Androidland

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]

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]