New MacBook Pro Models Available!

In honor of Halloween, we’ve put together a special *iPhone 4/4S (AT&T) bundle*. *Save $15* when you purchase a (scary) Monster ScreenClean Kit, Panasonic RP-HJE240-S1 earphones in silver (for protection against vampires and werewolves, of course) and a (blood) red Hammerhead Aura Case for iPhone 4/4S (AT&T). *Just $20.99 + $4.99 shipping!*

Apple has tweaked its polyurethane Smart Cover for iPad 2 line, increasing the vibrancy of the colors and replacing the gray liners that were featured on the previous generation with liners that match the cover. Apple has added a “*dark gray polyurethane Smart Cover*”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/79339/apple-polyurethane-smart-cover-for-ipad-2-dark-grey-w-dark-grey-liner/at_kb to the line as part of the update. The new polyurethane Smart Cover for iPad 2 is also available in “*blue*”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/79332/apple-polyurethane-smart-cover-for-ipad-2-blue-w-blue-liner/at_kb, “*green*”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/79333/apple-polyurethane-smart-cover-for-ipad-2-green-w-green-liner/at_kb, “*pink*”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/79331/apple-polyurethane-smart-cover-for-ipad-2-pink-2-w-pink-liner/at_kb and “*light gray*”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/79340/apple-polyurethane-smart-cover-for-ipad-2-light-grey-w-light-grey-liner/at_kb.

The Smart Cover has a magnetic closure that automatically wakes up and puts the iPad to sleep when opened and closed as well as folds to function as a stand with positions for typing and watching video.

The “*orange polyurethane Smart Cover*”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/77953/apple-polyurethane-smart-cover-for-ipad-2-orange-w-grey-liner/at_kb (with gray liner) has been discontinued. At publication, we still have a small number available, but they’re going fast!

We have a few items left in the private special we are offering to Small Dog Electronics newsletter subscribers.

The details of this exclusive deal are __still__ so hush-hush that we can’t tell you about them here! “**Visit our website to see what we’re offering**”:http://www.smalldog.com/secretsale our valued readers.

Please note that all orders must be placed by phone. This offer is good until 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, November 6th!

_Dear Friends,_

There was snow coming down as I headed into work this morning and the evening news is talking about the dates for the opening of the ski areas, but I can really tell that the seasons are changing by the light. I think I may need one of those happy lights, as the lack of daylight is remarkable.

I think I am finally back on East Coast time, but it really took almost a week to recover from jet lag. I was waking up at 2 a.m. wide awake for a few days. We are in one of Vermont’s mini seasons: stick season. The tourists are mostly gone, the trees have lost their leaves but snow has not yet covered the ground. This is actually one of my favorite times of the year.

Jason and I joined Small Dog director Larz Barber on a motorcycle ride on Sunday, and the sky was cloudy and the air cold. We changed our plans for heading to Brunswick Springs and instead headed to Glover, Vermont, the home of the Bread and Puppet Theater. They have a museum there that we visited, which was a great, albeit cold, experience.

We received our first shipment of the new MacBook Pro models that were released this week, and the initial reports are all very positive about these new faster versions of the MacBook Pro. With this introduction, I believe that Apple’s line-up for the holiday season is particularly strong and that supply should be stable for the holidays. We will be celebrating the fifth anniversary of our South Burlington store and the first anniversary of our Manchester store with a week of special offers in November, so stay tuned for some fun!

All of our stores have received some stock of the new iPhone 4S, and we are accepting orders on a first-come, first-served basis. The sales of the iPhone 4S have been spectacular, and each shipment we receive from AT&T sells out as soon as it arrives. I checked on my contract and found I have a couple of weeks to wait before I can get mine, but I look forward to the new Siri voice commands. A few of my friends have been playing with Siri and seem very impressed. I am hoping that I can use it to send text messages.

Halloween is Monday and is a big deal here at Small Dog, as we all get dressed up and have a contest for the best costumes. Be sure to vote on Monday for your favorite!

Apple Apple has released firmware updates for early-2011 iMac and MacBook Pro models and mid-2011 Mac mini and MacBook Air models.

“*Click here*”:http://blog.smalldog.com/article/apple-releases-firmware-updates-for-imac-mac-mini-macbook-air-macbook-pro/ to read about these updates on our “*blog*”:http://blog.smalldog.com/.

While you’re there you can also read about software updates released this week for “*iPhoto ’11*”:http://blog.smalldog.com/article/apple-releases-iphoto-921/ and “*Thunderbolt*”:http://blog.smalldog.com/article/apple-releases-thunderbolt-software-update-os-x-lion/.

It is always important for us to remember that it is you, our loyal customers, who make Small Dog Electronics a success. We measure customer satisfaction using the Net Promoter Score and survey each transaction. These numbers are vital to our survival, so we pay a lot of attention to how we score in customer satisfaction.

Before Jennifer started here at Small Dog, she gave me a book called “Customer Satisfaction Is Worthless, Customer Loyalty Is Priceless.” While I think the author’s premise is not fully valid, I do believe that there is a difference between satisfaction and loyalty, and we at Small Dog Electronics are committed to building customers for life. This is because the life-cycle value of a loyal customer far exceeds the profit we may make on any single transaction. As long as we keep that in mind and focus on making customer loyalty our goal, I think we will find we have a lot of satisfied customers.

Thank you so much for reading this issue of Kibbles & Bytes!

Your Kibbles & Bytes team,
_Don, Kali & Stephanie_