AT&T To Use Microsoft Surface in Stores, CEO Hints at 3G iPhone
AT&T CEO Ralph de la Vega, at a press luncheon yesterday, announced that AT&T would soon be using Microsoft's Surface Computing technology in select retail stores around the country. The Surface Computing project will offer customers a new way to shop for mobile phones.
The technology will allow shoppers to simply place a handset on a 30 inch Surface table display, which will immediately bring up a graphical display of the handset's specs and features. Putting two different handsets on the display will offer a side-by-side comparison. A touch interface will allow the customer to navigate through various screens and bring up "info cards" about features, plans and accessories that can then be moved around the screen and re-sized. Eventually customers will be able to use Surface to purchase ringtones, backgrounds and music and simply "drop" them onto their handset. The system can also be used to transfer information from one handset to another. The content can be downloaded to the table then dragged and uploaded to a new device.
The first Surface displays will appear in stores in New York, Atlanta, San Fransisco and Atlanta on April 17th, with many more to follow.
After speaking about Surface, de la Vega announced that in the future all of AT&T's smart devices would be operating on 3G, including the iPhone. He emphasized "and I mean months." He also said that, after recently seeing more Google Android demos and apparently being impressed, AT&T will ensure that Android devices will be available to customers.
[via Mobile Burn]
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