The Apple Store Bentall Centre, Kingston-upon-Thames opened today, Saturday 17th February at 9.00am. I am happy to say I was there to soak up the atmosphere, with exclusive shots from inside the Apple Store before they opened. In the photo gallery that follows you will see photographs of the whole store, including the astounding applause for the first customer, who had been in the queue since 4am.

Here are some photos that I took whilst there, to view the full gallery click here, or visit the Geekanoids home page.

The staff at the store clapped and welcomed the first 1,000 customers, with the queue still going strong at 10am. The staff and visitors enthusiasm was superb and things soon sprang into action with advice and sales meeting with so many smiles. The sales were ultra smooth too, using the scanner technology that Apple introduced late last year, customers do not have to get into line to pay. If they have something in their hand, they can have it scanned where they are standing, pay by card and they’re good to go. You can see a picture of the Fujitsu scanner in the full gallery too.

Also prominent in the store was the “We are better than Vista Campaign”, with the new slogan “Go Beyond Vista… It’s time to get a Mac” on coloured banner displays and some staff t-shirts (see the full gallery for more on this too).

I was also pleased to see how happy everyone was, and from all walks of life too. There were many silver haired heads to be seen, right down to enthusiastic youngsters using the display machines with big grins all round.

So enjoy the photos, I hope they help you soak up some of the atmosphere that was happening today, and if you are in the Kingston-upon-Thames area be sure to visit the Apple Store… full gallery of photos by clicking here>>