Taking the consumer experience to the next level, Telstra, in partnership with Google, has launched Androidland, a store that showcases the latest Android smartphones and tablets.
The Melbourne-based store is a 154 square metre space that brings interactive technology, games and on-site experts into one space.
Warwick Bray, executive director, Telstra Mobile said it was the first time a mobile carrier had teamed with Google to create a dedicated Android retail presence.
“Over the past 12 months we’ve seen a huge growth in the number of customers coming in-store and asking us about Android phones and tablets. With Androidland we wanted to create a retail environment like no other that helps us to answer customer questions in a fun, interactive way,” he said.
“The result is a world-first collaboration that goes beyond conventional product displays by allowing visitors to get hands on with a range of popular mobile services and apps found on Android devices.”
Androidland features a play zone where visitors can sit under a pixel tree and play with live devices. There’s also the Android spaceship, an interactive spaceship zone where visitors become pilots of the Google Earth app on a giant screen to fly across the world, play Angry Birds on an interactive screen and create an Android avatar that can be printed and shared.
Customers can also interact with a 24 x 9 metre window display that features an augmented reality game challenging visitors to catch Android robots drifting in a virtual snowfall.
Bray said consumers were increasingly looking for an interactive shopping experience where they could try out live devices and get advice from experts before making a purchase.
“From the moment customers walk through the doors of Androidland they’ll be transported into an immersive retail environment that’s as much about having fun as it is about researching your next phone,” he said.
Androidland was built in collaboration with leading Android handset makers Samsung, HTC, Sony Ericsson, Motorola and LG and is a temporary installation. Telstra will use customer feedback to test whether similar installations are introduced to other stores across Australia.