3Screens

AT&T Launches Total Home DVR in San Antonio

While Total Home DVR has been released in other markets, it's being officially announced today in San Antonio, where I live.

I've had Total Home DVR for 4 days and works as advertised.

Today's edition of our local newspaper, the San Antonio Express News the story here.

Here's a demo shot last week at an AT&T store in San Antonio.  I have a broader opinion piece in the San Antonio Express-News which I will post tomorrow.  (Be sure to click the option to watch in higher quality video on the lower right hand side of the video).

AT&T Lauches Online "Experience" Store. Go shopping before you go shopping

AT&T has recently launched a new online version of its AT&T Experience store. 

The idea here is that  shoppers can “touch,” experience and purchase wireless devices and services online.

When you log on, the digital storefront is much akin to the real world physical layout and lets you try out  interactive demonstrations and tutorials in five categories of wireless products: phones and devices, music, video and Web, messaging, and e-mail and productivity.

My take is that it's a pretty good way to actually preview and prioritize what you may want to see in the real world before you arrive to the store. 

In the event you don't have an Experience Store in your market, then the online version is sort of OK, but does not substitute for the real thing, unless of course, you know what you are looking for.

Surface Metaphor Surfaces On Line

The online store has a virtual version of it's Microsoft Surface point of sale display that you can see in select stores.  It's fairly well executed and helps explains product and service categories such as:

Phones and Devices
By clicking on the simulated Microsoft Surface image at the front of the store, shoppers can see life-size video demonstrations of seven popular AT&T devices and explore their features, specifications and capabilities.

Featured devices include the Samsung A737, Sony Ericsson W580i, BlackBerry® Curve™ 8310, LG Shine and Windows Mobile-enabled devices such as the Pantech Duo™ and AT&T Tilt™.  Noticeably missing is the iPhone, which I still recommend you purchase at an Apple store and not from AT&T.

Music
While AT&T makes a claim to be an industry leader in mobile music, I still recommend Apple's iTunes over anything on the market.  If budget is an issue, buy a low-end phone from AT&T and buy a basic iPod from Apple. 

Video and Web
Again, I think video and web is pretty lame on any other device other than an iPhone.  Readers can hate me and send nasty emails for being so arrogant and opinionated, but I still think that no one does music, video and the web better and more effectively than Apple.

Messaging
Approximately 1.8 billion people worldwide are actively texting today, and AT&T offers unlimited text messaging to America’s largest wireless community. In the messaging area of the Online Experience Store, the LG Shine showcases AT&T Video Share, text messaging, instant messaging and multimedia messaging with interactive tutorials on a simulated phone display.  Be careful, though.  You can incur extra charges for texting depending on what package you buy.

E-mail and Productivity
OK- I am getting off my pro-Apple stance here.  If email is what you really need, nothing is better and more productive than a BlackBerry.  Even being an Apple iPhone bigot, there are times when I do miss my BlackBerry.  If I had a second choice, it would definitely be the BlackBerry. 

The other supposed "smart phones" are not so smart, hard to use, and over-bloated with features and applications that pretty much suck.

21 Experience Stores Across the US

Currently, AT&T has 21 physical Experience Store locations across the country, which offer customers a new way to shop for and experience an array of communications and entertainment services, showcasing AT&T’s complete portfolio of wireless, broadband, video and wireline voice products and services in an engaging, interactive format.

I've always found the stores I mystery shop to be friendly, helpful and nice.  If what you need is a basic wireless phone, or a BlackBerry, then you won't find a better place on the planet.  If you want the iPhone, got the Apple store instead. 

If you are considering killing cable or satellite, then I am all gung ho for U-verse TV and U-verse Voice. It's the best triple play offering on the market and is only getting better.

Comments?  alan at weinkrantz dot com

 

AT&T First to Introduce Microsoft Surface in Retail Stores to Enhance Mobile Shopping Experience

Looks like AT&T is doing some very cool things in its retail stores.

Today they are announcing that they are hooking up with Microsoft Corp. (who is the software provider for AT&T's U-verse) where they will be bringing Microsoft Surface™ to life in a retail environment, giving customers the ability to explore their mobile worlds using touch and device-recognition technology.

The video shown above is just a sampling of what could be shown in a retail environment and not an actual AT&T / Microsoft presentation.  Also, interesting to note they show swapping music files on a Zune, and not an iPhone, which AT&T sells.

Microsoft Surface is the first commercially available surface computer from Microsoft. Beginning April 17, customers can experience Microsoft Surface in select AT&T retail locations, including stores in New York, Atlanta, San Antonio and San Francisco.

 3Screens News Summary:

• Microsoft Surface is a 30-inch table-like display that gives individuals or multiple people the opportunity to interact with devices and content in a way that feels familiar — by using touch, gestures and placement of devices on the display. In essence, it's a surface come to life for exploring, learning, sharing, creating, buying and much more.

• AT&T plans to harness the power of Surface to provide its retail store visitors with unique opportunities to learn about the growing universe of mobile applications and devices. The interactive touch displays, which will work without a traditional mouse or keyboard, will allow customers to:

• Learn. Customers can review features of a particular mobile device by simply placing it on the display. Surface will recognize the device and provide a graphical overview of its capabilities. Customers can place two devices side by side on the unit and easily compare their features.

• Explore. Customers can view interactive coverage maps at the national, state, local or street level, using simple touch and hand movement to scale and move the maps, determining a customer's coverage area.

• Customize. In the future, customers will be able to drag and drop ringtones, graphics, video and more by "grabbing" content with their hands from a menu on the display and "dropping" it into the phone.

AT&T plans to unveil the new displays in stores in New York City, Atlanta, San Antonio and San Francisco on April 17, followed by additional stores in other markets based on the success of the first phase of deployment. Additional information on the launch is available online at www.att.com/surface.

Note:  Microsoft Surface's Press Room can be found here with more detailed info on the technology, photos, fact sheets, etc.

See further coverage here.

AT&T Receives Technology & Engineering Emmy Award

While I am really trying to shift towards being a consumer-facing blog, I still think it's important to point to certain corporate news items AT&T promotes.

In this case, I point to the announcement from the CES Show in which the company was awarded a Technology & Engineering Emmy Award by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.

AT&T won the award for its invention of coaxial cable technology, which delivered the first broadband transmission medium nearly 75 years ago.

This award is not only notable, but also serves as a reminder to myself that the phone company as we no longer know it, is really no stranger to broadcast media and the disruption of an industry it has helped to create.

Couchville Now Lists AT&T U-verse Programming...

Good to see Couchville listing AT&T U-verse programming.

Just type in your zip code and your channel listing will appear.

My only critique to the folks at Couchville is that they are classifying U-verse at being a cable service, which it is not.  They need to create a new category: IPTV.

AT&T's Service Outage on Sunday....

I know I am late to comment on the widely reported service outage on Sunday.

I am late for 2 reasons:

1.  I was not watching TV on Sunday afternoon and had no clue that this even happened.  I did watch Curb Your Enthusiasm on Sunday night, and all was good.

2.  Monday, I was travelingI received several emails from journalists and end users asking me for my take on the outage.

Here is my position:  in all candor, I have no position, because I really try to write from my own personal experience.  If I don't experience something, I may refer to other news sources.

The only thing that does surprise and disappoint me is that over at CoolerThanCable.com, the AT&T blog, they really should have come out with some type of statement or position on the situation and what happened.

Alan & Betty Pontificate AT&T's 100,000th U-verse Installation. Don't Forget: The Free Milk Shake Offer Still Holds....

So here's Alan (that's me) and Betty (who runs the Olmos Soda Fountain) talking it up about the free milk shake offering I am making to the first 10 AT&T employees who come by and see Betty in celebration of the 100,000th installation of U-verse.

Cringley Talks About the Importance of Safari For Windows for Apple / AT&T. I Think Safari For Windows Could be More Important to AT&T Than iPhone. Here's Why.

Robert X Cringley has a very good post theorizing the rationale for Apple developing a Windows-based version of Safari.

Hightlights of the post are:

"Here is the complex package of goods Apple is trying to sell to AT&T: There's the iPhone, of course, but there is also the Apple TV as a potential set-top box. Three hundred dollars for a set-top box? You have to be crazy! Not so crazy. Compared to not spending the kind of money Verizon is spending on fiber, Apple TVs are cheap even if AT&T gives them away. Remember that $400 rebate you used to be able to get on a new PC by signing up for two years of MSN? That didn't appear to make sense, either, yet it ran for years.

For Apple TV to be successful as an IPTV set-top box, Apple has to convince us that we really want to download our video, NOT stream it. Not incidentally, this is also the key to iTunes' long-term success. Downloading makes much more efficient use of network resources, works fine on a copper wiring plant, and fits our emerging TiVoesque world view. Steve will tell us that we are busy dynamic people who really ought to plan our viewing. And enough of us will believe him to make AT&T's copper video service a credible success"

Cingley points out that this move isn't about taking down Microsoft, it isn't about making Macintosh computers the dominant computing platform, it IS about performing a massive cashectomy on AT&T  After all, AT&T works closely with Microsoft's IPTV group and uses Microsoft technology for their middleware.

But Wait - There's More to the Story

I think Cringley is right- but did not tell the other half of the story. 

AT&T working with Apple can now leverage Apple's initial run at the disruption of how music is sold - via iTunes and now repeat history with the video content providers and producers in Hollywood.

To me, Safari for Windows could be even more strategic  than having the exclusive on iPhone for five years.

Microsoft's Rebranded Mediaroom To Extend Capabilities of IPTV. Alan Poses 10 Questions To Microsoft In Regards to This Announcement (And One Bonus Question)

Having been a U-verse customer for over one year, I have to plead "guilty" that I don't write enough about Microsoft and its role as being the middleware and a key element in the technology that makes U-verse.....uh....U-verse.

Microsoft TV unveiled today the latest update of its IPTV software platform and introduced a new brand for the platform to better reflect the broader set of capabilities it now delivers. 

Known as Microsoft® Mediaroom™, the company claims that it will enable the best, most personalized TV and entertainment experience, so that we as consumers can easily find and watch what we want, when and where we want it.

Some of the new features include:

• Personal media sharing. This enables consumers to easily listen to digital music and view digital photographs stored on PCs elsewhere in the home on the best screen in the house: the television.
• Multimedia Application Environment. The environment offers richer support for Web services and applications, enabling service providers to deploy advanced features such as dynamic video-on-demand   portals, casual games and interactive TV services.
• Enhanced MultiView capabilities. These allow consumers to see multiple channels, programs and camera angles on one screen.

The launch of Microsoft Mediaroom also marks the general availability of DTT capabilities on the platform, allowing service providers in regions with DTT programming to offer fully integrated, seamless IPTV services.

Microsoft TV has 18 major service provider customers (including AT&T) on four continents that are delivering TV experience to their subscribers.

Here's 10 Things Alan Wants To Know...

1.  Is AT&T going to follow the upgrade path to Mediaroom and if so, when?

2.  How and where does Xbox (and more specifically Xbox 360) tie into Mediaroom? 

3.   Will Xbox turn into an optional set-top box in its own right? 

4.  Will AT&T sell Xbox in its retail stores?

5.  The personal media sharing idea is  very cool.  How does it tie into AT&T's whole home DVR strategy?

6.  Does Apple have a competing software platform in the works?

7.  Mutliple views sounds cool.  But aren't we, as consumers, dependent on the content providers to provide multi-view content?  If so, I'd love to see some samples of how I could have mutiple views of say, the recent NBA Championships.

8.  Any chance Microsoft and AT&T could work together to extend the capabilities of BlueRoom with Mediaroom?

9.  Along the lines of AT&T's three-screen strategy, will Microsoft work further with AT&T to extend Mediaroom technologies into mobile phones (other than iPhone)?

10.  Seems like Mediaroom would really shine on Vista with some of the new tablet-based PCs coming out soon.  Again, in the vein of the three-screen strategy from AT&T, why not look at tablet applications for mobile TV - i.e. MobiTV, which AT&T already offers.

Big Bonus Question: Any possible ties with Mediaroom and Surface?  This seems like an entirely new way to present IP based video content, gaming, e-commerce, photosharing and much more on this very unique media platform. 

It would also help service providers like AT&T further distinguish itself further and offer the TV manufacturers like Sony, Toshiba, JVC, Panasonic develop new types of surface-based TVs.

AT&T Offers Free Dish Network Service for One Year if You Sign Up For U-verse. Tom Keating Asks: Is This Offer Still Good If U-verse Not Deployed in His 'Hood One Year Later?

Blogger, Tom Keating, has very good post based on his own personal experience in being offered a free year's worth of Dish Network Satellite TV,  if he went ahead and signed up for U-verse, even before it's available in his area.  (Read AT&T's April 3 announcement.)

Tom asked the sales rep at Best Buy if the offer was till good one year after the offer, even if U-verse is not available in his area of Connecticut where he lives.  According to Tom, the rep had no answer.

Tom also brings up a point point about the recent talks about Microsoft and Yahoo joining forces.
Writes Tom, "AT&T and DISH Network have a deal. AT&T and Yahoo already have a close partnership deal with AT&T Yahoo DSL. AT&T is using Microsoft's software for their U-Verse set-top box.

Let me summarize:
AT&T - DISH Network
AT&T - Yahoo
AT&T - Microsoft
and now potentially
Microsoft - Yahoo

Which makes it a AT&T,  DISH Network, Microsoft, Yahoo conglomerate! That just might be big enough to take on Google. Might need to add in Walmart. Maybe Home Depot as well (just to make it a fair fight)."

Check out Tom's post.

Worth Reading