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The promise of the Microsoft Surface is now starting to come to life. AT&T is starting a roll out of the Surface as way to help demonstrate phone capabilities and provide services to existing phones while in store.

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.

AT&T says it plans to add more features later, such as the ability to select ringtones, graphics and other features by dragging icons of them across the screen and virtually “dropping” them onto the mobile phone.

Makes us think about the possiblities for all consumer electronics and future placements of the Surface.

via SeattlePI.com

Last year in Tokyo during the Holidays, a group called Semitransparent Design completed their ninth installation of unique, interactive architecture using lighting. Of course, standing out is no easy task in the electrical circus we know as Tokyo. In this new installation, users were able to interact with light columns using their voice either through mobile or over the Web.

Semitransparent’s Ryoji Tanaka explains: “Akarium as an illumination project has been going on for eight years. When we joined the project, the light design had already been fixed and the lights were going on and off just through time-based programming. We enhanced the project with interaction, and by placing an interactive devices in a public space, we wanted to observe the changes in people’s communication.

Take a look:

Clearly, this is artistic excellence but it also raises some important questions. Should we be looking to expand the interactivity of our social media tools beyond the tools themselves? How can brands utilize mobile and Web based tools to create consumer participation beyond uploading videos on YouTube or passing around a new application on Facebook? And, can consumer participation in the digital space shift the thoughts, moods and brand perceptions of ‘passer-bys’ on the streets of our cities? If so, can we be sure to make these experiences meaningful?

Via: Ping Mag

Ok, so I could have chosen a less obnoxious title. Also, it’s not like I was the only one making the point…but STILL.

Today we find out many things from Apple, including that they are releasing the iPod “Touch,” which is basically an iPhone without the phone. What I found almost more interesting was the following:

1) They will be discontinuing the 4 GB iPhone. While supplies last, they can be had for only $299. See engadget for more.

2) The price on the 8 GB iPhone has now dropped to $399 from $599.

…I would just like to take this time to reference my post from June when I noted that the storage size of the iPhones was just not enough to get it done right. The 4 GB iPhone was apparently lagging way behind in sales, and I’m sure it won’t be long before the 8 GB model is just not enough and a 16 or 32 model will be on the shelves (Christmas was my earlier prediction.) When you’re encouraging people to watch portable video and put all their tunes one on device, 4 GB isn’t going to cut it. In my mind, neither will 8 GB, so I’m going to hold off on getting one for now. But at Christmas I might have something to ask for.

In any case, it’s amazing to see everything that Apple comes forward with. The new iPod, the redesigned Nano, new iPhones….It is also quite clear that the download and portable media paradigm is shifting heavily to video. If you thought the iPod video was cool, brace yourself. Now we wait for the “Goog” phone and what Sony has up its sleeve and then, as consumers with the holidays fast approaching, wait for the prices to fall.

In case you hadn’t seen it, George Hotz, the teenager from New Jersey who has spent the last two months (yes, 500 hours of time) hacking the iPhone so that it’s compatible with carriers other than AT&T, has traded his newly created device. The deal? Hotz traded his “invention” to CertiCell, a Kentcucky-based cell phone repair company, for a car and three new 8 GB iPhones. According to the AP article, Holtz will be sharing the devices with the two friends of his that helped him hack the device…no word on how they plan to share the car.

You can also check out Hotz’s official blog.

It will be interesting to see what this changes. Realistically, probably nothing. Holtz has posted his information on his public blog, so anyone could technically “do it” now, though it’s not the kind of thing the average person can pull off easily. The average person has no shot at pulling this off, despite the fact that Hotz says he can now do it in an hour. If, however, another company decides to get several people who can do this in an hour and sell them in large quantities, then we’re talking about a different story. From what I’ve read, this would be perfectly legal (you can buy a car, tinker under the hood and sell it for more, right?) but if some sort of mass distribution were developed we might see some additional legal claims from folks at AT&T.

Speaking of AT&T, they have not issued a public statement but I’m sure are not too excited about all this publicity with Hotz on tv saying he was bummed that it could only be used on AT&T and so he went around it. Even if people can’t do it themselves, it has to have folks thinking that a cross over model will be available sooner rather than later.

Apple, on the other hand, saw its stock rise…

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Update - According to this blog, the DMCA doesn’t necessarily cover hacking the iPhone and selling it commerically…

The article also notes that there is also a blogger who has offered $100,000 to anyone who can unlock a software release of the iPhone. The person claims they just want to post it freely and release the iPhone to the world.

Over the past couple of days, we’ve seen the next wave of video and audio content delivery pick up steam. Wireless on-demand services for portable devices such as mobile phones and portable gaming devices like the PSP are now becoming a reality. Yesterday, Sony Computer Entertainment of Europe and SKY teamed up to create a joint venture that will allow more than 2.3 million PSP owners to download video and movie film content, on-demand. Stay tuned to the Leipzig Game Conference for more news on this development.

Today, C|Net News reported that AT&T and eMusic, the nations second largest online music seller after iTunes, have joined forces to allow users the ability to complete wireless downloads of independent music through cell phones. Here are some of the details:

‘Tracks will cost more than they do over the Internet–$7.49 for five songs, as opposed to $9.99 for 30 at the online site–because of the expense of sending them over a mobile network to a user’s phone. For that price, however, users can also get another copy of the song, which they can download from the Internet as an MP3.’

Did we mention this service won’t be available on the iPhone.

It’s clear that the convergence of on-demand and wireless are upon us. Of course there are still issues with regard to file sizes and load times. However, in the States, as the big players determine who will own the airwaves, it leaves us thinking, will home-based computing systems become ‘the third screen’.