The Apple Store online and Apple.com as a whole, have become a showcase for remarkable internet and web development technology. The store is a breeze to shop and navigate around, and the entire Apple website displays their product line-up in a way that my grandmother could understand.
With all of this being said, it still feels to me like something is missing. Where’s my real-time interaction with store employees and inventory? Google has a technology that they’ve implemented into their Mapping services called Street View, which allows them to display virtual 3D photos of an environment and then allow the user to navigate through this virtual photo. I don’t see why the Apple stores (at least some of the bigger ones) couldn’t setup a camera in the middle of the store and allow access to users who need to browse around the store, see where things are in case they want to avoid a rush or simply try and talk to a sales associate.
For example, their could be a kiosk somewhere in the store with some elegant blinking lights. These lights would represent users on the other end, either at home, or at work who are initiating a conversation with a sales associate via iChat. Why would this not be possible ? It sure would increase the intimacy level that Apple has done so well as a company to establish.
If word spread that you could virtually connect to an Apple store via iChat it would increase overall interest in the stores, and leave a magnificent Ha-lo effect around their products and wanting to use iChat in general.
I love the Apple website and the Apple Store in particular. But maybe they should team with Google and raise the bar even higher.
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