Microsoft’s First Store…

Fashion Square Mall, Scottsdale,Arizona

I visited the new Microsoft store at the Fashion Square Mall in Scottsdale , Arizona this weekend. Fashion Square is very large, three level, upscale mall, thats polite for very pricy. It took some time to find the place as the directory had not been updated to reflect its location and there were no long crowds leading the way. There was one big banner hanging over the food court announcing the store opening. However, it provided no directions. Asking around at the various stores did ultimately get me to my destination. My very first impression upon entering was… Its Apple! A little shocking. In my flippant way, I asked the greater if this was an Apple store. Her reply was no, its Microsoft and we have more technology. I snapped a couple of pictures with my Blackberry and did a walk around. This is really a nice store. Lots of PC's on display. Seemed like there was a table for most major brands of laptops, e.g. Dell, HP, Lenovo, etc. There was not much in the way of desktop systems. Noted a couple of Microsoft touch tables and a small gaming section. Only saw Microsoft software on display. There were no third party application or peripherals in view. Needed an external hard drive, but none for sale here.

Overall I found the experience pleasant. Did note, as expected, there were no bargains. My suspicion is this is really just a big advertisement opportunity for Microsoft. From my pictures you can see there were not many customers and saw no one leave with a new computer. Contrasting with Apple's store where they always seem crowded and you see a stream of customer leaving with new systems.