Apple Grand Central Store: Quick Tour

Apple turned New York City's Grand Central Terminal into Geek Central on Friday, opening a new, multi-level superstore inside midtown Manhattan's iconic train station.

The store sits on a terrace high up on the station's east and northeast corners, overlooking the famous main concourse, which has starred in movies such as North By Northwest, The Cotton Club, and Superman.

The store features all of the services that are found in more conventional Apple Stores, such as a Genius Bar, a Personal Setup station where consumers can have their Apple products fully configured before leaving the shop, and workshops on topics such as digital photography and movie making, Mac basics, and tips and tricks for the iPhone 4S and iPad 2.

For businesses, the Apple Store at Grand Central houses a team of enterprise experts who can offer help with hardware, software, and networking, as well as financing. Small business owners who visit the store can also sign up for a service called Joint Venture, through which they can receive ongoing tech support and planning for $499 per year.

One of the hundreds of shoppers to pack the store at the opening was Ed Garcia of White Plains, NY, who commutes regularly through Grand Central. He said he liked the store's convenient location, but worried it might lead him to make more impulse purchases. "I already spend enough on Apple products," said Garcia, clutching an iPhone.

For Apple, that's the whole point. The company already maintains a number of marquis stores in high-traffic locations, such as San Francisco's Union Square, Beverley Hills, Calif., and New York City's Fifth Avenue. The company will count on the Grand Central store to further boost its retail presence and help push new products like the upcoming iPad 3, which is slated to ship in February.

The Apple Store at Grand Central is open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturdays, and from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sundays.

The elevated store gives shoppers an eye-level view of Grand Central's famous golden chandeliers.

Shoppers check out the MacBook Air in one of the store's many demonstration areas.

The Grand Central location features Apple's trademark Genius Bar, where consumers can get expert advice and support. We're betting that the geniuses have train schedules behind the counter, too.

Geniuses provide customer assistance on day one of the store's opening.

One of Apple's hottest sellers welcomes consumers to the new Grand Central store.

Shoppers zeroed in on the latest version of the iPad, though others may want to wait until the iPad 3 ships in February.

An Apple employee pauses momentarily while awaiting the next crush of consumers.

Apple is hoping that retail outlets like the Grand Central store will introduce its products to a whole new generation of computer users.

The store was fully stocked on opening day with the latest versions of the iPod Nano and iPod Touch.

A consumer takes a moment to take in one of the many signs pitching the iPad 2 tablet.

Commuters lay down the plastic to purchase their Apple gadgets before catching the train home.

Commuters lay down the plastic to purchase their Apple gadgets before catching the train home.