Waikiki will get its own Apple Store, at the Royal Hawaiian Center, with a 10 a.m. grand opening Saturday .

The third Apple retail store to open in Hawai'i since May 2003 will be open daily from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

An e-mail to Apple customers says that the first 1,000 visitors will get a free Apple T-shirt. The Apple Store is next to Bebe and The Cheesecake Factory in the Royal Hawaiian Center, at 2301 Kalakaua Ave., Suite No. 107, Building C.

Nationwide, Apple launched its retail initiative in 2001 as a strategy to broaden its customer reach, and has built a chain of more than 180 company-owned stores typically set in high-traffic mall locations.

The stores on average took in $23.6 million in revenue during Apple's 2006 fiscal year, up from $11.5 million just three years earlier.

The Cupertino, Calif.-based computer company opened its second Hawai'i store in February of last year at Kahala Mall in the former Gap space.

Apple has developed a following since the 1970s for its Macintosh line of personal computers. The company dominated the personal music and video player business with the phenomenal success of the iPod, now available in several models.

And Apple's iTunes online store has become a worldwide musical force. Since last year, the company has expanded into the telephone market with the iPhone.

For more information about Apple's retail stores, go to www.apple.com/retail.