Surface, at&t, att, cellphones, gadgets, microsoft, microsoft surface

AT&T Surface Retail Demo: Buying a Cellphone Finally Doesn't Suck

AT&T just ran us through a demo of what shopping with Microsoft's Surface at their stores is gonna be like. It's wayyy better than dealing with an embittered, ill-informed retail drone. You can dynamically check out coverage, smoothly zooming in and out for a fantastically detailed view of where you might get 3G, for instance. You can throw a phone on there and mess around with its features, or even better, slap two on the table and compare them head-to-head, feature-to-feature. Of course, it'll also sell you more shit, like the whole range of device accessories, or ringtones and media.

5:16 PM on Wed Apr 2 2008
By matt buchanan
7,361 views
40 comments

Comments

Evangelion at 05:21 PM on 04/02/08
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Cool!
Evangelion at 05:21 PM on 04/02/08
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Looks pretty cool!
SchruteBuck at 05:23 PM on 04/02/08
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Cool, but don't you still get AT&T's service?
nutbastard at 05:23 PM on 04/02/08
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Is this really a problem that requires a dedicated, expensive solution? Im not saying this isn't cool, but i think this would be better put to use in, say, a car dealership.
Evangelion at 05:23 PM on 04/02/08
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Sorry about the double post...
nutbastard at 05:24 PM on 04/02/08
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cool" seems to be the word of the day in here!
Joseph at 05:27 PM on 04/02/08
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COURTESY OF MICRO$SOFT--let's not forget.
SchruteBuck at 05:27 PM on 04/02/08
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@nutbastard: First time ever for an MS product.
europria at 05:31 PM on 04/02/08
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So, how can a computer match unprecedented service quality of annoying cell phone salesman who hates his job and knows nothing about cell phones but only "if you push the green button, it dials".

I swear, if they read just one manual a day, they could master their job in 10 days but they don't even do that. When I go shopping I usually know more about the phones than they do.(Thanks to Gizmodo)
digodemais at 05:32 PM on 04/02/08
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Wait, two evil companies unite for something good? I guess this disproves the whole two wrongs don't make a right thing. Take that Mrs. Berkowitz.
Kaiser-Machead at 05:37 PM on 04/02/08
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@nutbastard: It can attract more people to come into the store. This doesn't guarantee extra sales, but it still brings that possibility.
Geisrud at 05:41 PM on 04/02/08
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@nutbastard: It's hard to get the car on top of the surface.
Zarian at 05:42 PM on 04/02/08
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I like how the 2 devices being compared are a blackberry and a Windows mobile phone. No iPhone, hmmmm....
Amiash is not allowed at 05:42 PM on 04/02/08
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Wow a table with screen and a cellphone you can place in it to browse its features?... coo.L *smug*
ow MS when will you stop asking money from us?
dingus at 05:46 PM on 04/02/08
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@nutbastard: Maybe I'm full of crap, but cell phone contracts are way higher margin than cars.
Abnormal at 05:56 PM on 04/02/08
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All this tech and no video? For Shame!
Oneon1isto at 06:03 PM on 04/02/08
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You can touch your way all the way to a new iphone.

Using a Microsoft product!

*head explodes*
Nongeek at 06:09 PM on 04/02/08
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Oy! Where's the video?
Marty_MacFly at 06:23 PM on 04/02/08
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My phone buying process was already streamlined when I walked into an Apple store, bought my iPhone and went home to activate it with iTunes. From there I researched any accessories I needed and ordered them online.

No big ass table required.
alukard at 06:25 PM on 04/02/08
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@nutbastard: This is the first of many places that will have this installed. So a car dealership could be one of the many. Place a leaflet with a tag on it, on the Surface and up comes info for you.
zsleek7 at 06:37 PM on 04/02/08
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Mass layoffs in the future for AT&T stores?
MrBlahBlah at 06:39 PM on 04/02/08
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unnecessary, but cool. it may sell more phones.
SowndOfDeth at 06:46 PM on 04/02/08
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But wouldn't it be difficult to park 2 cars on it?
recklessinoz at 06:55 PM on 04/02/08
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I love how it's "unnecessary" when Microsoft makes something cool, but Apple comes out with Coverflow and everyone oohs and aahs like it's the fucking second coming.
nutbastard at 06:56 PM on 04/02/08
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@alukard:
nah they should have little scale models of the cars to place on there!
MrBlahBlah at 07:12 PM on 04/02/08
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@recklessinoz:

unnecessary for a phone store. but if it makes the shopping experience better, than maybe it is necessary
Joseph at 07:15 PM on 04/02/08
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@dingus: I think you're right but from Microsoft's perspective, I don't think they really care who buys it. They are just trying to sell those tables. They probably don't care if it's a cell store, car dealer, dry cleaner, McDonalds or s strip club as long as they get paid.
drewheyman at 07:39 PM on 04/02/08
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@Joseph: strip club hmmm...i'd love to compare strippers side by side!! by placing them on a table and moving them around.
Gofastmazda at 08:33 PM on 04/02/08
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@SchruteBuck: Yes, you get AT&Ts service which is a great thing. There's a reason they have the most customers.

@europria: Lumping every salesperson into your ignorant hate his job assumption is ridiculous. I'm sure there are people in every line of work who hate their jobs and don't do them well. Hell, I bet you're one of them!
ripfire4 at 08:34 PM on 04/02/08
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I'll probably buy this if I ever build a situation room next to the den.
frigg at 08:43 PM on 04/02/08
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@drewheyman: As I'm Amish (Mennonite, actually), I've never been in a strip club. However, I would imagine that if you were comparing strippers by moving them around on a table, you could pretty much do that with any table capable of supporting the combined weight of flesh and silicone.
Evangelion at 09:35 PM on 04/02/08
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@Marty_MacFly: Me too :) Seeing as how I love Microsoft, I think this table rocks!

Well anyways, back to the table. I remember seeing all the videos about it and I cant wait to actually see how it works in person.
sisiay at 09:47 PM on 04/02/08
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@frigg
wow...shows how ignorant I am. I had no idea that strip clubs were more off limits than computers. I never know what I'll learn on Gizmodo....
tophtucker at 11:25 PM on 04/02/08
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I'd like to see this in airports. It'd be fantastic to see where all the flights were, in real-time, on a Virtual Earth map, plus weather and stuff. And you could just lay your boarding pass on it and it could read your flight data and give up-to-the-minute status updates.

Plllllleeeaassseee, Microsoft???
Step666 at 11:44 PM on 04/02/08
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@nutbastard: if they did that, I'd have a new hobby - going round car dealerships and stealing their models!

@tophtucker: just so long as it doesn't accidentally switch into Airt Traffic Control mode, were moving those little model planes makes changes to the holding pattern...
quikboy at 02:31 AM on 04/03/08
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Absolutely amazing. Can't wait to check it out!
tomcod at 10:48 AM on 04/03/08
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Mod it to run a virtual Whack A Mole game.
wolfsunfire at 12:04 PM on 04/03/08
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Did anyone notice the city the demo map shows? It's Las Vegas, NV. If I remember correctly, that's not one of the places they are installing these things. The problem is that I live in Las Vegas and REALY would like to check one out.

I have an iPhone and want to see how well it works with it.
1roll20s at 01:23 PM on 04/03/08
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I think its a great idea to get product info to people. The real downside is that it'll probably only serve 1-2 people at a time, and everyone will want to use it. Could end up being a real bottle neck. Especially so if the employee learn even less about their product and other in-store displays become weaker.
spyguy99 at 08:20 PM on 04/04/08
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Hmm, its a shame a lot of the AT&T stores are closing, at least in my area (near Chicago). It seems that all the stores are now owned by Verizon