The hunt for... iPod Nano
Plugged into the ears of people across the world, Apple’s iPod has become a ubiquitous sight. All we wanted to do was buy a 1GB iPod Nano, a product released worldwide only five months ago. Surely we’d find one at the Mall of the Emirates? Not necessarily, as Michelle Byrne discovered...
Virgin Megastore (04 341 4353)
We quickly spotted the Apple section stocked with every accessory you can imagine: dinky woollen socks for protecting your player, colourful covers, chargers and spare earphones but not a Nano in sight. When we asked for help, the scared-looking assistant first tried to run away rather than assist us. Then she starred blankly, gestured to the area we had just come from and when asked if she could ring another Virgin branch to see if they had them in stock, replied with a mumbled ‘try CompuME’.
Mission: Failed. Sir Richard would not have been happy.
Time taken: 14 minutes.
How much: When available the 1GB costs Dhs599; Virgin promise they will have more in stock soon.
CompuME (04 341 4442)
A shelf stacked high with (the more pricey) 4GB models raised our hopes of an early victory, but they were dashed when a sales assistant – who incidentally wouldn’t get up from the step he was sitting on – shrugged his shoulders and told us ‘we must be out of stock.’ A lengthy follow-up phone call proved equally infuriating when we were eventually told ‘CompuME would never be stocking the 1GB or 2GB versions.’
Mission: Failed.
Time taken: 12 minutes.
How much: CompuME don’t sell the 1GB version. The 4GB is in stock priced at Dhs999.
Jumbo Electronics (04 341 0101)
A ray of sunshine in the shopping world – a smiling and efficient salesman – showed us to the MP3 section of the sprawling electrical superstore. He told us there was one white Nano in stock and sent us on to the customer service desk, with our product code written down on a slip of paper. Sadly things went downhill from here. Confusion as to whether the white or black was available led to a heated debate amongst staff who then whispered ‘get the display model’ – which we said we’d need to check first. More arm crossing and standing around later and even the display model seemed to have gone walkabout. We soon followed suit.
Mission: Failed, but we were so close we could almost hear the music playing.
Time taken: 34 minutes
How much: Dhs629when available but Jumbo couldn’t tell us when that would be.
Geekay Games (04 340 7755)
There’s a clue, you might think, in the store’s name, that it caters specifically to the city’s gaming community. But among the Xbox boxes and PS2 consoles, stray iPods are also known to lurk. A short, sharp ‘how can I help?’ almost the second we walked through the door followed just as quickly by a ‘we are out of stock, sorry’ made for a brief visit and we left empty-handed.
Mission: An efficient failure.
Time taken: One minute.
How much: Dhs599when available, hopefully by the time of publication.
Carrefour (04 409 4899)
After getting our plastic bags heatsealed we made our way through the crowds straight to a dedicated MP3 player stand with iPods on display. We were relieved and elated to find the 1GB Nano in stock. Then came the wait: the long queue for the item to come from the stockroom, then another queue to pay and have your numerous bits of paper over zealously stamped, before moving back to the first counter to queue again. But aside from the bureaucracy, the French supermarket sells the cheapest iPod Nano we found – and they had plenty in stock.
Mission: Accomplished, albeit very slowly.
Time Taken: 40 minutes.
How much: Dhs589 and available in both black and white.
Total time 1 hour 41 minutes.
Having trouble finding something? Email thehuntfor@timeoutdubai.com and we’ll do the searching for you.