We Visit the A ple Sto e in Myanmar: Where Everything is a Little Off (In a Good Way)

RocketNews24 writer GO is an avid Apple fan and user of all things whose names possess a lower case “i” or the word “Mac”. As such, whenever he’s travelling it’s comforting for him to find an Apple store nearby. He can feel relieved that there’s a place to go if one of his gadgets gets out of sorts, and it’s fun to see if there are any differences in other countries.

So after checking out the f@cebook clothing store and Ronald McDonald Duck, he was pleased to see something resembling Apple’s unmistakable logo. GO rushed in, not knowing what lay in store.

The first thing he noticed was the writing on the sign. Actually, there were two signs. One seemed on the money but had “apple store” written in an unusual font and all lower case letters.

The other sign said “A ple Sto e” which kind of made it look like French. A ple Sto e s’il vous plait.

The apple logo itself was a little different too. The leaf seemed to be at half-mast. Perhaps it was mourning the loss of Steve Jobs or maybe this is a more laid-back Apple store? Although he was beginning to worry that something was terribly wrong, GO pressed on into the store to find what they offer.

■ Jobs! Jobs! Jobs!

As he excitedly opened the door to this Apple store, he noticed the logo on the handle was actually the Steve Jobs Apple logo variation done by Jonathan Mak a couple years ago.

Thinking that was a nice touch, he walked inside and was immediately greeted by Steve Jobs’ autobiography on display along with an iei (memorial portrait of a deceased person) right in the middle of the store.

It seemed as if this Apple Store in particular was in tune with the spirit of the tech mogul. Everything in the store seemed touched by Jobs.

■ Japanese Magazines for Three Times the Price!

The store and its products had a really clean atmosphere about them and divided into Books, Goods, and Hardware. In the books section, our man found a copy of WE Love SmartPhone, a Japanese magazine imported to Myanmar.

In Japan this publication sells for 1,600 yen (US$16), but here you can get it for the high, high price of 44,200 Kyats ($50).

■ Out-Dated Products!

There was a lot of Mac hardware available in this store such as the iMac, Mac mini, Mac Pro, and iPad. The MacBook Pros were especially prominent.

However, none of these were the latest model. They were all slightly out of date and the iPads were available in Wi-Fi models only.

This might sound like a criticism, but really it’s kind of great. It’s pretty annoying how Apple always pulls their previous generation and associated products when they come out with a new one, so our writer was quite pleased to see some older favorites on offer.

■ The Female Staff Wear Ethnic Myanmar Outfits!

While this Myanmar Apple Store had a lot to offer, the best part was the friendly staff. The women workers were especially friendly and wore traditional Myanmar outfits adorned with an Apple badge on their chest. It was a really cool look altogether.

■ “A store that carries Apple products.”

Just before leaving, GO asked one of the ladies “Is this an official Apple Store?”

“This is a store that carries Apple products,” she said in an angelic voice with a smile.

GO was satisfied. He felt this truly was an Apple Store because it made him feel welcome like one.

He carried that warm feeling in his heart as he walked out through the door and under the giant sign which was emblazoned with the store’s actual name: iTAB.

Original Report by GO
Photos: RocketNews24

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