Today was the day, the opening of the largest electronics store in Australia. It's the store that offers things that no others offer, that goes places no other stores have dared to go, and let me tell you, it was clear that everyone was largely impressed! It's hard to believe that at 7:15 am a shop would be completely filled with people, but in this store anything is possible. On arrival in the T [life]™ store each person was greeted by the friendly staff, who are extremely knowledgeable about every available device. The band was set up in the corner playing chilled out music that really set the atmosphere. As soon as you walked through that door you knew it was a store unlike any other.
On the ground level we are introduced to a real life Telstra home. This home ensures that every room in the house has an effective connection to the internet, which allows many things to be done at once. It shows how easy things can be when connected through Telstra, especially if you are anything like my family where four people want to be on the internet at once! The best part is that all the technology actually works. You were able to play the x-box and watch FOXTEL iQ, you could even change the channel (which was very convenient as the Simpsons were on!)
As I moved onto the second floor it was so busy that you could hardly move. The room was filled with media, Telstra employees and even a few familiar faces such as Livinia Nixon and Luke Ball. There was also plenty of the shop staff who were happy to give advice and demonstrations on all the equipment. On this floor there is about 100 phones and computers that were available to test. Each and every one was completely usable meaning you could actually call people from the phones, and go to any site on the computers. It’s a fantastic way of getting to know these devices before you buy them, and is just another example of the effort Telstra is putting into making life easier for its customers.
A number of speeches were made by people significantly involved in the store, the most important one being made by Sol Trujillo, CEO of Telstra. He spoke about the importance that this store has in Telstra's technological advancement. Everyone listened attentively as enticing food and drinks were offered around the room. After this we were free to browse through the electronics and hear others opinions of the store. This was a good opportunity for the media to interview important people and take advantage of any photo opportunities. This is when I was lucky enough to be introduced to Sol himself, AND Luke Ball. How many people can walk away from work experience with that kind of a story? Not many. This may spark some jealousy back at school!
There are about 20 touch screen computers that allow you to explore and buy phone accessories such as ring tones, music, videos, photo and games. The process is simple and straight forward and once again, allows you to trial everything before you buy. The computers also provide information on all of Telstra’s deals and services. However, if you are like me and just merely want to listen to music without buying anything, there is nothing stopping you!
This was a fantastic event for me to attend and I feel extremely grateful to have had this opportunity. I would strongly advise anyone to go and check out the T [life]™ store, I assure you, you'll be just as amazed as I was!