I dig iGig

Reuben Romulo loves Apples. His computer shop in Shoppesville, Greenhills was built around his passion – Macintosh computers, iPods,  and anything else that has  to do with the Apple.

"My Mac is everything to me," says Reuben, who uses a 15-inch Powerbook G4. "I store everything in it – both personal and business."

Reuben opens his Powerbook and proudly shows us the photos of his two-year-old daughter for which he has created a webpage using his iWeb on Powerbook. And, of course, Reuben points out that the most important documents for his work are also stored in his handy laptop.

iGig Center, an authorized re-seller of Apple, is what he calls his cool and hip shop in Greenhills. A lot of thought went into coming up with a name for this shop. At the beginning Reuben wanted to name it Mac and Me. "But that was not to be," says Reuben. He threw the concept to a few marketing and creative people. iGig was born.

Reuben explains that "gig" has many meanings. It can stand for gigabytes. It can mean a place where people hang out to discuss all the latest on the Apple products. People can gather there to learn more about the Mac or even just to talk about how good the Mac has been for them.

And there is more.

Reuben is convinced that the iGig Center is a lifestyle kinda store. It is a place for people who have made the Apple part of their everyday life and for those who can’t live without their iPod, iBook, Powerbook or iMac.    

Reuben knows whereof he speaks. He points out that in the US and Europe the look of the Apple stores has changed. It is not uncommon to see Apple Centers abroad located beside Prada shops or even Gucci stores. Others are beside fancy restaurants. "But here in Manila the time for such a concept is not yet here," adds Reuben. "The malls tell me that although they like the concept, they feel that the Filipino market is not ready for it."

Reuben has tried to explain the concept of the Apple lifestyle store  to the malls where he has been in search for the best place for his shop. But, he says with a sigh, most of the malls still prefer to give him a space beside the other computer or gadget shops. Reuben, not one to be defeated, takes the space the malls have to offer but makes sure that his store is different from all the other computer shops close by and that it offers only the best for its customers.

Take Reuben’s iGig Center in Shoppesville. It is simple yet classy. An interesting change from the usual computer stores in the Greenhills area. All the iPod Nanos, videos and shuffles available on the market are neatly displayed. The same goes for the Powerbooks and iBooks. And for desktop users there are a few iMacs for those who want to try out the units. There is no loud music so customers don’t have to shout to be heard and his staff are friendly, too.

But more than just selling Apple Computers and iPods, Reuben wants to make sure that his customers get the best service and information they can on the Apple products.

"I made the decision to open iGig because of the good reviews I heard about Apple abroad," quips Reuben. "I know that they introduce new products every so often. I also believe that the Apple products will soon become a part of the lifestyle of many more Pinoys."

He tells the story of a foreign investment banker who was interested in getting a laptop. Reuben gave him a demo of the iBook G4 side by side with the foreigners PC. Deal sealed. The foreigner now uses an iBook.

"It’s really fulfilling for me to be able to help people get to know more about the Apple computers," shares Reuben. "They are amazed when they discover how easy it really is to use."

And that is exactly what Reuben wants people to know – that the Mac was made for people who are not really techies. It was created to make using the computer simpler, not more complicated. Take for example, says Reuben when a person uses a PC and wants to open a program it could take four steps to do that. But, with a Mac Reuben says the same thing can be done in two steps.

It was in the year 2000 that Reuben made the shift to a Mac.

Why? His PC crashed. Reuben playing a computer game at work and he had reached the highest level where he was to fight the strongest bad guy in the game. But just as he was about to win the battle the computer screen went blank. Reuben was frantic and he tried to restart his computer. No luck. The next day, Reuben took his PC to the shop where they told him the best they could do was to reformat the computer. Reuben lost all his files – both work-related and otherwise. He also lost the game.

So, in a trip to the US he visited an Apple shop because he heard good reviews about the Mac. He became a switcher. His first Mac was a 12-inch iBook. "Although I no longer own that iBook the person I sold it to still uses it. He stores a lot of music and videos in it," shares Reuben.

Reuben says that although majority of Filipinos are still PC users there have been quite a few switchers to the Mac. Especially after they find out just how easy it is to use the Mac. "Many people still think that the Mac is for artists or creative people," says Reuben. "But I show them that this is not so. I want people to know that the Mac is for everybody.

Price-wise Reuben is the first to admit that the Macs are priced a little higher here. But, he says that they are WiFi ready, can play and also burn DVDs. With a PC he says that there would be a need to install other programs to get all the programs working. So, the price one pays for a Mac is well worth it.

Gotta Have An ipod

And then there are the iPods. The must-have MP3 players for the young and not-so-young.

At iGig, Reuben tells that story of a young girl who told her mom that she would forego her debut in favor of an iPod Nano. When asked why she preferred a Nano to a debut, the girl answered that all her friends had iPod Nanos.

"The iPod has become the must-own gadget, next to a cell phone," says Reuben. "It is because the Nano is very handy and can be taken anywhere."

There are surgeons who also like the iPod and like to take it to surgery. Reuben knows of an operating room where there is a dock where the doctors can put their iPod and listen to the music they want as they perform their surgery. Not bad, this way the doctors remain calm and perhaps perform their surgeries more efficiently.

 There is a group of Mac and iPod users who make it a point to go to the iGig Center every time they read anything new about their favorite Apple products. "As soon as a new product is announced these people are in the store looking for it," shares Reuben. "They want to be the first to have the product."

Reuben went to the Mac World Conference in the US earlier this year. And his eyes light up as he discusses what new products he saw there. And yes, he says he plans to carry these products as soon as they are available.

"There are a lot of new gadgets for the car so that your car can become iPod-ready," says Reuben. And, he adds, as he listened to the different iPods docked in the cars at the conference he was awed by the quality of the sound the speakers made.

And there are new modern design stands, which are the perfect complement to the white iMac. "White and classy. These are perfect for doctors’ clinics," opines Reuben.

There are new speakers from JBL for the iPods and many more exciting and cute accessories that will be available for the iPod junkies very soon.

Reuben has a final word for those already using Apple computers, or anyone who plans to buy any Apple products. "Just get them from authorized resellers or dealers," he says. "This way if anything goes wrong the products can be repaired well."

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iGig Center is located at 63A Level B, Shoppesville Arcade, Greenhills Shopping Center. Tel. no. 721-6263, e-mail them at igigcenter@yahoo.com.