Microsoft Surface coming to AT&T stores April 17

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AT&T and Microsoft jointly announced an agreement that will soon put the Microsoft Surface into AT&T retail stores for customer use. A pilot program beginning on April 17 will see the 30-inch surface computer debut in five AT&T locations: Atlanta, San Antonio, the San Francisco Bay Area, and two stores in New York. Shoppers will be able to look at an overview of the features of eight mobile devices (Samsung BlackJack II, Sony Ericsson w580i, LG Shine, Sony Ericsson z750, BlackBerry Curve 8310, Pantech Duo, Samsung a737, and Motorola v3xx) by placing them on the Microsoft Surface. The table computer will also allow touch gestures to be used to explore coverage maps and, in the future, users can drag and drop content onto the phones.

Ralph de la Vega, president and CEO of AT&T Mobility, seemed very excited about his company being the first to put the Microsoft Surface to use in a retail environment: "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." If AT&T deems the program successful, the device will be rolled out to all of AT&T’s 2,200 US stores and the software backing it will be upgraded to include more programs for customers to interact with. Although the move will likely push AT&T ahead of its competitors, the decision is also a bit of validation for Microsoft.

Source: Microsoft Surface coming to AT&T stores April 17