Jobs was in the case. 

But whatever it was, something indeed happened last Thursday night, and its only for time to tell. 

Image Source: The iLife

Article Sources: 

AppleInsider, Gizmodo, MacRumors, The iLife

Tags: 3G iPhone, Apple, Fifth Avenue, iPhone