Clayton Computers is a good little independent stockist with knowledgeable staff and a decent…read moreselection of IT related supplies. They have all the usual components that, whilst not necessarily beating online prices, have the advantage of being in a concrete location in case of customer service issues. This was the destination of choice when I needed to buy network cables, and if you're looking for a local store that can give you advice on computing or the like, your best bet is probably Clayton.

This Apple Store is located on St Andrew's Way in the Newcastle Eldon Square shopping centre and is…read moreone of two Apple stores within a 5 mile radius, between the this location and the location at the larger shopping centre, the Metrocentre, the other side of the River Tyne in Gateshead. I called in here early in the morning, an hour before my Genius appointment and was greeted by a rather friendly Apple Store employee, he told me that I was unlikely to be seen earlier even though it was 9:30am on a Saturday morning with few people in sight, but he went on to tell me my problem could be fixed without an appointment. After showing him my receipt, my apple charging cable was replaced quite quickly and I was in and out of the store, having replaced my faulty product and got an email confirmation within 5 minutes which I was rather pleased with. The Apple store is a decent size, around the same size as the nearby Metrocentre branch, it of course was a typical Apple store in terms of decor, showcasing most of Apple's flagship products including the Apple Mac and Iphone 7. Overall, the service from this branch was very good and quick, I even began chatting to my advisor about Hilton hotels, in which I was staying at and even he was visiting the same evening, due to what has been discussed I feel this branch deserves a four star rating. Something to look at for the future would perhaps be to increase the availability of appointments at peak times and invest in more of a system if you are to visit the Genius Bar, and maybe increase the size of the store, albeit without risking the service.

I used to love spending an afternoon in one of these swanky, brightly lit, clean stores, playing on…read morethe products and dreaming of the day when I can afford anything. 8 years on, I'm poorer than ever, can't afford anything and Apple goes ahead and raises their prices and shoves it in my face that they have lots of money! What's the point of displaying the same information that's printed next to the iPhone, on an iPad?! Why not just give me the iPad instead? I mean electrical and product wastage much?! Or why not give the money that could be made from the iPads to me instead? This store is always cluttered with tweens whining at their daddies for the latest release which is kind of annoying....but at least when you hide further in the store (full of the unwanted desktops and older models-poor things!), you can find much of the gear you may need to accompany your newest addition to the family. I would recommend looking online for cases etc... as you can get a better range at a more reasonable price. I used to like the minimalist style to the store but now it seems, the stores are big and air-y for no reason as it is jam packed with all these swooning apple-eaters (you heard it here first) drooling over the latest releases. I'm not hating on the company, I like their products (I would really love a MacBook HINT HINT) but I think it is a little excessive. Also, what is up with the weird sculpture displays? Lastly, is it just me or are the geniuses really putting the term to shame? I mean, several years ago, they were moderately tech savvy nerdy folk who could actually answer your tech Q's and provide insightful A's. Nowadays, the staff are failed model-like sales folk who could not tell you what iOS meant. They only really want to help those who are throwing their cash at them and won't even bother trying to appeal to new audiences. I guess when your products are this fashionable, staff members do not need to be trained to talk about their other products as people who are going to buy, will buy the latest most popular one regardless of any useful information....

This branch of Currys PC World on Northumberland Street in Newcastle, is the main Currys PC World…read moreto serve Newcastle city centre. The store is a decent size, and does have some modern elements to it, as one would expect a shop of this nature "Currys PC World" to have, but overall the store was average at best mainly down to the poor service. I'd like to talk off my talking about the staff, despite the store having a large amount of staff around the store, no one greeted me or asked if I needed help which was a shame, I got a slight impression that the staff didn't want to interact with customers, I even tried to talk to a member of staff about a price-rise, where a printer I've bought before had nearly doubled from about £60 to about £120, he didn't seem too interested which was a shame. The store was quite spacious in parts, and like most Currys PC World it had a Carphone Warehouse store inside, although the Carphone Warehouse was so small, I'd say it was more of a stand than a store inside this store, with all 3 companies sharing the same ownership (Currys, PC World and Carphone Warehouse) The location was good, yet the selection was OK/average and the staff were very poor, the overall feel was actually okay but mainly down to the service reasons and perhaps the smaller selection of printers than I would have liked to see, I feel this store only deserves a two star rating.

I had never been to a Currys before and was extremely satisfied with the wide selection of products…read moreand, above all, the friendliness of the staff! They were always happy to help me and seemed to really know what they were talking about. I am sorry about what other users experienced, based on the reviews I have read here - but this definitely wasn't my case. I was approached as soon as I started looking at the PCs, staff didn't bother me when I said I was ok and only they only asked if I needed help again when I started looking really confused (by that time I gladly accepted their offer hahaha). Definitely recommended, thanks everyone! (:

Freaking amazing! I dropped my laptop off during my lunch break (around half past 12) to get my…read moreheat sink cleaned. At 2:15 I get the email that it is done, super fast service! And very friendly staff.

From the owner: We specialise in hardware and software repairs of PCs and laptops, including restoration of…read morenon-working systems, virus removal, screen replacement, data recovery, hard disk failure and power socket repairs.

Cex is an interesting shop the idea behind them is that they buy your used…read moreconsoles/games/dvds/other electricals off you and give you a voucher to buy items from their store OR they give you a discounted cash amount. However in my experience whenever I have taken items to sell to them, they always say that they have run out of cash or that they are not buying items from people. Therefore I usually end up taking my items home with me rather than accepting a credit note. Their prices for second hand games are often a lot higher than what you can buy the items for brand new. I will say that the cash prices they offer you for games is quite decent, so perhaps this is why they charge customers so much to buy their second hand goods?! Anyway I have had a few damaged items such as jumpy dvds from Cex, so have stopped using them as I do not think that their quality checking of preowned items is very good. Still if you have items to sell and need cash quickly, it is worth taking a trip to Cex very early in the morning and just hope and pray that they have the cash to buy your stuff!

CEX in Newcastle has changed a fair bit since I started patronising it in 2006. Their game…read moreselection has understandably shifted very heavily towards newer consoles, and there's been a change in focus towards more of a marketplace-type environment of game and electronics buying/selling. In essence, CEX, seems to have become a bit of a pawn shop for these types of items, so isn't as pleasant to browse in as the nearby GAME and Gamestation stores, which also offer similar items. One feature, however, which I highly recommend about this CEX is the arcade-game console running the classic Marvel Vs Capcom fighter game in the rear of the store. With 3 plays running at only 50p, it's a great value and very fun way to spend a bit of time either alone or with a mate if stuck for something to do in Newcastle for a half hour or so.

I used to frequent Games Workshop many moons ago One of those shops which is manned by polite but…read moretotally over-zealous staff. They pounce as soon as your foot enters the doorfor God's sake let me get into the shop first and have a look around before you go into your ...and what sort of gaming are you interested in? routine. Believe it or not, some of us are actually capable of finding what we want without our hands being held every step of the way (figuratively speaking, naturally). They're just very keen, bless 'em :) give them half a chance and they'll rope you into a game. Prices seem to have risen horrifically since I used to go in there - and they were expensive then! Give them their due though, they keep up a constant flow of new stuff to buy.