Androidland

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Android's "green robot" Android robot.svg
Android's "green robot"

Androidland was an Android-themed pop-up store, created by the carrier Telstra in collaboration with Google, on Bourke Street, Melbourne, Australia, in December 2011. [1] [2]

Contents

The store was themed heavily in green, featuring several Android "green robot" sculptures. In the store, Telstra provided visitors with an interactive spaceship zone that featured a flight simulator (via the Google Earth software, a Liquid Galaxy set-up [3] ), and also included a massive screen on which visitors could play Angry Birds. It further featured scented areas with gingerbread and grass aromas, called "Android grass", [3] to further immerse visitors.

History

Androidland had been in development since July 2011. [4] [5] Google Australia helped to train the store's Android experts to be able to assist visitors with their current devices, help them with their new ones and recommend apps to install. [6]

Warwick Bray, the Executive Director of Telstra Mobile, stated, "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." [7]

In October 2013, Spice Group announced a partnership with Google to set up 50 AndroidLand stores in India along with 100 smaller versions of the stores as AndroidLand mini stores. [8]

Reception

Logan Booker, writing for Gizmodo Australia wrote, "It's a friendly environment, definitely, and if I were to make the switch to Android, I’d be sure to stop by to aid in my decision-making. The interesting fusion of business with an "experience" beyond product demonstrations gives the shop-within-a-shop a corporate Powerhouse Museum feel." [3]

The Telstra press release stated Androidland was a temporary installation but also noted the possibility of the installation expanding through other Telstra stores in Australia based on customer feedback. [7]

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References

  1. ↑ "Meet Androidland: Australia opens "world-first" Android store in Melbourne". Apcmag.com. Retrieved 2011-12-10.
  2. ↑ McGrath, Lachlan (2011-12-02). "Androidland opens in Melbourne". Google Australia Blog. Retrieved 2021-12-06.
  3. 1 2 3 Booker, Logan (2011-12-05). "A Walk Through Telstra's Android Wonderland". Gizmodo Australia. Retrieved 2021-12-06.
  4. ↑ Welch, Chris (2011-12-04). "Androidland: Telstra and Google open dedicated store in Melbourne". The Verge. Retrieved 2021-12-06.
  5. ↑ Kennemer, Quentyn (2011-12-02). "Telstra Tests "Androidland" – The First Ever Android Store [Video]". Phandroid. Retrieved 2021-12-06.
  6. ↑ Brian, Matt (2011-12-02). "Telstra Opens Androidland, The World's First Android Store". TheNextWeb. Retrieved 2021-12-06.
  7. 1 2 "Telstra launches world-first Android store in Melbourne - Media Announcement – About Telstra". Telstra (Press release). 2011-12-02. Archived from the original on 2011-12-05. Retrieved 2012-01-01.
  8. ↑ Aulakh, Gulveen (9 October 2013). "Spice Group plans to roll out 100 AndroidLand Mini stores in 18 months". The Economic Times. ISSN   0013-0389 . Retrieved 2023-06-16– via The Economic Times - The Times of India.
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