In May 2007 Microsoft introduced the concept of “Surface Computing” (see article here) and it has become pretty quiet since then regarding the first installations of this system. Speculations have been that the first installations will be in restaurants, hotels, retail locations or casino resorts but until today no announcements have been made.

Todd Bishop of The Seattle Post Intelligencer reports today that AT&T will be the first company to introduce the Microsoft Surface concept in selected stores and allow customers to experience and learn about latest mobile phones through interactive applications.

The big U.S. wireless provider says its retail customers will be able to place specific mobile phones on Surface’s 30-inch screen to learn about features, accessories and rate plans. They also will be able to compare two phones at a time, and use their hands to navigate a high-tech wireless coverage map.

It will be interesting to see how customers will be using this device and how the shopping experience will change. The big question will be whether it will be an actual support off the customer in his shopping ties or whether it will be merely a “toy” that is fun to play with but not delivering any additional value to the customer.

AT&T wasn’t among the original customers announced by Microsoft, and it initially won’t be tapping the full promise of the Surface machines. For example, customers won’t be able to finish their mobile-phone purchases on the tabletop computer. Microsoft’s prototype applications were more complex — showing, for example, how people could drag digital icons across the tabletop to order food and later split the bill at a restaurant.

“This to me is a fairly limited usage of the device. It’s not all that exciting in some ways,” said analyst Roger Kay, president of Endpoint Technologies Associates. “But they (Microsoft) know that they’re late. They’re very conscious of time slipping away, so if somebody has an application ready to go, it’s like, ‘Fine, let’s go with it.’.”

On the other hand it will be important to see the larger rollout of this technology because it will definitely reduce prizes for installations like this and pave the way for broader use in other environments.

Read the full story here.

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