'Surface' Resurfaces at AT&T Retail Stores

Published: April 3, 2008

by Alex Woodie

AT&T will be the first adopter of Microsoft Surface, a new computing environment introduced last year that pairs a medium-size, horizontally mounted touch-screen display with a multi-user version of Windows. AT&T's mobile phone customers will interact with the new Microsoft Surface devices in a select number of the company's stores.

It's been just under a year since Microsoft unveiled the Surface project at the "All Things Digital" conference in Carlsbad, California. The project's plan, in case you forgot, is to "break down traditional barriers between people and technology" by turning "an ordinary tabletop into a vibrant, dynamic surface that provides effortless interaction with all forms of digital content."

When Microsoft announced Surface, it had lined up three companies that agreed to install the devices in their properties, including Harrah's Entertainment, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, and T-Mobile.

However, none of those implementations have been completed yet, as Microsoft this week touted AT&T planned adoption as "the first" for a retail environment. On its Surface Web page, Microsoft says other Surface implementations in hotels, restaurants, retail establishments, and public entertainment venues will begin this spring.

AT&T will install Surface devices, which sport a 30-inch screen, in flagship stores in New York City; Atlanta, Georgia; San Antonio, Texas; and San Francisco, California. Based on the pilots, AT&T may install more Surface devices, the companies say.

Surface will let AT&T's in-store customers accomplish several tasks, including viewing phone coverage maps at national, state, local, and street levels, and viewing graphical overview of phones' capabilities when they're placed on the device. In the future, customers will be able to drag and drop ring tones, graphics, and videos onto their phones, the companies say. (However, this would seem to be based on whether Surface survives the initial pilot projects.)

Not surprisingly, AT&T--with whom Microsoft has other partnerships--said being the first Surface customers was a great honor. "We are thrilled to bring this groundbreaking new technology to our stores so we can introduce customers to their mobile worlds in a very personal and easy way," said Ralph de la Vega, president and CEO of AT&T Mobility.

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