Gee, did we just say there were three new Apple retail stores primed to open next Friday? Sorry, we should have said four. Well, actually, that's not entirely true, since we really haven't heard any reports (official or otherwise) that a fourth store will be going live on the 23rd, but sometime between yesterday and today, Apple added the Buffalo, NY Walden Galleria shop to the "Coming Soon" section on its newly-revamped list of retail locations; while no opening date is listed, we're pegging the all-important Day After Thanksgiving as a likely target.

Little birds who claim to be familiar with the Buffalo store's progress have been singing about its grand opening for months, now, but the date has been pushed forward so many times it's getting rug burns on its hinder. The last date we'd heard chirped around the compound was November 17th, though that's clearly not going to happen unless magic shoemaker elves get the store ready overnight. We therefore expect that next Friday is a reasonable guess, barring the advent of some major catastrophe like extensive flooding or a cobra infestation; however, we'd like to stress that this is a guess and only a guess-- albeit a reasonably educated one.

The way we see it, Apple obviously wants as many Apple stores open as possible throughout the full official holiday shopping season, which (by most counts) commences on the 23rd-- hence Apple's massive push to get three or four more stores launched on that day when its previous record for simultaneous grand openings was a mere two. If Apple is indeed planning on a quadruple-launch and it's successful, then there will be no fewer than twenty-one Apple stores with cash registers a-ringin' from Thanksgiving through Christmas. (Looks like that original goal of having twenty-five stores by the end of the year is well within reach.)

Of course, Apple likely has a secondary goal in attempting a four-way simultaneous grand opening; if the company can one day work its way up to five, ancient texts prophesy that the event will mark the day of the ascension of Apple's spiritual leader from "divine mortal" to full-on deity status (or, as the book puts it, "He Who Is Immense And Immortal, Master Of Destinies, Swallower of Planets, And The Guy With The Keys To The Minibar"). Sounds like Steve's playing for all the marbles. In the meantime, while four stores gets him Cosmic Zilch on the whole ascension tip, heck, at least they'll be selling stuff.